| From the Past to the Present
From the Past to the Present
In the early 1990's, serious and dramatic epidemics of wheat and barley head blight (caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum) underscored the importance and scientific expertise of the Department of Plant Pathology to the state of Minnesota. Those epidemics were fueled by a combination of soil conservation tillage practices (survival and buildup of the fungus in crop residue on the soil surface), warm wet weather favorable to the fungus during heading and grain development, and susceptible wheat and barley cultivars. Head blight epidemics in the 1990s resulted in yield losses estimated to be in excess of a billion dollars. In addition, the quality of harvested wheat and barley was degraded due to the presence of toxins such as vomitoxin produced by F. graminearum. When the severity of the first of those epidemics became apparent, departmental members with expertise in cereal diseases and mycotoxins (Ruth Dill-Macky, Roger Jones and Chet Mirocha), were mobilized to deal with the problem in collaboration with scientists in the Department of Agronomy and others in the USDA Cereal Disease Laboratory. New methods were developed to screen wheat and barley breeding lines for head blight resistance, fungicide applications were evaluated as a short-term remedy, and grain samples were analyzed for presence and levels of contamination with vomitoxin and related mycotoxins.
As with Fusarium head blight, we continue to address important new plant disease problems whenever they arise. We respect and cherish the very rich legacy of our past, and strive to build on the outstanding past research and educational achievements in advancing the science of protecting the plant health, our food safety and the natural resources. However, as we approached the 21st century, we recognized the need to address the changing frontiers of Plant Pathology. Several new faculty members, Nevin Young, Linda Kinkel, Brian Steffenson, Jim Kurle, and Jim Bradeen were added to the department. New adjunct faculty members such as Debby Samac, Corby Kistler, Les Szabo and Jim Kolmer (all from USDA) and Jenny Juzwik (USFS) provide strong collaboration in research and in teaching. The new research frontiers being addressed include molecular plant pathology (mapping plant genomes, for example alfalfa), to understand genetics of plant-microbe interactions and assist crop improvement for disease management, understanding basic mechanisms of pathogen infection and plant resistance, for example in cereals and in potato diseases), quantitative microbial ecology and population dynamics of plant diseases and biological control (for example potato scab), innovative more environmentally friendly (non-chemical, cultural or biological) methods for disease control (for example dry bean diseases) involving interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists from multiple disciplines (e.g., plant pathology and soil science), as well as new approaches in integration of crop management practices (e.g., crop rotation) to minimize disease hazards in each crop (for example in soybean-corn rotations). While addressing the issues relevant to basic sciences, we have helped sustain the needs of Minnesota growers by developing practical solutions to yield-threatening disease problems (small-grained cereals, sugar beet, potato, dry bean, corn and soybean). Similarly our rich tradition of international collaboration continues. Among those notable international collaborations are efforts to control wood decay and preserve the historic E.H. Shakleton's camp at Cape Royd, left behind from his expedition 1907-1909 (Bob Blanchette), the discovery of DNA viruses and disease management in tropical crops such as banana (Ben Lockhart), the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of germplasm from primitive cereals and wild relatives in their centers of origin (for example from Israel and neighboring countries) to improve disease resistance in modern cereal varieties (Brian Steffenson). Many other faculty members in the Department also are involved in similar international programs around the world.
As the research activities in the department continue to flourish (currently perhaps the largest recipient of external research funding among all departments in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences), so has education. In the 1990s the Graduate Curriculum in the Department was changed to make room for increased faculty participation at the undergraduate level. The thirteen year-old PhD and MS core course series were dropped and replaced by courses serving the needs of the modern plant pathology students. A specialization within the PhD program was established in Molecular Plant Pathology. The numbers of MS and undergraduate level courses were increased in number in an effort to serve a more diverse audience of upper division undergraduates and beginning graduate students. Faculty members began to teach undergraduate courses on the Minneapolis campus to serve students in the College of Liberal Education. Both classroom-Internet hybrid education and Web-based distance education are under rapid development. Broad advertising of Departmental course offerings within other University units was begun. That had immediate positive impacts on the number of students registering for newly created courses. In addition, faculty members in the Outreach Centers at Crookston and Waseca are participating in the overall teaching activities.
A very important aspect of our recent history is the on-going passing of the baton from our elder faculty members to the young. Dave MacDonald (undergraduate education), Carol Windels (sugar beet diseases) Richard Zeyen (physiology and biochemistry of plant-parasite interactions), Jim Groth (population genetics), Jim Percich (disease management of vegetable crops) and Frank Pfleger (ecology and taxonomy of arbuscular mycorrhizae, extension- outreach in ornamental crops and current Department Head) have served our department immensely during the past three decades. Their experiences, knowledge and active involvement continue to provide the leadership for our new faculty members.
During 2007, Plant Pathology Program at Minnesota will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Faculty and alumni have made it one of the world's most distinguished Departments of Plant Pathology. The Department has proven to be remarkably resilient with a faculty capable of operating in changing agro-business, agro-forestry, governmental and academic environments. The needs of Minnesota have been and are being met, and through efforts to meet those needs, the Department's expertise and knowledge were spread far beyond the state's borders to be used in service to science and humanity worldwide.
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