Thirty-six Years of Award-winning Vegetable Publication Excellence in ASHS Journals

Abstract

The American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Vegetable Publication Award, established in 1985, recognizes the author(s) of the outstanding paper on vegetable crops each year published in ASHS journals by an ASHS member. The goal is to encourage better quality research and more effective communication through writing and publication. Manuscripts published in any of the three ASHS journals are eligible to receive the award. To date, of the 36 awarded papers, 86.5% of the awarded papers were published in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science and 13.5% in HortScience, and no publications in HortTechnology have received the award. Authors from 25 states have received the Vegetable Publication Award, with Florida having the most recipients (eight), followed by California (four), Wisconsin (four), Michigan (three), and Illinois (three). In addition, the Vegetable Publication Award has been presented to papers with authors from Israel (two), Canada (two), and one each from Belgium, Brazil, China, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands. There is some association between commodities that were the subject of the awarded papers and the highest value vegetable commodities in the United States. Eight of the awarded papers reported studies on tomato (ranked first for value in the United States), four on lettuce (ranked second), and three each on broccoli, (ranked fifth) and sweet corn (ranked seventh). Most of the awarded papers covered topics related to plant physiology and response to stress (18 papers), followed by breeding and genetic resources (eight papers); nutraceuticals, aroma, and volatiles (five papers); genetics and gene mapping (three papers); postharvest (two papers); and only one winning paper focused on production systems.

Abstract

The American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Vegetable Publication Award, established in 1985, recognizes the author(s) of the outstanding paper on vegetable crops each year published in ASHS journals by an ASHS member. The goal is to encourage better quality research and more effective communication through writing and publication. Manuscripts published in any of the three ASHS journals are eligible to receive the award. To date, of the 36 awarded papers, 86.5% of the awarded papers were published in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science and 13.5% in HortScience, and no publications in HortTechnology have received the award. Authors from 25 states have received the Vegetable Publication Award, with Florida having the most recipients (eight), followed by California (four), Wisconsin (four), Michigan (three), and Illinois (three). In addition, the Vegetable Publication Award has been presented to papers with authors from Israel (two), Canada (two), and one each from Belgium, Brazil, China, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands. There is some association between commodities that were the subject of the awarded papers and the highest value vegetable commodities in the United States. Eight of the awarded papers reported studies on tomato (ranked first for value in the United States), four on lettuce (ranked second), and three each on broccoli, (ranked fifth) and sweet corn (ranked seventh). Most of the awarded papers covered topics related to plant physiology and response to stress (18 papers), followed by breeding and genetic resources (eight papers); nutraceuticals, aroma, and volatiles (five papers); genetics and gene mapping (three papers); postharvest (two papers); and only one winning paper focused on production systems.

The ASHS Vegetable Publication Award recognizes the author(s) of the outstanding paper on vegetable crops each year published in ASHS journals by an ASHS member. The award was established by the ASHS Board of Directors in 1985, and the first award was presented in 1986. The award was preceded by the Homer C. Thompson award for the most outstanding research paper in vegetable crops published by ASHS. The selection criteria for the Vegetable Publication Award includes originality, accuracy, clarity, and conciseness of the presentation and contribution to the advancement of knowledge of the subject. In addition, at least one author must be an active member of ASHS. Papers must report results of original and substantial research (basic or applied) dealing with or relating to development or improvement of vegetable cultivars or vegetable propagation, cropping practices, quality, harvesting, processing, storage, marketing, or utilization. Work on any vegetable crop is eligible, including watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai], potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), and sweet corn (Zea mays L.). The Screening Committee to select the awardee consists of five ASHS members, plus at least two alternates, appointed each year by the ASHS president-elect, who designates as chair a person who has had previous experience on a relevant screening committee. The Screening Committee evaluates the publications each year, and the ASHS Awards Committee is responsible for final selection of the winning paper.

Since the establishment of the award, manuscripts published in any of the three ASHS journals are eligible to receive the award. However, 86.5% of the awarded papers were published in the Journal of American Society for Horticultural Science and 13.5% in HortScience, whereas no publications in HortTechnology have received the award (Table 1). The mean number of authors per publication is 3.7, and there is a slight increasing trend with time, although this greatly varies by year. However, overall, there has been considerable collaboration across institutions, states, and countries among the Vegetable Publication Award winning papers (Table 2).

Authors from 25 states have received the Vegetable Publication Award, with Florida (eight awarded papers) having the most recipients, followed by California (four), Wisconsin (four), Michigan (three), and Illinois (three). In addition, the Vegetable Publication Award has been presented to papers with authors from Israel (two awarded papers), Canada (two), and one each from Belgium, Brazil, China, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands (Table 2). According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the greatest vegetable production value by state is California; Florida is ranked third and Michigan is seventh. Therefore, there was not a strong association between the state of the Vegetable Publication Award recipients and a state’s value of vegetable production. However, there was some association between commodities that were the subject of the awarded papers and the highest value vegetable commodities in the United States. Among the 36 winning papers, eight reported studies on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), four on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), and three each on sweet corn, broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck.), and watermelon. According to the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Services (2020), tomato was the highest valued vegetable produced in the United States, followed by leaf lettuce (although romaine lettuce was fourth and leaf lettuce was ninth); broccoli was ranked fifth and sweet corn was rank seventh.

By far, most of the awarded papers covered topics related to plant physiology and response to stress (18 papers), followed by breeding and genetic resources (eight papers); nutraceuticals, aroma, and volatiles (five papers); genetics and gene mapping (three papers); postharvest (two papers); and only one winning paper focused on production systems.

As might be expected, most authors received the Vegetable Publication Award only once. However, several authors have received the award two or three times. Dr. Jack Juvik, Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA, has received the award three times (1991, 1994, and 2003) and also won the Homer C. Thompson Award for the most outstanding research paper in vegetable crops published by ASHS in 1983. Four people have received the award twice: Dr. Donald J. Huber (1996, 1999), Professor at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Dr. Jim Myers (2017, 2022), Baggett-Frazier Endowed Professor of Vegetable Breeding and Genetics at Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA; Dr. Mikal Saltveit, Jr (1989, 1990), Professor at the University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA (1999, 2009); and Dr. Steven Sargent, Professor and Associate Chair at the University of Florida.

The ASHS has a strong history of both publications and acknowledging the significant contributions of its membership. The outstanding Vegetable Publication Award recognizes significant accomplishments of researchers working in a diverse array of topics around vegetables. At the same time, the award encourages better quality research and more effective communication through writing and publication. In the pursuit of the ASHS Vegetable Publication Award, authors are not only challenged to cultivate groundbreaking research but also to sow the seeds  of knowledge with eloquence and  precision, ensuring  that their work contributes to meaningful discovery  and  exceptional  writing.