Horticulture Specialist Dr. Emran Ali and an interdisciplinary team have been awarded a $6 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative.
The four-year grant will assist efforts to lessen the risks posed by common vegetable pests, particularly Phytophthora blight, which threatens the vegetable industry in the United States.
The project will be led by the project director and Professor Dr. Soum Sanogo at New Mexico State University. Researchers from various institutions nationwide will assist with the project including the University of Illinois, University of Florida, University of Arizona, Texas A&M University, and Rutgers University. Together, the team will work to develop a comprehensive system-based approach to combat diseases prevalent in high-value vegetable crops such as peppers, cucurbits, and more.
“The grant provides us with a unique opportunity to address the challenges faced by the vegetable industry,” said Ali. “Our collective goal is to develop disease-resistant varieties, explore the genetic diversity of the pathogen, and devise novel detection methods for soil and water.”
Phytophthora blight causes extensive damage, including fruit and root rot, rapid wilting, and eventual plant demise in a wide array of vegetables and fruits, including melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, snap beans, lima beans, and others. It poses risks in nearly every state, making it the biggest threat to the vegetable industry in the U.S.
In addition to their research efforts, the team will engage in outreach activities targeted towards producers. They aim to share findings and establish wider adoption of effective disease management practices. Through on-farm experiments, demonstrations, field days, workshops, producer meetings, and conferences, the team will ensure that the knowledge gained from this project is translated into actionable recommendations.
This effort is a step towards securing the vegetable industry’s sustainability and resilience against the challenges posed by common vegetable pests.
