Photo of Felipe Barrios Masias, Extension

Felipe Barrios Masias

Associate Professor

Summary

My interest focuses on plant-environment interactions and how traits affect resource use efficiency at the ecophysiology and community levels. Different morphological, physiological and phenological traits are responsible for the improved crop performance observed in the last few decades, but little information is known about them. Understanding how traits interact and the tradeoffs related to crop performance under different environmental conditions can help breeders and crop managers to implement strategies for crop adaptation to future climate change scenarios. In addition, the study of traits can contribute to improve crop productivity under low input systems, e.g., some organic systems and traditional farming in developing countries. Integrating plant traits with practices that rely on above- and below-ground diversity, niche differentiation and species complementarity and competition, among others, can contribute to increase yields by the efficient use of resources and minimizing the impact to the environment.

My research program focuses on finding solutions to constraints in horticultural production of arid and semi-arid regions in the world. I take an integrative approach to sustainable production and prioritize needs of farmers and other stakeholders to find ways that our production systems are efficient in the use of resources and become more profitable. I am interested in plant functional traits and identifying genotype/cultivar trait associations that favor crop performance under particular environments and management practices (i.e., GxExM interaction). My goal is to conduct participatory research with an emphasis on applicable outcomes that improve the chances for success of horticultural production in arid regions such as Nevada.

Education

B.S., Agricultural Science, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Peru, 1997
Ph.D., Horticulture and Agronomy, University of California, Davis, 2012

News & Journal Articles, Fact Sheets, Reports...

