** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** POTATO EARLY DIE (PED) IS A DISEASE CAUSED BY THE INTERACTION BETWEEN TWO PATHOGENS THAT ARE COMMONLY FOUND IN THE SOIL: THE NEMATODE PRATYLENCHUS PENETRANS AND THE FUNGUS VERTICILLIUM DAHLIAE. WHEN PRESENT, THE DISEASE CAN RESULT IN YIELD LOSSES OF UP TO 50%. THESE TWO PATHOGENS HAVE A WIDE PLANT HOST RANGE AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION, MAKING THEM DIFFICULT TO AVOID. POTATOES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT VEGETABLE CROP WORLDWIDE, AND IN THE US, IT IS GROWN IN MANY STATES, INCLUDING MICHIGAN, WHICH IS THE NUMBER ONE STATE PRODUCER OF CHIP POTATO VARIETIES. POTATO PRODUCTION REQUIRES INTENSIVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, INCLUDING THE ONES INVOLVED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DISEASES. CURRENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR SOIL-BORNE PATHOGENS LIKE PED, SUCH AS SOIL FUMIGATION, CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON THE SOIL BIOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT, AND HUMAN HEALTH, AND WHILE EFFECTIVE, PED REMAINS A DISEASE CONCERN AMONGST POTATO GROWERS. THUS, NEW, EFFECTIVE, AND SUSTAINABLE DISEASE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES ARE NEEDED.OUR PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS CONCLUDED THAT POULTRY MANURE AND A COMPOST BLEND ARE EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING P. PENETRANS POPULATIONS AND IMPROVING POTATO YIELD, AND IN FACT, A FEW POTATO GROWERS HAVE ADOPTED THE ADDITION OF THESE AMENDMENTS INTO THEIR FIELDS. HOWEVER, THE FUTURE OF MANURE-BASED AMENDMENTS FOR DISEASE MANAGEMENT NOT ONLY RELIES ON THE IMMEDIATE NEMATICIDE EFFECT, BUT RATHER ON THE LONG-TERM OUTCOMES, SUCH AS ENHANCEMENT OF SOIL CAPACITY TO PROVIDE PROTECTION TO THE PLANT AGAINST SOIL-BORNE DISEASES LIKE NEMATODES. SUCH ENHANCEMENT IS FOCUSED ON THE MICROBIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY. NONETHELESS, THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THESE MANURE-BASED AMENDMENTS INFLUENCE SOIL BIOLOGY, PLANT RESPONSES AND NEMATODE SUPPRESSION, FALLS SHORT. THEREFORE, OUR RESEARCH FOCUSES ON DETERMINING THE RESPONSE OF SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES AND THEIR ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS AND PLANT REACTION, AND HOW THESE CORRELATES WITH THE REDUCTION OF NEMATODE POPULATIONS. THE RESULTS FROM OUR RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE START POINTS TO IMPROVE CURRENT AMENDMENTS USED IN POTATO CROPPING SYSTEMS TO ENHANCE THE DESIRED MICROBIAL ACTIVITY THAT WILL, FURTHERMORE, PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOIL CAPACITY TO SUPPORT THE PLANT TO OVERCOME DETRIMENTAL PATHOGENS LIKE PED.