Plant Pathology: Academic Programs: Society of Aspiring Plant Pathologists
Erika Scocco
Email address:
Country of origin:
Penn Hills, PA
Universities attended:
Wingate Univ., B.S., Biology
Univ. of Georgia, M.S., Entomology
Co-Major Professors:
James Buck & Ron Walcott
Project summary:
The presence of rust on floriculture crops can result in unmarketable plants and large monetary losses to growers. Adequate detection methods and proper management strategies must be implemented in a timely manner to minimize infection and spread of the pathogen. In greenhouses, spread of this disease can occur in a short period of time resulting in either crop loss due to quarantine or the need for expensive curative fungicide sprays. My research will utilize geranium rust caused by Puccinia pelargonii-zonalis, as a model system for the detection of rust spores on/in geranium leaves using real-time PCR, and the influence of IPM practices on spread of rust in greenhouse productions.