Esmaeil Nasrollahiazar

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Viticulture Extension Educator
Leelanau County Extension Office

Biography

Esmaeil Nasrollahiazar’s agricultural journey was seeded on his family’s farm, nurturing a lifelong passion. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering, Agronomy, and Plant Breeding from Iran in 2005, and later an MS in the same discipline, while contributing to plant variety research at the Seed and Plant Certification and Registration Institute (SPCRI).

His winemaking heritage and passion for viticulture led him to Italy, where he earned a master’s degree in Viticulture and Enology in 2018. This education paved the way for his role at Michigan State University, where he engaged in viticulture research under Dr. Paolo Sabbatini.

In 2020, Esmaeil took on the role of Viticulture Extension Educator at Michigan State University Extension. He focuses on delivering educational programs for the Grape and Wine Industry and conducts research on grapevine cold hardiness and predictive modeling.

Esmaeil's expertise extends to Precision Viticulture Techniques, including Proximal Sensing and Image Analysis tools, enhancing plant growth evaluation and varietal assessment. His overarching goal is to advance plant development understanding, improve crop yield and quality, and fortify the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry.

Education

November, 2018	Master’s degree in Viticulture and Enology, the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy Supervisor: Prof. Stefano Poni
February 2013	Master’s degree in Agricultural Engineering - Agronomy, Islamic Azad University Karaj Branch, Iran. Thesis Title: An image analysis for the determination of genetic purity of different wheat varieties. Supervisors: G. Tohidloo, M. Dehghanshoar and S. Mobasser
February 2003	Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering - Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Islamic Azad University Karaj Branch, Iran.

Professional experience

June 2020 – Current	Viticulture Extension Educator Michigan State University Extension 8527 E-Government Center Dr, Suttons Bay, USA
July, 2018 – June 2020	Scholar Visitor/Research Assistant Paolo Sabbatini Lab (Viticulture) and Todd Einhorn Lab (Pomology). College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Department of Horticulture, East Lansing, USA
January, 2016 – 2017	Seed Bank Coordinator Seed bank of Department of Plant Variety Registration (PVR) of the Seed and Plant Certification & Registration Institute (SPCRI) Karaj, Iran.
Sep, 2009 – 2016	Image Analysis Lab Coordinator Image Analysis Lab of the Department of Plant Variety Registration (PVR) of the Seed and Plant Certification & Registration Institute (SPCRI), Karaj, Iran.
2005 – 2017	Plant Variety Protection Examiner (DUS Exams)^{^[1]} Seed and Plant Certification & Registration Institute (SPCRI) Plant Variety Registration (PVR) Dep, Karaj, Iran.

[1] Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) exams are tests used to evaluate a new plant variety's novelty, consistency, and stability. They assess the unique features that distinguish the new variety from existing ones, ensure the consistency of these features across different plants, and verify the variety's ability to maintain these characteristics over time. These tests are crucial in plant variety protection and are used to determine legal protection for the new variety.

Recent publications and presentations:

VanderWeide, J; Del Zozzo,, F; Nasrollahiazar, E; Kennedy, JA; Peterlunger, E; Rustioni, L; Sabbatini, P. 2022. Influence of freezing and heating conditions on grape seed flavan-3-ol extractability, oxidation, and galloylation pattern, nature Scientific Reports, 12, Article number: 3838

Del Zozzo, F; VanderWeide, J; Nasrollahiazar, E; Peterlunger,E; Rustioni, L; Sabbatini, P. 2022. Artificial ripening of grape seed phenolics in Pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. BIO Web Conf, doi: 10.1051/bioconf/20224406002

VanderWeide, J; Del Zozzo,, F; Nasrollahiazar, E; Kennedy, JA; Peterlunger, E; Sabbatini, P. 2021. Natural and Artificial Oxidation of Grape Seed Phenolics are Influenced by Extractability and Galloylation Pattern. Research Square, doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1027782/v1

VanderWeide, J; Gottschalk, C; Schultze, SR; Nasrollahiazar, E; Poni, S; Sabbatini, P. 2021. Impacts of pre-bloom leaf removal on wine grape production and quality parameters: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in plant science, doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.621585

Moslemkhani, C; Hassani, F; Nasrollahiazar, E; Khelgatibana, F. 2019. Potential of spectroscopy for discrimination of PVY infected potato from healthy plants. Journal of Crop Protection. Vol.8 No.2 pp.143-151 ref.16

Van-Timmeren, S., Perkins, J., Sloan, C., García-Salazar, C., Reinke, M., Nasrollahiazar, E., Irish-Brown, A., Vandenberg, L., Plotkowski, D., Isaacs, R., M. 2022. Understanding the risk of Oriental beetle to Michigan blueberries Completed. Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo & Michigan Greenhouse Growers Expo, Grand Rapids, Michigan.