Charlie Graham, Ph.D.

Charles J. “Charlie” Graham was raised on a farm in Anderson County, Texas. After college, Graham worked on diseases in cotton and Chile peppers at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. He accepted a plant breeding and horticulture position with the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in 1995. For the next 22 years, he conducted research on a wide range of commodities, including peach, nectarine, plum, watermelon, mayhaw, pawpaw and pecan. Before joining the Noble Research Institute in 2018, Graham attained the position of full professor and had statewide responsibility as the fruit and pecan specialist and good agricultural practices trainer.

At Noble, he helps pecan and other horticultural producers achieve production, financial and quality-of-life goals through an integrated consultation process in which he assesses operations, identifies opportunities and limitations, recommends solutions, and monitors results. His research focuses on factors that influence quality and nut loss; profitability of crop production; crop, soil and water issues; and screening of potential new pecan varieties. His areas of research include development and evaluation of rootstocks for potential use in commercial pecan production, cultural methods related to improved production, and pre- and post-harvest nut quality for processing and fresh market use.