News Archive
Tomato pathogen genome may offer clues about bacterial evolution at the dawn of agriculture. April 24, 2008
Plant scientist leads study on genomics of parasitic plants. February 7, 2008
Scientists to study high-risk plant pathogen using small, unmanned aircraft. January 24, 2008
Researchers step up efforts to monitor crop-killing soybean disease.
August 16, 2007
NEWSS Collegiate Weed Science Contest. July 31, 2007
The purpose of the Northeastern Collegiate Weed Science Contest is to provide an educational experience from which students in Northeastern universities can broaden their applied skills in weed science. The contest provides an opportunity for weed science students to meet and talk with each other, be exposed to researchers from other universities and industry, and apply what they have learned. It is also hoped that the contest will increase the visibility of weed science and intensify the interest level of those participating in the discipline of weed science.
Small, self-controlled planes combine plant pathology and engineering. June 11, 2007
Virginia Tech Scholar of the Week April 9, 2007
The Office of the Vice President for Research recognizes Pat
Phipps,
professor of plant pathology, for his research to minimize pesticide
inputs and their impact on workers and the environment, while maximizing
yields and profits for Virginia farmers.
Dr. Phipps, who is based at the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension
Center, was instrumental in developing and implementing a Leaf Spot Advisory
program that reduced the use of fungicides on peanut crops. He has collaborated
in the use of transgenic plants to provide disease resistance. He was
first to find soybean rust in Virginia through his monitoring of sentinel
plots.
He was named to the inaugural Farm Press Publications Researchers Hall
of Fame in 2006. Phipps was cited for developing plant disease forecasting
models that have saved Virginia growers millions of dollars each year.
He also is helping peanut growers rebound from drastic cuts in acreage
due to rising production costs.
PPWS faculty and colleagues in Virginia Cooperative Extension host a blog during a recent outreach trip. Marth 19, 2007
Asian soybean rust was found for the first time in Virginia on Oct 18, 2006. In the following weeks, the pathogen was confirmed in 17 Virginia counties. Fortunately, it arrived well after the soybean crop had passed through all vulnerable stages. The soybean rust pathogen does not survive freezing temperatures and cannot overwinter in Virginia. Any occurrences in 2007 will have to come from new introductions from areas further south. For further information, see http://www.ppws.vt.edu/ipm/soybeanrust/index.htm
Grabau Named Virginia Tech Scholar of the Week. September 18, 2006
The Office of the Vice President for Research recognizes plant scientist Elizabeth Grabau for engineering disease resistance in peanuts and engineering soybeans with improved phosphorus availability so that livestock waste will not pollute waterways.
Grabau named head of the Department Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science
By Lori Greiner from Virginia Tech News
March 16, 2006
Elizabeth A. Grabau, of Blacksburg, Va., will become the new head of the Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, effective April 10.
“We are pleased to have Dr. Grabau serve in this leadership role within the college. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of her plant science research gives her an excellent foundation to lead this diverse department,” said Sharron Quisenberry, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“I look forward to helping our department enhance its programs including its collaborative and interdisciplinary research activities,” said Grabau when commenting on her appointment. “I also hope to strengthen ties between our on-campus faculty and faculty at the Agricultural Research and Extension Centers. Increased interaction between these groups will help to foster new research and outreach possibilities, enhance the mentoring process, boost teaching expertise, and provide innovative programs that will benefit agriculture in the Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond.”
A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 1990, Grabau’s research focus is in the area of plant biotechnology, with particular interests in crop improvement. Her current research projects include modifying soybean for improved phosphorus and nutrient availability, as well as biotechnology approaches to enhance disease resistance in peanuts.
She has taught multiple undergraduate and graduate courses in molecular biology and biotechnology. In addition to supervising graduate students and postdoctoral associates, she also has provided research opportunities to 20 undergraduate students in her laboratory.
Grabau was one of eight women faculty members to participate in the AdvanceVT Leadership Development Program, supported by the National Science Foundation, in 2005.
Prior to coming to Virginia Tech, Grabau was a research associate at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics. She also conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Utah. Grabau received her bachelor’s degree form Purdue University and her doctorate degree from the University of California at San Diego.
Ranked 11th in agricultural research expenditures by the National Science Foundation, Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers students the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s leading agricultural scientists. The college’s comprehensive curriculum gives students a balanced education that ranges from food and fiber production to economics to human health. The college is a national leader in incorporating technology, biotechnology, computer applications, and other recent scientific advances into its teaching program.
Erik Stromberg appreciation lunch. Friday, April 7, 2006
Hagood Named Virginia Tech Scholar of the Week. Monday, March 6, 2006
The Office of the Vice President for Research recognizes Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science professor Scott Hagood, whose research involves elucidation of mechanisms of herbicide resistance in various weeds of Virginia's agronomic crops, and development of alternative control strategies.
Phipps named to Farm Press Publications Researchers Hall of Fame. February 16, 2006
Pat
Phipps, professor of plant pathology at Virginia Tech's Tidewater Agricultural
Research and Extension Center, was named to the inaugural Farm Press
Publications Researchers Hall of Fame. Phipps was cited for developing
plant disease forecasting models that have saved Virginia growers millions
of dollars each year. He also is helping peanut growers rebound from
drastic cuts in acreage due to rising production costs. Farm Press Publications
honored 10 researchers this first year to provide greater recognition
to scientists who devote their careers to improving the lives of farmers.
The scientific discoveries made by these researchers have kept American
farmers in the forefront of technology.
Asian Soybean Rust. August 11, 2005
Erik Stromberg, interim head of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Plant
Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science, retrieves a trap sample at the Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Warsaw that will warn of Asian Soybean Rust, a crop-devastating fungus growers are looking out for this planting season. The devices are in one of the “sentinel” fields planted to gather information as early as possible to provide warning to the state’s soybean producers.
(Spring 2006) Virginia Tech researchers will be on alert again for the spread of Asian Soybean Rust in 2006, because there may be more overwintering rust in Gulf Coast states this year compared to last year, and the fungus is easily spread by wind-borne spores.
John Willis, research associate in plant pathology, physiology, and weed science, was the highest scoring individual for two years in a row at the Northeastern Weed Science Society Collegiate Weed Contest. The most recent competition, the 2005 contest, was held in Pennsylvania and attended by 45 graduate and undergraduate students, representing eight northeastern universities. The Virginia Tech team placed third.