A four-year research project led by New Mexico State University aims to significantly reduce the risk of one of the most common plant pathogens in the United States.
Soum Sanogo, a professor of fungal plant pathology at NMSU, received a nearly $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead an interdisciplinary team of more than a dozen researchers from institutions across the country to develop a system-based approach to curb Phytophthora blight in peppers, cucurbits, and other high-value crops.
Phytophthora blight causes fruit rot, root rot, rapid wilting, and plant death in many vegetables and fruits like melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, snap beans, lima beans, and others. It is the biggest threat to the watermelon industry in the United States and poses risks in nearly every state, Sanogo said.
“This is a major disease problem in every state producing vegetables in the United States,” he said. “Outside the U.S., you will find this disease on every continent.”
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