Clavijo joins U of I to advance Idaho fruit production | University of Idaho

Jonathan Clavijo-Herrera was among the first scientists in Florida to successfully establish a high-density peach orchard, using trellises to train tree branches to grow on fruiting walls, which reduces labor while increasing yields.

Now Clavijo is poised to help University of Idaho blaze trails with its fruit-production research.

On March 2, 2026, Clavijo joined the U of I’s Parma Research and Extension Center as an assistant professor and Extension specialist in pomology. In his new role, Clavijo will conduct research benefiting Idaho’s fruit industry, with an emphasis on apples, cherries and peaches.

Clavijo was attracted to the job by the potential of the fruit industry in Idaho, the opportunity to research new types of fruit, the high quality of the laboratory facilities at Parma and the ample orchard space.

“I feel there’s a lot of support from the Parma station team,” Clavijo said. “I feel like there are a lot of opportunities here. There’s a lot of work to be done for sure in the orchard and the lab and everything, but I’m really encouraged by the support I’m receiving from the university, and the willingness of the growers to partner and collaborate is amazing.”

Originally from La Paz, Bolivia, Clavijo earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences and production from Zamorano University in Honduras. He continued his education at University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, where he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in horticultural sciences. Early on in his graduate studies, Clavijo completed an internship involving the use of LED lighting for the indoor production of leafy greens. He researched how to improve commercial production and water use efficiency in greens by manipulating the light spectrum.

As a master’s student, Clavijo studied the potential for a Florida olive industry.

“We evaluated three olive varieties in two locations to see how they would perform,” Clavijo said. “We also tested different strategies to establish those trees.”

Furthermore, Clavijo helped develop a tool to help olive farmers adjust their fertilization management practices under local growing conditions.

His doctoral dissertation entailed researching how a rootstock — the underground part of a plant onto which another variety is grafted — can affect the performance of the above-ground portion of a tree, known as the scion. He and his research team found that certain rootstocks improved the capacity of trees to uptake water and nutrients. The team also found that rootstocks can affect the expression of genes related to dormancy, which enables a tree to withstand winter temperatures while conserving energy for the growing season.