It is a distinct honor and privilege for me to present my good friend Dr. Arthur Hawkins. His major interests during his academic career were in the fields of agronomy, soils, and plant physiology.
During the period he served as Assistant Agronomist for the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station where he conducted experiments on absorption of major nutrients by potatoes. In he become Professor of Agronomy and Potato Specialist at the University of Connecticut where he is presently employed. In January of this year Dr. Hawkins was honored by the Connecticut potato growers at a testimonial dinner for 20 years of dedicated and faithful service to the industry, The administration of the College of Agriculture and the growers spoke with high commendation of his efforts, his capabilities and his congeniality at the time the honor was bestowed upon him.
Art is considered one of the foremost authorities on potato fertilization in the eastern part of the United States.
He has worked and published extensively on source, rate, and placement of fertilizers for potatoes. He developed one of the first belt attachments for accurate distribution and placement of weighed quantities of fertilizers in experimental plots. His was the prototype for most of the present models. He is also engaged in research with chemical weed control, seed spacing and variety testing.
As a member of The Potato Association of America he has been extremely active and has served in many capacities since the days when it was just a small organization. He became a director in , vice president in and president in He helped in launching the first Potato Handbook in and was instrumental in developing sustaining memberships in our organization. Art and his charming wife Ada have been very active at our annual meetings during the past several years.
