CALIFORNIA RANKS FIRST NATIONALLY IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTION, LOCATED PRIMARILY IN CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL VALLEY, RESULTING IN ANNUAL SALES OF OVER SIX BILLION DOLLARS WITHIN THE STATE. SOUTHERN BLIGHT, CAUSED BY THE FUNGAL PATHOGEN SCLEROTIUM ROLFSII, IS AMONG THE MOST DAMAGING DISEASES IN THESE CROPPING SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL VALLEY, AND IT IS A SIGNIFICANT YIELD LIMITING DISEASE IN WARM PRODUCTION AREAS AROUND THE WORLD. DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTHERN BLIGHT IS FAVORED BY TEMPERATURES ABOVE 90 °F, MOIST SOIL CONDITIONS, AND DENSE CROP CANOPIES. AS AVERAGE SPRING AND SUMMER TEMPERATURES INCREASE DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, DISEASE OUTBREAKS ARE BECOMING MORE FREQUENT AND SEVERE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNTIES. MANAGEMENT OF SOUTHERN BLIGHT IS A CHALLENGE FOR GROWERS. CURRENT FUNGICIDE APPLICATION TIMINGS AND AVAILABLE FUMIGANTS HAVE LIMITED EFFICACY, AND A LARGE RANGE OF CROPS (OVER 500) ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE DISEASE.DEVELOPMENT OF A PREDICTIVE SOUTHERN BLIGHT RISK MODEL IS CRITICAL TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES, BOTH BY INFORMING GROWERS OF THEIR SOUTHERN BLIGHT RISK AND BY ENABLING GROWERS TO APPLY FUNGICIDES AT AN OPTIMAL TIMING TO PREVENT INFECTIONS. IN ORDER TO BETTER PREDICT THE ONSET OF SOUTHERN BLIGHT AND TO IMPROVE MANAGEMENT, WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A STATISTICAL MODEL, BASED ON FUNGAL BIOLOGYAND WEATHER CONDITIONS, TO PREDICT THE RISK OF SOUTHERN BLIGHT DEVELOPMENT IN GROWERS' FIELDS. ADDITIONALLY, WE PLAN TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF CROP ROTATIONS ON DISEASE RISK AND THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF MODEL-BASED FUNGICIDE REGIMENS. RESEARCH WILL BEGIN IN THE SPRING OF 2020 AND WILL FOCUS ON PREDICTING AND MANAGING SOUTHERN BLIGHT IN THE MOST ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CROPS BEING AFFECTED BY THE PROGRESSION OF THE DISEASE: POTATO AND TOMATO. ONCE DEVELOPED, WE WILL TRANSLATE THE MODEL TO A USER-FRIENDLY WEBSITE AND MOBILE APP THAT WILL ALLOW GROWERS TO OPTIMIZE DISEASE CONTROL AND REDUCE UNNECESSARY SPRAYS.

University Of California, Davis

Investigators