Lee Kalcsits

Assistant Professor, Tree Fruit Physiology

Areas of Interest

• Tree fruit physiology
• Abiotic stress
• Plant nutrition
• Impacts of preharvest environment on postharvest physiology

Educational Background

• Ph.D., Tree Physiology, University of British Columbia
• M.S., Tree Ecophysiology, University of Saskatchewan
• B.S., Horticulture, University of Saskatchewan

Program Objectives

• Develop new tools for identifying the nutritional status of fruit trees
• Advance the understanding of how environment (light, temperature, water, nutrients) affects fruit tree physiology, growth and development
• Create management strategies to mitigate physiological problems that are associated with abiotic stress in fruit trees

Program Personnel

• Corina Serban (M.S. Student January 2016-Present)
• Nadia Valverdi (Ph.D. Student August 2016-Present)
• Giverson Mupambi (Postdoctoral Scholar April 2016-Present)
• Sumyya Waliullah (Postdoctoral Scholar December 2016-Present)
• Katie Mullin (Research Assistant May 2015-Present)
• Michelle Reid (CAHNRS Undergraduate Intern May 2015-August 2015 and Research Assistant January 2016-Present)

Employment and Graduate Student Opportunities

Are you interested in tree fruit physiology and the interactions between cultivar, orchard management and the environment? Are you interested in gaining exposure to one of the primary apple producing regions in the world? Please contact me if you are interested in a position in my lab.

Learn more about graduate studies in the Department of Horticulture at Washington State University »

Selected Publications

Zúñiga CE, Jarolmasjed S, Kalcsits LA, Sinhal R, Zhang C, Dhingra A, Sankaran S*. 2017. Advanced sensing techniques for analysis of elemental concentrations associated with bitter pit in apple. Postharvest Biology and Technology. Accepted February 21, 2017.

Kalcsits LA, Mupambi G, Serra S, Musacchi S, Layne DR, Schmidt T, Mendoza M, Asteggiano L, Jaralmasjed S, Sindhuja S, Khot LR, Zúñiga Espinoza C. 2017. Above and below-ground environmental changes associated with the use of photoselective protective netting to reduce sunburn in apple. Agriculture and Forest Meteorology. Accepted January 26, 2017.

Kalcsits LA, Guy RD. 2016. Genotypic variation in nitrogen isotope discrimination in Populus balsamifera L. clones grown with either nitrate or ammonium. Journal of Plant Physiology. 201: 54-61.

Kalcsits L. 2016. Rapid, portable, non-destructive calcium and potassium measurements of plant tissue using a portable x-ray fluorometer. Frontiers in Plant Sciences. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.00442.

S Serra, Kalcsits L, Giordani L, Leisso R, Musacchi S. 2016. Crop load influences fruit quality, nutritional balance and return bloom in ‘Honeycrisp’ apple. HortScience 2016; 51:236-244.

Kalcsits LA, Guy RD. 2016. Variation in fluxes estimated from nitrogen isotope discrimination correspond with independent measures of nitrogen flux in Populus balsamifera L. Plant, Cell and Environment 39; 310–319. doi: 10.1111/pce.12614.

Kalcsits LA, Min X, Guy RD. 2015. Interspecific variation in leaf-root differences in δ¹⁵N among three tree species grown with either nitrate or ammonium. Trees: Structure and Function. 29(4) 1069-1078.

Kalcsits LA, Buschhaus HA, Guy RD. 2014. Nitrogen isotope discrimination as an integrated measure of nitrogen fluxes, assimilation and allocation in plants. Physiologia Plantarum 151(3):293-304.

Kalcsits LA, Guy RD. 2013. Quantifying remobilization of pre-existing nitrogen from new growth of woody plants using 15N at natural abundance. Plant Methods 9:27.

Kalcsits, LA, Guy RD. 2013. Whole plant and organ level nitrogen isotope discrimination indicates modification of partitioning of assimilation, fluxes and allocation of nitrogen in knockout lines of Arabidopsis thaliana. Physiologia Plantarum 149: 249-259.

Tanino K, Kalcsits LA, Silim S, Kendall E, Gray G. 2010. Temperature-driven plasticity in growth cessation and dormancy development in deciduous woody plants: a working hypothesis suggesting how molecular and cellular function is affected by temperature during dormancy induction. Plant Molecular Biology 73: 49-65.

Kalcsits LA, Kendall E, Silim S, Tanino KK. 2009. Magnetic resonance micro-imaging (MRMI) indicates water diffusion is correlated with axillary bud dormancy induction in hybrid poplar (Populus x spp.). Tree Physiology 29: 1269-1277.

Kalcsits LA, Silim S, Tanino KK. 2009. Warm temperature accelerates short photoperiod-induced growth cessation and dormancy induction in hybrid poplar (Populus x spp.). Trees: Structure and Function 23: 971-979.

Kalcsits LA, Silim S, Tanino KK. 2009. The influence of temperature on dormancy induction and plant survival in woody plants. In: Plant Cold Hardiness: From the Laboratory to the Field (eds. Tanino K and Gusta L). CABI International. London, UK. pp 108-118.