Dr. Bhabesh Dutta
Dr. Bhabesh Dutta is a Professor and Extension Vegetable Pathologist, who is a Project Director of the SCRI-SAM 2023 project. Dr. Dutta primarily works on biology and management of fungal and bacterial diseases in vegetable crops. Dr. Dutta is responsible for commercial field survey, characterization of anthracnose-causing Colletotrichum spp., fungicide resistance profiling and race-typing, evaluation of fungicide programs. He will provide leadership throughout the duration of the project.
Contact Information: University of Georgia, 2360 Rainwater Rd., Tifton, GA 31794 | bhabesh@uga.edu
Dr. Navjot Kaur is a Postdoctoral Research Associate, who will be as a project manager for the USDA-SCRI-SAM 2023 Project. Dr. Kaur will be responsible for managing the project which will include organizing meetings, data management, sharing and disseminating information among project participants, assisting Dr. Dutta with preparing annual reports and also to write and review publications related to this project. She is responsible for commercial field surveys for anthracnose, characterizing Colletotrichum spp. isolates from Georgia for their identity, fungicide resistance profile and race.
Contact information: University of Georgia, 2360 Rainwater Rd., Tifton, GA 31794 | navjot.kaur@uga.edu
Dr. Marin Brewer is the William Terrell Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia and co-Project Director of the SCRI-SAM project. Dr. Brewer studies the evolution and biology of emerging fungal pathogens with interests in fungicide resistance, host specificity and fungal mating systems. She will be leading the studies focused on the biology and population genomics of Colletotrichum species causing cucurbit anthracnose epidemics. Dr. Brewer will also be leading efforts to develop molecular diagnostic markers for species, host specificity/race and fungicide resistance in Colletotrichum spp. affecting cucurbits.
Contact information: University of Georgia, 2105 Miller Plant Science Building, Athens, GA 30602 | mtbrewer@uga.edu
Dr. Greg Colson is a Professor and Interim Department Head in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Georgia. Dr. Colson specializes in the design and analysis of economic surveys and experiments with particular focus on understanding perceptions and decisions by agricultural producers when faced with risk and uncertainty. As part of the SCRI-SAM project team, he will lead the economic analysis of field trial outcomes, helping translate experimental findings into a cost-benefit analysis that can be used by producers and in Extension and outreach efforts planned for the project.
Contact information: University of Georgia, 301 Conner Hall, Athens, GA 30602 | gcolson@uga.edu
Dr. Lina Quesada-Ocampo is a professor, University Faculty Scholar and Vegetable Pathology Extension Specialist in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology and the NC Plant Sciences Initiative in North Carolina State University. Dr. Quesada specializes in disease management, genomics, population genetics, and biosurveillance of pathogens of vegetable crops. As a Co-PI in the SCRI-SAM project, her program will assist with genetic characterization of anthracnose-causing Colletotrichum spp. in NC, developing fungicide-resistance diagnostics, and evaluating registered and unregistered fungicides for efficacy in the field.
Contact information: 840 Oval Drive, 4122 Plant Sciences Building, Raleigh, NC 27606 USA | lmquesad@ncsu.edu
Lab website: https://go.ncsu.edu/veggiepathology
Dr. Cecilia McGregor is a Professor in the Department of Horticulture and a member of the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics at UGA. Dr. McGregor specializes in Cucurbit breeding and genetics, especially disease resistance breeding using crop wild relatives.
As part of the SCRI-SAM project she will assist in evaluating watermelon and cucumber germplasm for resistance to Anthracnose.
Contact information: University of Georgia, 1111 Miller Plant Science Building, Athens, GA 30602 | cmcgre1@uga.edu
Dr. Geoffrey Meru is an associate professor of vegetable breeding and genetics at the University of Florida. His program focuses on the development of cucurbit germplasm resilient to abiotic and biotic stress, as well as the improvement of yield and horticultural traits in specialty vegetable crops. His role in the SCRI-SAM project is to facilitate regional evaluation of watermelon and cucumber USDA germplasm collection for resistance to Anthracnose.
Contact information: University of Florida, Tropical Research and Education Center, 18905 SW 280th Street, Homestead, FL 33031 | gmeru@ufl.edu
Dr. Ron Walcott is a Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, and the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Georgia. Dr. Walcott’s research emphasizes the study of plant pathogens that infect and are transmitted by seeds. More specifically, his lab investigates the mechanisms and pathways by which seeds become infested/infected by plant pathogens, and the processes involved in seed-to-plant transmission. As Co-PI in the SCRI-SAM project, Dr. Walcott will investigate the role that infected/infested cucurbit seeds may play in anthracnose epidemics.
Contact information: University of Georgia, 4315 Miller Plant Sciences Athens, GA 30602 | rwalcott@uga.edu
Dr. Anthony P. Keinath is a Professor in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Clemson University and a Research and Extension Vegetable Pathologist at the Coastal Research and Education Center in Charleston, South Carolina. His expertise is in the ecology and management of cucurbit pathogens, particularly fungi. As a Co-PI with the SCRI-SAM project, Dr. Keinath will collect and identify Colletotrichum spp. isolates, test fungicides to manage foliar and fruit anthracnose on watermelon, examine the role of leaf wetness in epidemic development, and assist with phenotyping select resistant watermelon PI lines.
Contact information: Clemson University Coastal REC, 2700 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29414 | tknth@clemson.edu
Dr. Pamela Roberts is a Professor of Plant Pathology and State Extension Specialist for Vegetable Pathology at the University of Florida, Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Immokalee, FL. Dr. Roberts’ program focus is on sustainable disease management. Her program conducts research and extension programs on the diagnosis, epidemiology, and integrated management of plant diseases with emphasis on diseases on vegetables and other specialty crops. Dr. Roberts manages the Florida Extension Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at SWFREC. As co-PI in the SCRI-SAM project, her program will conduct field surveys and characterize the pathogen by host specificity and fungicide sensitivity and extend the findings of the project to stakeholders.
