Earth-Kind Rose Team Earns Texas A&M AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Award

The Earth-Kind Rose team has earned the Texas A&M AgriLife Vice Chancellor's Award in Excellence for Collaboration.

The team created by Professor and AgriLife Extension Horticulturist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Dr. Steve George included associate professor of horticulture and interim director of the school of agriculture at A&M-Commerce, Dr. Derald Harp.

“This is the most prestigious award given by Texas A&M AgriLife,” Dr. Harp said. “This award is a great example of how individuals from multiple system agencies and multiple universities can work together to build something that is truly special.”

The team aimed to address issues regarding American landscapes including—wasted water, misuse of fertilizers and pesticides, and overburdening landfills with leaves, grass clippings and wood chips. As a solution to the problems, the Earth-Kind Rose team recognized 23 rose cultivars as Earth-Kind. The Earth-Kind roses can take the place of mulch in landscapes and require minimal maintenance, which reduces fertilizer and pesticide use.

“It has been an honor of mine to be part of this team, and I look forward to our projects in the future,” Dr. Harp said.

Other Earth-Kind Rose team members included county AgriLife Extension specialists, AgriLife Researchers and other university researchers from Texas A&M University, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and University of Illinois-East Alton.