John Ruter, Allan M. Armitage Professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was named UGA’s 2021 Inventor of the Year for the many plant varieties he’s developed over his years at the university.
Ruter came to UGA in 1990 to serve as the nursery crop research specialist at the Tifton Campus after earning bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees in horticulture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the University of Tennessee and the University of Florida, respectively. He specializes in ornamental plant breeding and production.
In this video, Ruter talks about his plant-breeding techniques and the science behind creating the types of greenery that adorn gardens and manicured landscapes across the country.
