Disease management of upland/muck vegetables and transplants, ginseng, and greenhouse ornamentals

OBJECTIVES shared among projects: 1. Recruit graduate students to train in agricultural sciences. 2. Evaluate fungicides to manage diseases of vegetables, greenhouse ornamentals and ginseng. 3. Evaluate cultivars for disease resistance.ASPARAGUS: 1. Identify and characterize Fusarium spp. associated with crown and root rot.CELERY: 1. Identify Fusarium spp. and conduct Koch's postulates.CUCURBITS: 1. Test a DM forecasting system. 2. Establish sentinel plots. 3. Monitor the influx of DM spores into MI. 4. Characterize the MI DM pathogen population. 5. Cooperate in participatory plant breeding.GINSENG: 1. Determine if Cylindrocarpon destructans, the rusty root pathogen, occurs on seed. 2. Identify growth regulators that safely reduce seed set.ONION: 1. Determine if Stemphylium leaf blight increases bacterial bulb rot. 2. Test a Stemphylium disease forecaster to time fungicide sprays.GREENHOUSE ORNAMENTALS: 1. Collect Botrytis isolates from different crops and test for resistance to commonly used fungicides.DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS