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Virginia O. Stockwell
Assistant Professor (Senior Research) Ph.D.,1984, Colorado State University stockwev@science.oregonstate.edu
Office/Lab: USDA Horticultural Crops Research Unit |
Integrated management of bacterial plant diseases with an emphasis in biological control.
My research focuses on utilizing biological control agents as a disease management tool. A guiding tenet of my research is that we can optimize biological control by understanding of the sources of variation in establishment, growth, and activity of antagonists. My model system is the biological control of the bacterial disease fire blight of pear and apple. We documented an increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant isolates of the pathogen Erwinia amylovora in the Pacific Northwest, which has diminished the effectiveness of chemicals for disease control and sparked interest in biocontrol. In field experiments, we evaluated the influence of weather conditions, indigenous microorganisms, orchard management practices, and stress tolerance on the establishment and growth of bacterial biological control agents on pear and apple trees. Using molecular techniques, we are enhancing the antagonistic activity of mixtures of biological control organisms to optimize suppression of fire blight.
BOT 692 Selected Topics in Plant Pathology/ Phytobacteriology
Temple, T.N., Stockwell, V.O., Loper, J.E. and Johnson, K.B. 2004. Bioavailability of iron to Pseudomonas fluorescens A506 on flowers of pear and apple. Phytopathology 94: (accepted).
Anderson, L. M., Stockwell, V. O., and Loper, J. E. 2004. An extracellular protease of Pseudomonas fluorescens inactivates antibiotics of Pantoea agglomerans. Phytopathology 94: (accepted).
Johnson, K.B., Stockwell, V.O. and Sawyer, T.L. 2004. Adaptation of fire blight forecasting to optimize the use of biological controls. Plant Disease 88:41-48.
Stockwell, V.O., Johnson, K.B., Sugar, D., and Loper, J. E. 2002. Antibiosis contributes to biological control of fire blight by Pantoea agglomerans strain Eh252 in orchards. Phytopathology 92: 1202- 1209.
McManus, P. S., Stockwell, V. O., Sundin, G. W., and Jones, A. L. 2002. Antibiotic use in plant agriculture. Annual Review of Phytopathology 40: 443-465.
Stockwell, V. O., Johnson, K. B., and Loper, J. E. 2002. Biological control of fire blight: Understanding interactions among introduced and indigenous microbial communities. Pages 225-239. In: Phyllosphere Microbiology. S. E. Lindow, E. I. Hecht-Poinar, and V.J. Elliot, eds. APS Press, St. Paul, MN.
McManus, P.S. and Stockwell, V.O. 2001. Antibiotic use for plant disease management in the United States. Plant Health Progress Doi:10.1094/PHP-2001-0327-01-RV.
Stockwell, V. O., McLaughlin, R. J., Henkels, M. D., Loper, J. E., Sugar, D. and Roberts, R. G. 1999. Epiphytic colonization of pear stigmas and hypanthia by bacteria during primary bloom. Phytopathology 89:1162-1168
Johnson, K. B. and Stockwell, V. O. 1998. Management of fire blight: A case study in microbial ecology. Annual Review of Phytopathology 36:227-248.
Stockwell, V. O., Johnson, K. B., and Loper, J. E. 1998. Establishment of bacterial antagonists of Erwinia amylovora on pear and apple blossoms as influenced by inoculum preparation. Phytopathology 88: 506-513.
