USDA awards $2.7 million for research into plant pathogens

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded group of colleges, led by Virginia Tech, a $2.7 million grant to conduct research on integrated management of zoosporic pathogens and irrigation water quality. Researchers will look for biological control methods for fighting Phythophthora, Pythium and other pathogens. Researchers will also “develop best management practices to recycle irrigation water safely to protect water quality and improve water use efficiency,” a Virginia Tech press release stated. “We want growers to recycle water, but we don’t want them to recycle pathogens,” said Chuanxue Hong, a professor of plant pathology at the university. Other partners taking part in the study include Pennsylvania State University, the University of Maryland, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, the University of California-Riverside, Rutgers University, and Christopher Newport University.