Dr. da Silva’s program is focused on addressing the needs of commercial vegetable growers in the southeastern U.S., in special for the state of Alabama.
Dr. da Silva’s program is focused on developing best management practices for pre- and post-harvest yield and quality of vegetable crops. Dr. da Silva has emphases on plant physiology, water and nutrient management in conventional and organic systems as well as in vertical farming and high tunnel systems, water conservation for different irrigation methods, fertilization of vegetables, variety evaluation, and the use of crop models to account the effects of weather variability on vegetable production. Working with an interdisciplinary team, Dr. da Silva also conduct research for an integrated pest management of insects (i.e., whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), pepper weevil (Anthonomus eugenii), diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), etc) and disease (i.e., black rot (Xanthomonas campestris) and alternaria leaf blight (Alternaria sp.) on brassicas, center rot (Pantoea ananatis) on onions, fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum) on watermelon, phytophthora blight (Phytophthora capsici) on bell pepper, etc).
