Rate My Professor Mark Czarnota

Dr. Mark Czarnota is an Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia, stationed at the UGA Griffin Campus. His academic credentials include a B.S. in Plant Science from the University of Delaware in 1989, an M.S. in Agriculture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1995, and a Ph.D. in Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture from Cornell University in 2001. Czarnota's faculty appointment is distributed as 58% research, 32% extension, 5% teaching, and 5% service. He focuses on weed control in ornamentals, small fruits, Christmas trees, and floriculture, addressing comprehensive weed management in these production systems.

Czarnota's research interests cover weed biology, invasive weed control, development of new Christmas tree species for the Southeast, natural products as herbicides, and applications of herbicides, growth regulators, and adjuvants. He teaches the Weed Science Laboratory course (CRSS4340L/6340L). Key publications include "Effect of Bed Preparation on Native Wildflower Establishment, Weed Control, and Arthropod Presence" (2023), "Investigation of physiological and molecular mechanisms conferring diurnal variation in auxinic herbicide efficacy" (2020), "Investigation into Interactions of Environmental and Application Time Effects on 2,4-D and Dicamba-Induced Phytotoxicity and Hydrogen Peroxide Formation" (2019), "Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) Biotypes Exhibit Differential Levels of Susceptibility and Biochemical Responses to Protoporphyrinogen Oxidase Inhibitors" (2018), "Physiological Basis for Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea) Tolerance to Florasulam" (2018), "First Report of Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase–Resistant Southern Crabgrass (Digitaria ciliaris) in the United States" (2017), and "First Report of Pronamide-Resistant Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua)" (2016). His body of work has accumulated over 1,063 citations, reflecting considerable influence in horticultural weed science. Through extension efforts, he provides practical guidance on weed management for landscapes, nurseries, small fruits, and Christmas trees, including presentations and contributions to invasive species resources.