Foxtail barley found to be host for fungal pathogens of barley
Steffenson Lab research has found that foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum) serves as an alternate host for fungal pathogens of cultivated barley.
Malvick talks red crown rot on Minnesota Public Radio
Professor Dean Malvick talked with MPR correspondents about this disease appearing in Minnesota soybean this year.
Fungal secrets of a sunken ship
Ninety-eight years underwater did a lot of structural damage to Civil War sunken ship the Cairo. In collaboration with Terra Mare Conservation and the Vicksburg National Military Park, Blanchette and Ben Held are using wood microbiology and pathology skills to diagnose this ailing ship.
Now on WCCO News: More "plant destroyer" water mold species discovered in Minnesota"
This story and video, put out by WCCO News (CBS), highlights the outcomes of Phytophtora in Minnesota's outdoor spaces.
Beating buckthorn: researchers identify fungal pathogens with biocontrol potential
Harnessing fungi’s ability to selectively kill buckthorn plants could provide the solution to control this invasive shrub, without relying on chemicals.
Wilt Watch: Ranjan Lab members publish first report of Verticillium dahliae race 3 in Minnesota
A first report made by Ranjan Lab members confirms that fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae race 3 has been discovered in Minnesota.
Featured in the Pioneer Press: U researchers plant “survivor” trees at Boutwell’s Landing in hopes of defeating Dutch Elm disease
The planting of "survivor" Dutch Elm trees features tree health and Dutch Elm Disease research from Ben Held and Blanchette Lab colleagues.
Changing microbial communities: how excluding foliar fungi impacts plant growth and soil microbiome
How does removal of fungi impact plant growth and rhizosphere diversity in perennial grasslands? Professor Linda Kinkel, postdoc Brett Lane, and colleagues looked into it.
Potato power: testing potential enhancements to soil microbiome of potato
The diversity of soil microbes around a growing plant can meaningfully impact that plant’s fitness in a number of ways, including nutrient uptake, yield, and disease resistance. Scott Klasek, Linda Kinkel, and colleagues from SWAC and other institutions characterized 1,824 potato soil microbiomes from 456 plots in the eight field sites across the continental USA, surfacing valuable insights on ties between management, microbiome, and yield.
Something fishy about this fungus: exotic underwater fungus reaches the US on aquarium wood
Mysterious black growths on submerged decorative wood from freshwater aquariums in the states of Minnesota and Colorado were revealed to be Xylaria apoda, a fungus not previously reported in the United States.
Harnessing Plant Defensins to Combat Alfalfa Crown Rot
While all plants have ways of protecting themselves against disease, former Plant Pathology Ph.D. student Andrew Sathoff is researching ways to enhance alfalfa’s natural defense system to combat a complex disease. Read more >>
Ensuring Soybean Yields by Screening for Resistance to Fusarium Graminearum
Marissa Scherven, a former Plant Pathology undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Jim Kurle’s lab, is looking for resistance to Fusarium graminearum in soybean, in order to prevent disease problems in farmer’s fields before they affect soybean yield. Read more >>
Informing What Is Grown in High Tunnels
Helping growers protect high tunnel tomatoes in Minnesota and the Midwest is the research topic of former Plant Pathology graduate student Lillian Garber. Learn more about how Garber's research protects the highest value crop grown in high tunnels in Minnesota. Read more >>
Using Microbes to Create Healthier Plants
By trying to disentangle the reasons plants in native prairies have been able to evade significant disease in the prairie, are there important lessons that can be applied to agriculture to create healthier, more productive plants? Linda Kinkel and her research team are trying to find ways to harness microbes indigenous to Minnesota's native prairies by using them to create disease suppressive soils. Read more >>
Helping Minnesota Hops Grow
As the microbrewery industry in the state of Minnesota continues to expand each year, brewers are looking to hop producers near home to provide sustainable and high-quality hops. In order to meet this growing demand, Angela Orshinsky, assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, and her research team are working with hop producers throughout the state to provide answers to the many hops management questions that past research has not yet answered for local producers. Read more >>
Evaluating a Reemerging Threat to Corn
First confirmed in Minnesota in 2009, this Goss's wilt is a concern for researchers like former graduate student Blake Webster because of its potential to reduce corn yields by as much as 50 percent. While there are current recommendations for disease control measures, Webster is taking a holistic, three-pronged approach to learn more about this disease and discover additional methods of disease management. Read more >>
Classifying Fungal Diversity
Trying to find a needle in a haystack can seem like an insurmountable task, but imagine attempting to find 100 needles in 100 haystacks. This is a more apt description of the task that faces Josh Kielsmeier-Cook. Josh, a former Ph.D. student in the Department of Plant Pathology advised by Bob Blanchette, is currently studying fungi in Yasuní National Park in Ecuador, where there are not only 100 needles, but 100 unique needles that need to be classified and cataloged. Read more >>