Rate My Professor Valtcho Jeliazkov

Valtcho Jeliazkov is an Associate Professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Science within the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University. He earned a Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Sciences from the University of Massachusetts in 2001 and a Ph.D. in Agronomy from the Higher Institute of Agriculture in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in 1988. Before joining Oregon State University, he served as an Associate Professor in Plant Science and Director of the Sheridan Research and Extension Center at the University of Wyoming from 2010 to 2014. Currently, he directs the Online Graduate Certificate in Organic Agriculture program and serves as Principal Investigator for the NIFA-funded Hemp Education Initiative, which develops online undergraduate and graduate certificates in hemp. Jeliazkov accepts graduate students in the Crop and Soil Science Department and teaches courses including Introduction to Organic Food Production (AGRI 420/520), Organic Soil and Crop Management (CROP/SOIL 530), Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants (HORT 421/521), and Oilseeds and Essential Oil Crops (ST CROP 499/599).

His research specializes in the long-term effects of agricultural practices on production systems, with a focus on hemp, oilseeds, essential oil and medicinal plants, and plant chemicals. He explores the use of plant-derived chemicals as alternatives to synthetic plant hormones, growth regulators, and pesticides, bioprospecting for new pharmaceuticals, and advancing organic food production systems. Jeliazkov has authored over 340 publications, accumulating more than 11,000 citations on Google Scholar, demonstrating substantial influence in agroecology, sustainable agriculture, nutrient management, and crop production. Notable publications include 'Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Agronomy and Utilization: A Review' (2023), 'Sprout Suppressants in Potato Storage: Conventional Options and Promising Essential Oils—A Review' (2022), 'Melissa officinalis L. as a Sprout Suppressor in Solanum tuberosum L. and an Alternative to Synthetic Pesticides' (2022), 'Essential Oil Yield, Composition, and Bioactivity of Sagebrush Species in the Bighorn Mountains' (2022), and 'What do the long-term experiments in the dryland Pacific Northwest tell us?' (2020). He contributes to projects such as a $2 million grant to develop natural methods for preventing sprouting in organic potatoes.