January 2024 - 35

INTERN OF THE YEAR
Ian Kelly tested vincas for the chilling experiments in
Ball's West Chicago greenhouse. Kelly worked on a couple
of different species, such as vinca, pentas and angelonia.
Kelly participated in the 2023 Darwin Perennials Day. As an
intern, he helped with setup and running the event - he
and others even released the butterflies used to promote
Darwin's buddleia Chrysalis!
" On my second day, I was working with one of the
laboratory environments, Kelly conducted trials
documenting beneficial treatments for the varieties Ball
Horticultural Company sells - later being incorporated
into culture guides and extensions.
" My internship was invaluable in familiarizing myself
with greenhouse procedures and techniques, giving me
an appreciation for all the work that goes into caring
for each individual plant until it's ready for shipment or
display, " Kelly said.
Throughout his internship, Kelly worked with young
plants by putting each species into chilling chambers at
different temperatures for different durations. Kelly would
then observe each plant, recording their state on a scale
from 1 to 5, one he created specifically for the project,
ranking the severity of the plant's damage.
" What I did evolved into a more quantitative
preservative because we wanted to move into something
a little more accurate for breeding purposes, " Kelly said.
" The work I did where I was cataloging the different
severities and symptoms was useful for Extension and
helping people know what to look out for. "
While taking a quantitative approach, Kelly concluded
that as exposure increased, so did the electrical
connectivity values.
Kelly also worked on other trials and gained overall
greenhouse experience.
greenhouse staff members, and I was trimming back
begonias and learning how a greenhouse operates, " Kelly
said. " It was interesting to learn the intricacies of working
in a greenhouse. That wasn't something I had much
experience with beforehand. "
Through the trials at his internship, Kelly would also
give plants root ratings from the different sprays used
and the different culture management techniques.
During Kelly's internship, he attended Cultivate'23,
helping set up displays, restocking items and even
answering a few questions from attendees.
" Cultivate was really interesting because the main
priority was to represent Ball, " Kelly said. " We were also
given the opportunity to sit in on two of the presentations
they had and we were able to walk around the trade show,
introduce ourselves and network a bit. That was a really
cool experience. "
One of Kelly's career goals includes genetic editing -
creating new horticultural varieties. Through his internship,
Kelly has been able to explore his interest in genetic
editing while benefiting from hands-on experience.
" My internship opened the door up to what
opportunities exist in scientific horticulture. This has
been the big turning point in my career, " Kelly said.
" This experience helped me get accustomed to a
research lifestyle and helped me make my transition
from an undergraduate program to a graduate program.
Promoting myself as a person and meeting a lot of people
from different backgrounds gave me a viewpoint of a lot
of different sectors of the horticulture industry. "
GREENHOUSE PRODUCT NEWS
35
January 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2024
