The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded a $779,000 grant to Cornell AgriTech researchers to combat fire blight, one of the most devastating bacterial diseases for the apple and pear industries.
This fall, Awais Khan and Kerik Cox, associate professors of plant pathology and plant-microbe biology, will start working with collaborators from across the U.S. on a four-year project to develop a comprehensive fire blight management strategy for American fruit growers.
Cox’s goal is to better understand the first stage of the disease, called blossom blight.
“The most critical time period is the blossom phase because the blossom is the pathogen’s first means of entry into the tree,” he said. “Even just a few infected blossoms can lead to complete orchard devastation in a matter of weeks.”
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