José Antonio S. Grossi earned his B.S. degree (1990) in Agronomy and his M.S. degree (1994) in Plant Science from Federal University of Viçosa, in Brazil. In 1992 he became a member of the faculty at the Department of Plant Science of Federal University of Viçosa. He received his Ph.D. degree (2000) in Horticulture from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
He teaches classes in Floriculture crop production and postharvest with an emphasis on roses, chrysanthemum, orchids, bromeliads, gladiolus, and lilies. His research activities are in the subject areas of ornamental plant growth control, LED photoperiod flowering control, and postharvest. Other research is focused on fruit postharvest quality of Macaw palm, an oleaginous Brazilian palm.
“I enjoyed studying rose heat tolerance in Rosa Breeding and Genetics Programs with Dr. David Byrne, Dr. Oscar Riera-Lizarazu and Dr. Brent Pemberton in the HortScience Dept at Texas A&M University,” says Dr. Grossi.