Dr. Miller received his Ph.D in Agronomy from the University of Kentucky in 1980, and his Bachelor's of Arts from Berea College in 1974 with a double major in Chemistry and Biology. He joined the faculty of The University of Tennessee in 1982 as a tobacco breeder. Since 1999 Dr. Miller has served as the Principle Investigator of the Kentucky-Tennessee Tobacco Improvement Initiative (KTTII), with program funding and responsibilities apportioned between the University of Kentucky and the University of Tennessee on a 60/40 basis. He is a Professor of Plant and Soil Science at UK and a Research Professor of Plant Sciences at UT.
The primary emphasis of the KTTII breeding program involves cultivar and germplasm development, applied research to help growers select and integrate appropriate crop cultivars into specific farm production practices, and providing unbiased information on performance and quality of crop cultivars to producers and associated industries. The program in both States is funded by industry grants and contracts. Grants obtained during 2007-2008 totaled $1,040,000; since KTTII was initiated in 1999 total external funding is $5,047,000.
The primary objective of the KTTII breeding program is the development of burley and dark tobacco cultivars having improved disease resistance and acceptable chemical characteristics, with special emphasis on reduced nornicotine and tobacco specific nitrosamine (TSNA) content. Diseases of particular interest are black shank and blue mold. Since its inception in 1999, KTTII has released burley varieties KT 200LC, KT 204LC, and KT 206LC and dark varieties KT D4LC, KT D6LC, and KT D8LC. Two new burley varieties, KT 209LC and LT 210LC, were released in March, 2009. The KTTII tobacco breeding program has a tremendous impact on the farm economy in Kentucky and Tennessee. For the 2008 growing season, KT 206LC and KT 204LC were the top two burley varieties, comprising approximately 65% of the 2008 domestic burley production. All KTTII cultivars were estimated to comprise over 75% of US burley production in 2008.
horticulture
