Co-Recipient, 2024 U.P. Hedrick Award
History of the Hedrick Awards
The Hedrick Awards were established by the American Pomological Society in 1982 “ to encourage promising and gifted students to specialize in the field of pomology.”
The awards are named for Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick (1870 – 1951) a distinguished horticulturist, and a prolific writer. His books include “Grapes of New York” (1908) and “Peaches of New York” (1917). Hedrick received the Wilder Medal from the American Pomological Society in 1929 for his work in plant breeding.
The first announcement of the Hedrick Awards competition appeared in Fruit Varieties Journal 37 (2):59, 1983. The distinguished pomologist, Norman F. Childers, provided leadership in establishing the awards and served as the first Chair of the Hedrick Awards Committee. Robert C. Lamb recorded the initiation of the Hedrick Awards in Fruit Varieties Journal 37 (4):86-87, 1983.
Manuscripts of 1,000 words on any aspect of fruit cultivars, fruit breeding, cultivar development and performance, rootstocks, and cultural techniques are invited. Manuscripts are judged in two categories: research papers and review articles.
The recipients of Hedrick Awards receive a cash award and a mounted certificate. The associated manuscripts are published in the Journal of the American Pomological Society.
Submissions are due in May 2025 to Dr. Essie Fallahi.
Chairs of the Hedrick Awards Committee
- Norman F. Childers, 1983 – 1994
- John T. A. Proctor, 1995 – 2003
- David Hunter, 2004
- Essie Fallahi, 2005 – present
Recent Winners of the U.P. Hedrick Award
- Published articles in the Journal of the American Pomological Society are linked when available.
| Year | Award Recipient | Co-Authors | Article Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Matthew Almy | J.M. Lawton and K. Gasic | Evaluating Growing Degree Days and Fruit Development Periods in Peach Breeding Material from Clemson University |
| 2024 2nd Place (tie) | Brianna Haynes | G. Fernandez, G. Ma, P. Perkins-Veazie | Anthocyanin Content and Profiles of Strawberry Fruit from North Carolina Genotypes |
| 2024 2nd Place (tie) | Griffin Erich | G. Peck and M. Pritts | Pawpaw: An Underutilized Tree with Potential |
| 2023 | Todd Anderson | R.W. Durst, S. W. Leonard, K.E. Hummer, C. Luby, and N.V. Bassil | Anthocyanin Profiles of Two Wubtropical Vaccinium Species and ‘O’Neal’ Southern Highbush Blueberry |
| 2023 2nd Place | M. Featherstone | J.M. Lawton and K. Gasic | Historical Chill Hour vs. Chill Portion Analysis for Better Dormancy Breaking Assessment in Temperate Crops |
| 2022 | Chayce Griffith | T. Einhorn | The Role of Xylem in Bitter Pit Incidence of Apple: A Review |
| 2022 2nd Place | Thiago Campbell | J. Schupp and R. Marini | Reevaluating Summer Hedging and Root Pruning for Intensive Apple Orchard Systems: A Review |
| 2021 | Gizem Demiral | A. Calle, O. Atagul, J.M. Lawton, and K. Gasic | Enabling DNA-Informed Breeding for Chilling Requirement in Peach |
| 2021 2nd Place | Haley Williams | E.T. Stafne and P.J. Conner | Inbreeding among Muscadine Cultivars |
| 2020 | Anya Osatuke | M. Pritts | Development of Quality Attributes in Strawberry Fruit: A Review |
| 2020 2nd Place | Jacob Kelley | J. Spiers, J. Kessler, E. Coneva, and E. Vinson | Effect of Hydrogen Cyanamide on Flower Production of ‘AU Golden Sunshine’ and ‘AU Gulf Coast Gold’ Kiwifruit |