Jeremiah Dung, together with co-Project Director Jeff Chang, have been awarded a $2.9 million Specialty Crops Research Initiative grant from the USDA-NIFA.
The project, “A Systems Approach for Managing Bacterial Blight of Carrot”, will engage colleagues from Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Utah, Washington State University, USDA-ARS Horticultural Crops Research Unit (Corvallis, OR), and the Oregon Department of Agriculture to address stakeholder-identified needs associated with the seedborne carrot pathogen Xanthomonas hortorum pv. carotae.
Oregon is a leading producer of hybrid carrot seed for the domestic and global market. Because the bacterial blight pathogen is seedborne, it is not only a concern for the hybrid carrot seed industry in the U.S., but also to areas that grow fresh or processed carrots. Their transdisciplinary project will conduct research and Extension related to seed pathology, population genomics, epidemiology, economics, and integrated pest management.
The four-year project begins in fall 2020.