Book Chapter(s)
Advances in understanding vegetable physiology: Root systems as the next frontier to improve sustainable vegetable production Barrios-Masias, F.H., Lazcano, C., Hernandez-Espinoza, L. 2019, In Hochmuth, G. (ed.), Achieving sustainable cultivation of vegetables, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK (ISBN: 978 1 78676 236 8; www.bdspublishing.com)
Fact Sheets
hemp field
Industrial Fiber Hemp: An Early Initiative to Capture Varietal Response in Nevada J. Solomon, A. Ogunleye, A. Opoku, F. Barrios-Masias, S. Huber, S. Foster 2022, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno, FS-22-11
tomatoes on the vine
Combatting Salinity: Evaluation of Tomato Rootstocks Under Mild and Severe Salt Stress
This Extension publication reports the results of University of Nevada, Reno Experiment Station research that tested six different commercial tomato rootstocks and one commercial tomato cultivar for salt tolerance under low, moderate and severe salinity levels.
Bonarota, M.S., Barrios-Masias, F.H., & Singletary, L. 2021, Extension, University of Nevada, Reno FS-21-08
Detecting Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Uptake and Translocation in Lettuce to Enhance Food Safety Assessment.
Reclaiming Water for Urban Foodsheds integrates basic scientific research with extension outreach to examine the feasibility of using reclaimed water resources for irrigated agriculture in urban environments.
Yang, Y., Das, K., Barrios-Masias., F., and Singletary, L. 2018, Extension I University of Nevada, Reno, FS-18-03.
Journals
Drought response and recovery mechanisms of grapevine rootstocks grafted to a common Vitis vinifera scion Bonarota, M.S., Toups, H.S., Bristow, S.T., Santos, P., Jackson, L.E., Cramer, G.R., Barrios-Masias, F.H. 2024, Plant Stress
Floral hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) responses to nitrogen fertilization under field conditions in the high desert Farnisa, M.M., Miller, G.C., Solomon, J.K.Q., Barrios-Masias, F.H. 2023, PLOS ONE
How does building healthy soils impact sustainable use of water resources in irrigated agriculture? Acevedo, S.E., Waterhouse, H., Barrios-Masias, F., Dierks, J., Renwick, L.L.R., Bowles, T. 2022, Elementa, Science of the Anthropocene
Salt tolerance mechanisms in the Lycopersicon clade and their tradeoffs Bonarota, MS., Kosma, D.K., Barrios-Masias, F.H. 2022, AoB PLANTS, Volume 14, Issue 1, February 2022, plab072
Is foliar Cl- concentration the cause of photosynthetic decline in grapevine during mild salinity? Baggett, J.P., Habibsadeh, S., Toups, H.S., Cochetel, N., Ghan, R., Robinson, M.L., Barrios-Masias, F.H., Cramer, G.R. 2021, OENO One
Tomato rootstocks contribute to abiotic stress tolerance: emphasis on root chill tolerance Bristow, S.T., Hernandez-Espinoza, L., Barrios-Masias, F.H. 2021, Acta Horticulturae
Tomato rootstocks mediate plant-water relations and leaf nutrient profiles of a common scion under suboptimal soil temperatures Bristow, S.T., Hernandez-Espinoza, L., Bonarota, M.S., Barrios-Masias, F.H. 2021, Frontiers in Plant Science
Arbuscular mycorrhizae increase biomass and nutrient uptake of tomato fertilized with struvite compared to monoammonium phosphate Di Tomassi, I., Chatterjee, N., Barrios-Masias, F.H., Zhou, Q., Gu, C., Margenot, A.J. 2021, Plant and Soil
Differences in grapevine rootstock sensitivity and recovery from drought are linked to fine root cortical lacunae and root tip function Cuneo, I., Barrios-Masias, F., Uretsky, J., Knipfer, T., Reyes, C., Lenain, P., Brodersen, C., Walker, A., McElrone, A. 2020, New Phytologist
Leaf gas exchange performance of ten quinoa genotypes under a simulated heat wave Eustis, A., Murphy, K., Barrios-Masias, F.H. 2020, Plants
Physiological and anatomical changes in tomato roots in response to low water stress Hernandez-Espinoza, L., Barrios-Masias, F.H. 2020, Scientia Horticulturae
Modeling vegetative vigour in grapevine: Unraveling underlying mechanisms Hugalde, I., Agüero, C.B., Barrios-Masias, F.H., Romero, N., Nguyen, A.V., Riaz, S., Piccoli, P., McElrone, A.J., Walker, M.A., Vila, H. 2020, Heliyon
Assessing the sensitivity and repeatability of permanganate oxidizable carbon as a soil health metric: an interlab comparison across soils Wade, J., Maltais-Landry, G., Lucas, D., Bongiorno, G., Bowles, T., Calderón, F., Culman, S., Daughtridge, R., Ernakovich, J., Fonte, S., Giang, D., Herman, B., Guan, L., Jastrow, J., Loh Hoe Hin, B., Kelly, C., Mann, M., Matamala, R., Miernicki, E., Peterson, B., Pulleman, M., Scow, K., Snapp, S., Thomas, V., Tu, X., Wang, D., Jelinski, N., Liles, G., Barrios-Masias, F., Rippner, D., Silveira, M., Margenot, A. 2020, Geoderma
Differences in hydraulic traits of grapevine rootstocks are not conferred to a common Vitis vinifera scion Barrios-Masias, F.H., Knipfer, T., Walker, W.A., McElrone A.J. 2018, Functional Plant Biology
Mechanisms of and Responses to Abiotic Stress in Quinoa: A Review Hinojosa, L., Gonzalez, J., Barrios-Masias, F.H., Fuentes, F., Murphy, K. 2018, Plants
Development and application of a digestion-Raman analysis approach for studying multiwall carbon nanotube uptake in lettuce Kamol K Das, Yaqi You, Miguel Torres, Felipe H Barrios-Masias, Xilong Wang, Shu Tao, Baoshan Xing, and Yu Yang 2018, Environmental Science: Nano 5, 659-668
Variations in xylem embolism susceptibility under drought between intact saplings of three walnut species Knipfer, T., Barrios Masias, F.H., Cuneo, I. J., Bouda, M., Albuquerque, C., Brodersen, C., Kluepfel, D., McElrone, A. 2018, Tree Physiology
Physiological and Genetic Control of Vigour in a Ramsey x Riparia Gloire de Montpellier Population Hugalde, I., Riaz, S., Agüero, C.B., Romero, N., Barrios-Masias, F.H., Nguyen, A.V., Vila, H., McElrone, A.J., Talquenca, S.G., Arancibia, C., Walker, M.A. 2017, Acta Horticulturae 1188: 205-212
Increasing the effective use of water in processing tomatoes through alternate furrow irrigation without a yield decrease. Barrios Masias, F.H., Jackson, L. 2016, Agricultural Water Management
Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizae on tomato yield, nutrient uptake, water relations, and soil carbon dynamics under deficit irrigation in field conditions. Bowles, T., Barrios Masias, F.H., Carlisle, E., Cavagnaro, T., Jackson, L. 2016, Science of the Total Environment
Differential responses of grapevine rootstocks to water stress are associated with adjustments in fine root hydraulic physiology and suberization Barrios-Masias, F.H., Knipfer, T., McElrone, A.J. 2015, Journal of Experimental Botany 66:6069-6078
Use of introgression lines to determine the ecophysiological basis for changes in water use efficiency and yield in California processing tomatoes. Barrios-­Masias, F.H., Chetelat, R.T., Grulke, N.E., Jackson L.E. 2014, Functional Plant Biology 41:119-­-132
California processing tomatoes: Morphological, physiological and phenological traits associated with crop improvement during the last 80 years. Barrios-­Masias, F.H., Jackson L.E. 2014, European Journal of Agronomy 53:45-­-55
Arbuscular mycorrhizal effects on plant water relations and soil greenhouse gas emissions under changing moisture regimes. Lazcano, C., Barrios-­Masias, F.H., Jackson L.E. 2014, Soil Biology & Biochemistry 74:184-­-192
Inside arbuscular mycorrhizal roots – Molecular probes to understand the symbiosis Ruzicka, D.R., Chamala, S., Barrios-Masias, F.H., Martin, F., Smith, S., Jackson, L.E., Barbazuk, W.B., Schachtman, D.P. 2013, The Plant Genome
Arbuscular mycorrhizas and their role in plant growth, nitrogen interception and soil gas efflux in an organic production system Cavagnaro, T.R., Barrios-Masias, F.H., Jackson, L.E. 2012, Plant and Soil 353:181-194
Transcriptomic and metabolic responses of mycorrhizal roots to nitrogen patches under field conditions Ruzicka, D.R., Hausmann, N.T., Barrios-Masias, F.H., Jackson, L.E., Schachtman D.P. 2012, Plant and Soil 350:145-162
Cultivar mixtures of processing tomato in an organic agroecosystem Barrios-Masias, F.H., Cantwell, M.I., Jackson, L.E. 2010, Organic Agriculture, 1:17-30
Tomato root transcriptome response to a nitrogen-enriched soil patch Ruzicka, D.R., Barrios-Masias, F.H., Hausmann, N.T., Jackson, L.E., Schachtman D.P. 2010, BMC Plant Biology 10:75
Efectos del biol (Abono organico líquido) en la producción de hortalizas. In ‘Vertientes del pensamiento agroecológico: Fundamentos y aplicaciones’ Siura, S., Barrios, F., Delgado, J., Dávila, S., Chilet, M. 2009, (Ed. Altieri, M.) pp. 291-307. Sociedad Latinoamericana de Agroecología (SOCLA), Medellín, Colombia
Technical Publication
Physico-chemical changes evaluation of three cherimoya varieties (Annona cherimola Mill.) Parodi G., Barrios F., Bedersky K. 1999, Iberoamerican Magazine of Post-harvest Technology, v.1 n.2, Sonora, Mexico