Dr. Craig Yencho is a distinguished Associate Professor; Program Leader Sweet potato and Potato Breeding and Genetics Programs in the Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University. Yecho has research responsibilities (100%) in sweet potato and potato breeding and genetics. Research emphasis is on developing disease and insect resistant table-stock, processing and specialty-type sweet potatoes and potatoes adapted to North Carolina’s growing conditions with improved root and tuber quality, respectively.
Research interests include plant breeding, plant resistance to insects and pathogens, use of wild and/or related plant germplasm as a source of commercially important traits, applications of genomics, molecular biology and plant biochemistry to plant breeding and the production of renewable, bio-based, value-added products in sweet potato and potato, and international agricultural development.