Biology and Management of Field Crop Diseases

My overall goal is to improve yield, quality, and profitability of row crops in Minnesota (principally soybean and corn) through research and extension programs focused on disease biology and management.   I aim to develop and implement effective as well as environmentally and economically sound disease management strategies for diseases of field crops.  Investigation of the biology and ecology of pathogens and their interactions with host plants is central to my program.  Research interests include disease resistance, population diversity of pathogens, molecular diagnostics, plant-pathogen interactions, and development and testing of disease management tactics and technologies.  Research projects are accomplished in field, greenhouse, and laboratory settings, and are focused on soilborne diseases including Phytophthora rot of soybean, Aphanomyces root rot of alfalfa, brown stem rot of soybean, and other significant diseases of soybean and corn.  My extension education efforts incorporate information on diseases from my research program and other sources into relevant and timely extension programs and materials.  I develop and use extension conferences and meetings, demonstration plots, print publications, web sites, television and radio, field days, and workshops to deliver information on crop diseases and their control throughout Minnesota.   

Selected Publications 

Malvick, D. K. & Grunden, E.  2005. Isolation of fungal DNA from plant tissues and removal of DNA amplification inhibitors.  Molec. Ecology Notes 5:zzz-yyy. (www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/men/0/0)

Malvick, D., and Adee, E. 2005. Evaluation of fungicides for control of Fusarium head blight on wheat, 2004. Fung. and Nemat. Tests.  60:CF012. (www.plantmanagementnetwork.org_/pub/trial/fntests/vol60/)

White, D., Malvick, D., and Hagar, A. 2005. Field Guide to Corn Diseases. 137 pp.

Malvick, D. K. and Grunden, E. 2004.  Traits of soybean-infecting Phytophthora populations from Illinois agricultural fields.  Plant Dis.88:1139-1145

Solorzano, C.D., Pedersen, W.L., and Malvick, D.K. 2005. Evaluation of azoxystrobin and fludioxonil for management of corn seedling diseases. Phytopathology 95:S166.

Malvick, D. K., Chen, W., Kurle, J.E., and Grau, C.R. 2003. Cultivar preference and genotype distribution of the brown stem rot pathogen Phialophora gregata in the midwestern U.S.  Plant Dis. 87:1250-1254.

Malvick, D., and Bissonette, S. 2002.  “Pocket Guide to Soybean Diseases in the Midwestern U.S.”  University of Illinois. 47 pp.

Malvick, D.K., and Grau, C.R. 2001. Characteristics and frequency of Aphanomyces euteiches races 1 and 2 associated with alfalfa in the Midwestern United States. Plant Disease 85:740-744.