Plant pathologist and entomologist win grant for crop biosecurity training
A plant pathologist and an entomologist at North Carolina State University and collaborators in other states have received a grant to develop a training program to help protect U.S. field crops from bioterrorism.Dr. Gerald Holmes, associate professor of plant pathology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Dr. Ron Stinner, professor of entomology and biomathematics, are lead project directors of an effort to develop a national training program for “first detectors,” or those at the forefront of working with U.S. food crops.
The project received $450,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Research Initiative homeland security program. Other project directors are faculty at Kansas State University and the University of Florida.
The training will build on the success of the National Plant Diagnostic Network, a group of regional centers that track incidents of plant disease and insect infestations. N.C. State is a partner institution with the Southern Plant Diagnostic Clinic based at the University of Florida, a regional NPDN center.
The first detectors program will involve a number of groups – anyone likely to encounter suspected crop bioterrorism – from county Extension agents to private crop consultants to agriculture department employees, Holmes said.
“We want to talk to people in frequent contact with agriculture, including growers,” he said. “Cooperative Extension agents across the country will train growers and others in direct contact with crops.”
Holmes said the Southeast is particularly vulnerable to crop bioterrorism because of its vast agricultural diversity, a favorable environment for pests and diseases to thrive, and ports where exotic pests can enter the ecosystem.
Crop bioterrorism could include a variety of plant diseases or insect infestations that might occur simultaneously. Such an incident would be a blow to the U.S. economy by destroying crops and creating a climate in which other countries would refuse to buy U.S. products.
“It’s very difficult to distinguish between naturally occurring acts (of disease and pest outbreaks) and crop bioterrorism,” Holmes said. “We are running through scenarios to see how long it takes to become aware of outbreaks that could be crop bioterrorism.”
The training will help first detectors understand their role in detection, what to look for and how the chain of command would work in addressing crop bioterrorism, Holmes said. First detectors will learn basic disease diagnosis; secure sample submission; digitally assisted diagnosis; awareness of the NPDN, its mission and how first detectors fit into the detection picture; and plant diseases and insects that pose threats to agriculture.
The training will be developed for a national audience, with some regional and possibly state differences. Holmes said he hopes to use distance education to quickly train large numbers of first detectors.
In July, Extension agents from across the country participated in first detectors educator training held in Florida at the annual meeting of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. These agents will train others in their own states.
Dr. James Moyer, head of N.C. State’s Plant Pathology Department, says the department’s reputation as a national leader in plant disease detection contributed to this grant award. The department is a major player in NPDN and hosts the state’s Plant Disease and Insect Clinic.
Future renovations to the university’s phytotron, an environment for growing plants under controlled conditions, will include a laboratory for the safe study of exotic plant pests. “N.C. State will be one of a handful of institutions with that capability,” Moyer said.
Department researchers have been involved in the study of a number of agents that pose threats to native plants, including Phytophthora ramorum, the cause of Sudden Oak Death. The appearance of such agents can severely limit trade of plants and commodities in affected areas.
Holmes had experience with Karnal bunt, an exotic fungal disease that attacks wheat, while working as a farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension Service in Imperial County, Calif. The discovery of Karnal bunt in the Southwest threatened to shut down the U.S. sale of wheat to other countries.
– Natalie Hampton