We study how pathogen epidemics develop in corn, soybean, small grains, and alfalfa under New York conditions, using multi-location trials to quantify disease progress, yield loss, and the performance of fungicides, seed treatments, and biologicals. This work spans foliar, ear, seedling, and insect‑vectored diseases, with an emphasis on comparative performance across control methods and environments.
Our group studies the ecology and epidemiology of mycotoxin‑producing fungi, especially Fusarium species, in silage and grain corn. We couple field trials, environmental data, and mycotoxin profiles to understand when and where risk is highest, and how agronomic practices and host resistance shape that risk for growers and grain buyers.
We apply genomic and bioinformatic pipelines to characterize populations of field crop pathogens. Our work includes tracking lineages, estimating diversity, and detecting signatures of fungicide resistance, using samples from sentinel plots, nurseries, and surveillance networks in New York State and beyond.
The lab tests and refines new detection and sensing tools, from sequencing‑based diagnostic workflows to autonomous vehicle data collection, for their ability to capture spatial and temporal patterns of disease and inoculum. We evaluate how these tools can quantify pathogen populations, support risk modeling, and improve management of field crop diseases.
