Research Area

Integrated Pest Management; cultural control tactics.

Description of Research

Integration of cultural tactics into strategies to control both single and multiple pests of potatoes and vegetables has been a research focus for several years. Current research projects emphasize integration of green manures into cropping systems to suppress diseases caused by soilborne pathogens, effects of water deficit stress on the biology of vascular wilt diseases, management of irrigation water to suppress root-infecting and foliar-infecting pathogens, etiology of root/crown of sweet corn and coordination of a North American trial on efficacy of registered and section 18 fungicides for control of late blight on potatoes. The program is a complement of both field and lab studies and has both fundamental and mission oriented objectives.

Research Group Members

Faculty Research Assistants/Associates

Robin Ludy

Graduate Students

Elizabeth Hoinacki (Ph.D. expected 2002)

Courses

BOT 350 Introductory Plant Pathology

BOT 552 Plant Disease Management

Related Publications

Powelson, M.L. and R.C. Rowe. 1993. Biology and management of early dying potatoes. Ann. Rev. Phytopath. 31:111-126.

Cappaert, M.R., M.L. Powelson, N.W. Christensen, W.R. Stevenson and D.I. Rouse. 1994. Assessment of irrigation as a method of managing potato early dying. Phytopathology 84:792-800.

Gaudreault, S.M., M.L. Powelson, N.W. Christensen and F.J. Crowe. 1995. Soil water pressure and Verticillium dahliae interactions on potato. Phytopathology 85:1542-1546.

Ludy, R.L., M.L. Powelson and D.D. Hemphill.1997. Effect of sprinkler irrigation on bacterial head rot and yield of broccoli. Plant Disease 81:614-618.

Arbogast, M., Powelson, M.L., Cappaert, M.R., and Watrud, L.S.1999. Response of six potato cultivars to amount of applied water and Verticillium dahliae. Phytopathology 89: 782-788.

Powelson, M.L. and Inglis, D.A. 1999. Foliar fungicides as protective seed piece treatments for management of late blight of potatoes. Plant Dis. 83:265-268.

Parks, R.L., and Powelson, M.L. 1999. Verticillium wilt of potato in two soil types: Effects of a sudangrass green manure on disease and pathogen populations.Pages xx-xx in: Advances in Verticillium Research and Disease Management. APS Press. St. Paul, MN.

Powelson, M.L. and Inglis, D.A. 1997-present. On-line field guide for potato late blight.