Horticultural Sciences

Dr. Gerardo Nunez

Assistant Professor

Gerardo Nunez

Mailing Address:
Fifield Hall
2550 Hull Road
PO Box 110690
Gainesville, Florida 32611

Office: 1113 Fifield Hall
Phone: (352) 273-4765
E-mail: g.nunez@ufl.edu
Website: Nunez Lab

The Nunez Lab at the University of Florida is a creative space where students develop research, cultivation, and communication skills while performing rigorous scientific research in horticultural plant physiology and nutrition. We employ a combination of agricultural and biochemical approaches to answer agriculturally relevant questions about berry crops.

Areas of Research
- Soilless cultivation of berry crops
- Berry crop nutrition
- Whole-plant physiology
- High impact teaching practices in horticulture

Teaching Responsibilities
- HOS 4304 / HOS 6932 – Horticultural Physiology
- HOS 3430C / HOS 6412 – Nutrition of Horticultural Crops
- HOS 4911 – Horticultural Sciences Classroom Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE)

Educational Background
- Ph.D. - Horticultural Sciences, University of Florida (2015)
- B.S. - Biology, Fairleigh Dickinson University (2010)

Honors and Awards
- Early Career Excellence in Teaching Award - College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, 2020
- Outstanding Fruit Publication Award - American Society for Horticultural Science, 2016

Authors	Year	Title / Description	Publication
Nunez, G. H., C. L. Harmon, J. W. Olmstead, and R. L. Darnell	2016	Root-level inoculation with iron-reducing microorganisms does not enhance iron uptake by southern highbush blueberry plants	Rhizosphere 2:24-33.
Nunez, G. H., J. W. Olmstead, and R. L. Darnell	2016	Towards marker assisted breeding for root architecture traits in southern highbush blueberry.	JASHS 141(5):414-424.
Nunez, G. H., A. P. Kovaleski, B. Casamali, and R. L. Darnell	2016	Can science and genetics literacy affect student perception of genetically modified organisms?.	AgBioForum 19(1):5.
Nunez, G. H., J. W. Olmstead, and R. L. Darnell	2015	Rhizosphere acidification is not part of the strategy I iron deficiency response of Vaccinium arboreum and the southern highbush blueberry.	HortScience 50(7):1064-1069.
Nunez, G. H., A. P. Kovaleski, and R. L. Darnell	2014	Formal education can affect students’ perception of organic produce.	HortTechnology 24(1):64-70.