Kar, Suraj, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Viticulture
Office: Building 11, Room 219
Phone: 805-756-7308
Email:surajkar@calpoly.edu
Education
Ph.D. Biosphere Science | Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
M.S. Agronomy | National Dairy Research Institute, Haryana, India
B.S. Agriculture | Visva Bharati University, West Bengal, India
Research and Professional Interests
My research interests are primarily focused on developing strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on grape production. This multifaceted approach includes:
1. Evaluating and selecting resilient rootstocks
2. Assessing the effects of drought and water quality on vine health
3. Investigating frost mitigation techniques
4. Analyzing the impact of wildfire smoke on grape quality
5. Studying various biotic factors affecting grapevine physiology and yield Through this work, I aim to contribute to the advancement of sustainable and adaptive viticultural practices in California’s Central Coast in the face of evolving environmental challenges.
Selected Publications
Kar S., C. R. Copp, J. B. DeShields, R. W. Clark, and A. D. Levin. Moderate Postveraison Deficit Irrigation Improves Berry Phenolic Composition in Vitis Vinifera L. Pinot Noir Without Yield Penalty. Preprint at SSRN. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4937114. (under review)
Copp C. R., J. B. DeShields, S. Kar, C. Kirk, R. Clark, M. Stowasser, A. N. KC, and A. D. Levin. Disentangling the cascading effects of Grapevine Red Blotch Virus infection on vine physiology. Preprint at bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.15.545163. (under review)
Kar S., R. W. Clark, I. I. Ivey, J.B. DeShields, J. Cusimano, and A. D. Levin. 2024. Post-Frost Pruning Does Not Impact Vine Yield and Berry Composition in Young Grapevines. Horticulturae. 10(5), 505. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10050505.
Islam T., C. Kudla-Williams, S. Kar, J. Londo, M. Centinari, and C. Rosa. 2022. Deciphering genome-wide transcriptomic changes in grapevines heavily infested by spotted lanternflies. Frontiers in Insect Science. 2:971221. doi: 10.3389/finsc.2022.971221
Graff E., T. Montague, & S. Kar. 2022. Secondary Bud Growth and Fruitfulness of Vitis Vinifera L. ‘Grenache’ Grafted to Three Different Rootstocks and Grown within the Texas High Plains AVA. International Journal of Fruit Science. 22(1): 64-77. doi: 10.1080/15538362.2021.1988809
Kar S., T. Montague, A. Villanueva-Morales, and E. Hellman. 2021. Measurement of Gas Exchange on Excised Grapevine Leaves Does Not Differ from In Situ Leaves, and Potentially Shortens Sampling Time. Applied Sciences. 11(8): 3644. doi: 10.3390/app11083644
Kar S., T. Montague, and A. Villanueva-Morales. 2021. Measurement of photosynthesis in excised leaves of ornamental trees: A novel method to estimate leaf level drought tolerance and increase experimental sample size. Trees – Structure and function. 35: 889–905 (2021). doi: 10.1007/s00468-021-02088-w
Kar S., T-Y. Weng, T. Nakashima, A. Villanueva-Morales, J. R. Stewart, E. J. Sacks, Y. Terajima, and T. Yamada. 2020. Field performance of Saccharum × Miscanthus intergeneric hybrids (miscanes) under cool climatic conditions of northern Japan. BioEnergy Research 13: 132–146. doi: 10.1007/s12155-019-10066-x
Kar S., N. Zhang, T. Nakashima, A. Villanueva-Morales, R.J. Stewart, E.J. Sacks, Y. Terajima, and T. Yamada. 2019. Saccharum × Miscanthus intergeneric hybrids (miscanes) exhibit greater chilling tolerance of C4 photosynthesis and post-chilling recovery than sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids). Global Change Biology Bioenergy. 11(11): 1318-1333. doi:10.1111/gcbb.12632