Department of Botany and Plant Pathology

Ecology and epidemiology of plant disease, insect vectored plant pathogens, ecological modeling, disease diagnostics, and integrated pest management

• The research conducted in the plant pathology lab at the Hermiston Agriculture Research and Extension Center (HAREC) is focused on the ecology, epidemiology, and management of pathogens causing disease of high value irrigated specialty crops grown in North Central Oregon. The primary crops grown in this region include potato, wheat, onions, corn, grass seed, and alfalfa, but more than 200 cultivated plant species are grown in lower abundance in this production area. The primary goal of our research program is to develop practical, economical, and environmentally sound disease management programs that will minimize disease outbreaks and enhance the profitability and efficiency of vegetable crop production in Oregon. Our research interests are generally concerned with how variability in the environment affects pathogen growth, survival, and dispersal and influences the spatial and temporal pattern of disease. We are also interested in pathogen detection, population genetics of plant pathogens, insects as vectors of plant pathogens, and landscape heterogeneity as it relates to the dispersal of plant pathogens and/or their vectors.