Faculty
Plant Biology Graduate Group
 
Ken Shackel

Plant Sciences
3039 Wickson Hall
Office 752-0928
Lab
kashackel@ucdavis.edu
[Picture of Ken Shackel]

Degrees:
1982 - PhD - University of California, Riverside - Plant Physiology
1979 - MS - University of California, Riverside - Plant Science
1972 - BA - Saint Mary's College of California - Liberal Arts/Philosophy

Awards:
1997: ASHS Fruit Publication Award for "Alternate Bearing in Pistachio as a Masting Phenomenon: Construction Cost of Reproduction versus Vegetative Growth and Storage." J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 123:1069-1075.

Professional Societies:
ASPB
ASHS

Grad Group Affiliations and Specialties:
Plant Biology
Non-DBS Grad Group(s) - Ecology, Horticulture

Publications:
Shackel KA, Celorio Mancera MDLP, Ahmadi H, Greve LC, Teuber LR, Backus EA, and Labavitch JM. (2005). Micro injection of Lygus Salivary Gland Proteins to Simulate Feeding Damage in Alfalfa and Cotton Flowers. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology 58:69–83.

Matthews, MA and Shackel, KA (2005). Growth and water transport in flesh fruit. In Vascular Transport in Plants ( N.M. Holbrook and M.A. Zwieniecki, eds.), pp. 189 197. Elsevier Academic Press, Boston, MA

Bondada BR, Matthews MA, Shackel KA (2005). Functional xylem in the post-veraison grape berry. Journal of Experimental Botany 56:2949-2957.

Shackel, K, R. Gross. 2002. Using midday stem water potential to assess irrigation needs of landscape valley oaks. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-184, pp397-402.

Lampinen, B.D, K.A. Shackel, S.M. Southwick, W.H. Olson, 2001. Deficit irrigation strategies using midday stem water potential in prune. Irrig. Sci. 20:47-54.

Fulton A., R. Buchner, B. Olson, L. Schwankl, C, Giles, N. Bertagnia, J. Walton, K. Shackel. 2001. Rapid equilibration of leaf and stem water potential under field conditions an almonds, walnuts and prunes. HortTechnology. 11:609-615.

Shackel, K.A.,. N.C. Turner. 2000. Seed coat cell turgor in chickpea is independent of changes in plant and pod water potential. J. Exp. Bot. 51:895-900

Tong C., D. Krueger, Z. Vickers, D. Bedford, J. Luby, A. El-Shiekh, K. Shackel and H. Ahmadi. 1999. Comparison of softening-related changes during storage of 'Honeycrisp' apple, its parents, and 'Delicious'. JASHS 124:407-415.

Cao, T. R.J. Sayler, T.M. DeJong, B.C. Kirkpatrick, R.M. Bostock and K.A. Shackel. 1999. Influence of Stem Diameter, Water Content and Freezing-Thawing on Bacterial Canker Development in Excised Stems of Dormant Stone Fruit Phytopathology 89:962-966.

Shackel, Ken. 1996. To tense, or not too tense: reopening the debate about water ascent in plants. Trends in Plant Science 1:4(4):130-132.

Gurusinghe, Sunitha H. and Kenneth A. Shackel. 1995. The relation of cambial zone mechanical strength to growth and irrigation of almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) Webb.] trees. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 120(2):170-176.

McCutchan, Harold and K.A. Shackel. 1992. Stem-water potential as a sensitive indicator of water stress in prune trees (Prunus domestica L. cv. French). Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 117(4):607-611.

Shackel, K.A., C. Greve, J.M. Labavitch, and H. Ahmadi. 1991. Cell turgor changes associated with ripening in tomato Pericarp tissue. Plant Physiology 97:814-816.

Shackel, K.A. 1987. Direct measurement of turgor and osmotic potential in individual epidermal cells. Plant Physiology 83:719-722.

Research Interests:
Water, and the physiology of plant responses to water availability, is the focus of my research and that conducted by the students and postdoctoral associates in my lab. Our research program includes two main areas of focus: (1) tree responses to water stress and Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) under field conditions, and (2) fruit growth and pre- and postharvest fruit water relations. My research program is also strongly focused on methodology development, particularly the use of the micro-pressure probe for cell water relations and other studies.

Teaching Interests:


My primary goal in teaching has always been to challenge students to think independently. In both classroom and graduate teaching I have stressed the principle that current scientific explanations are really working hypotheses, and as far as possible I have tried to point out the limitations of these hypotheses and where alternative explanations may also be appropriate.

Courses Taught:
BIS 1C Introductory Biology - Term(s): Winter
HYD 124 Plant-Soil-Water Relations - Term(s): Spring
IST 9 Research opportunities in the biological sciences - Term(s): Winter
POM 298 FROGS (Friday Regular Open Graduate Seminar) - Term(s): Fall,Winter,Spring

Personal Interests:
Music, Windsurfing!