Associate Professor Mingchu Zhang (pictured at left) will be on sabbatical until April 30. His goal is to visit China to study peony-growing techniques.
“They have thousands of years of history that could benefit the growers here,” Zhang said. Interest in peony production in Alaska has blossomed in the past few years and Zhang would like to increase his knowledge so he can advise the growers about best practices. He would like to travel to Youngzhou in southern China, Heze in the north and Luoyang in central China if time allows since these three are the peony research centers in China. In Luoyang, there will be a large peony fair in April, where Zhang plans to take photos and make connections with the experts.
“We have the dream to create a similar situation in Alaska,” Zhang said.
During his sabbatical, Zhang will also work on a publication about using fish waste as organic fertilizer. This manual for organic amendments will assist farmers in methods of “building” their own fertilizer.
Also on the agenda are visits to universities in Wuhan and the Jilin Agricultural University to recruit students for the two-plus-two program, which allows students who attend their first two years of college in China to complete their undergraduate degrees at UAF.
Zhang is chair of the High Latitude Agriculture department. During his absence, Professor Meriam Karlsson will temporarily assume that position.
Zhang timed his sabbatical so he would be back in Alaska just in time for field work. “I have tons of things to do and can’t miss the summer growing season,” Zhang said.
(UAF photo by Todd Paris)
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