Contact information: UF-SWFREC, 2685 SR 29 N, Immokalee, FL, 3412. pdr@ufl.edu
Dr. Sarah Pethybridge is an Associate Professor in the Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology (PPPMB) Section in the School of Integrative Plant Science, and Director of Graduate Studies for the PPPMB field, at Cornell University, New York. Her program (Epidemiology of VegetAbleE Diseases; EVADE) conducts basic and applied research on diseases affecting vegetables in NY, specializing in quantitative epidemiology, population biology, and disease management. In the SCRI-SAM project, Dr. Pethybridge will be the fungal populations associated with anthracnose on watermelon in NY, and evaluating management techniques, including host resistance, fungicide efficacy and sensitivity.
Contact information: 211 Barton Laboratory, Cornell AgriTech, Geneva, NY 14456;
Dr. David Langston is a Professor and Extension Field Crops Pathologist at the Virginia Tech Tidewater AREC and lead PI for the SCRI-SAM 2023 project Virginia. David’s current focus is diagnosis and management of nematodes and pathogens of corn, cotton, peanut and soybean in Virginia. Dr. Langston is primarily responsible for development of fungicide programs for managing cucurbit anthracnose in the project.
Contact information:
Dr. Douglas Higgins is an Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology and Extension Specialist at the Virginia Tech Eastern Shore Agriculture Research and Extension Center. His Research and Extension program is focused on generating disease management recommendations for vegetable and small grain growers in Virginia. Higgins’s research includes the optimization of pesticides applications, disease diagnostics and early detection, and advancement of novel disease management tactics. As a Co-PI with the SCRI-SAM project, Dr. Higgins will characterize Colletotrichum spp. isolates for host specificity/race and fungicide resistance. He will also be involved in generating fungicides and cultivar recommendations for fruit anthracnose on watermelon and cucumber and examine the role of leaf wetness in epidemic development.
Contact information: Virginia Tech Eastern Shore AREC, 33446 Research Drive, Painter, VA 23350; E-doughiggins@vt.edu
Dr. Alyssa K. Betts is an Assistant Professor and Plant Pathology Extension Specialist with the University of Delaware located at the Carvel Research and Education Center. Her Extension and Research program seeks to reduce crop loss due to disease through applied field research and laboratory investigation to improve understanding of pathogen biology. As a Co-PI with the SCRI-SAM project, Dr. Betts will conduct surveys of commercial watermelon and cucumber crops to collect and characterize Colletotrichum spp. that will be further evaluated by in vitro fungicide sensitivity screening and will participate in select field trials for fungicide programs and phenotyping of selected resistant watermelon lines.
Contact information: University of Delaware Carvel and Research Extension Center, 16483 County Seat Hwy Georgetown, DE 19947,
akoehler@udel.edu
Dr. Blake Oakley is a post-doctoral research associate in the Department of Plant Pathology at UGA. Dr. Oakley specializes in genetics and biology of ascomycetous filamentous fungal plant pathogens, particularly the genus Fusarium. Dr. Oakley will be under the advisement of Dr. Ron Walcott as part of the USDA-SCRI-SAM 2023 project and will assist him with writing and reporting of research publications related to this work. His primary objective will be to evaluate seed-to-seedling transmission of anthracnose-causing fungal pathogens of cucurbits, specifically Colletotrichum orbiculare. Other responsibilities include: caring for plants and pathogen cultures, assessing the virulence of different strains of Colletotrichum spp. and using a diagnostic primer set to gauge presence or absence of the pathogen from fruit and vegetable fields in GA and the southeastern United States.
Contact information:
University of Georgia, 3409 Miller Plant Science Building, Athens, GA 30602;
Rob Last is a master’s student in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Clemson University. Rob will be working under the supervision of Dr. Anthony Keinath as a part of USDA-SCRI-SAM project. He is also an Extension Agent with Clemson Cooperative Extension Service, serving Lexington, Richland, Fairfield, Newberry and Kershaw Counties in South Carolina. His focus is on the commercial fruit and vegetables crops. As part of the project, Rob will be collecting and identifying samples of Colletotrichum species from winter squash and pumpkins to determine the susceptibility of the various hosts.
Contact Information:
Clemson University, Cooperative Extension Service, 605 West Main Street, Suite F, Lexington, SC 29072
Rashmi Pokhrel is a student at the University of Georgia working in Dr. Brewer’s lab. Her research focuses on Colletotrichum orbiculare, studying diverse isolates from cucurbit hosts using multi-locus sequencing to explore pathogen diversity, population biology, and its role in anthracnose epidemics in the eastern U.S. My work aims to understand infection strategies, population genetics, identify the components of resistance and susceptibility, and develop molecular markers for fungicide resistance
Contact Information :
rp55967@uga.edu
Dr. Gary Vallad is a Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, Florida. His research utilizes traditional and contemporary approaches to study pathogen biology, disease epidemiology, and plant-pathogen interactions to improve disease management. Current projects are focused on diseases caused by Alternaria spp., Corynespora cassiicola, Fusarium spp., Agroathelia rolfsii, Pseudomonas spp., and Xanthomonas spp. in vegetable and ornamental production and developing strategies to manage soil-borne pathogens and pests in raised-bed, plasticulture production systems. As co-PI in the SCRI-SAM project, his program will conduct field surveys to characterize the pathogen population, evaluate fungicide performance, improve management strategies, and extend project findings to stakeholders.
Contact Information :
University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, 14625 County Road 672, Wimauma, FL 33598; gvallad@ufl.edu