|
Southern
Division
|
Southern
Division APS Outstanding Plant Pathologist Award
2004
Dr. Thomas A. Kucharek
University of Florida
| Thomas A. Kucharek, a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida since 1970 has been responsible for extension and research programs for agronomic and vegetable crops across the state. He has made many valuable contributions to plant pathology and to disease control for Florida growers throughout his career. He determined that Exerohilum rostratum caused stalk rot of corn. Previously it was believed that stalk rot associated with the southern corn leaf blight epidemic was caused by Bipolaris maydis. He developed a profitable fungicidal spray program for wheat using aircraft. He was the first to discover soilborne wheat mosaic virus in Florida and identified resistant cultivars over three decades of research. Dr. Kucharek produced the first integrated systems disease control program for soybeans in Florida. He determined that soybean seed treatments with chloroneb significantly reduced Rhizoctonia blight, which significantly increased yields. |
 |
Dr. Kucharek associated blue mold with rain events and overhead irrigation. He demonstrated that metalaxyl suppressed blue mold and black shank of tobacco, which contributed to the first national label for that fungicide. He demonstrated that Actigard suppressed blue mold of tobacco and again provided data that contributed to its first national label. He demonstrated that tomato spotted wilt virus also was suppressed by Actigard. Finally, he demonstrated that iprodione reduced sore shin of tobacco caused by Rhizoctonia solani. This reduced late season lodging and improved mechanical harvesting.
Dr. Kucharek was the first to demonstrate the importance of crop rotation in managing peanut leaf spot. He developed a predictive model for peanut yield based on disease progress curves of peanut leaf spot. His system was used for years by IPM scouts in the southeastern U.S. He developed the first economic spread sheet for different fungicide spray programs that related dollars returned for dollars expended for disease control. He identified fungal communities in roots, pods, and pegs of peanut. He demonstrated that late leaf spot resistance was due to reduced and delayed sporulation by the fungus. He helped discover that more effective peanut leaf spot control was obtained by reducing spray pressures which reduced drift and was economical in that growers required fewer tank refills.
Dr. Kucharek recently determined that coat-protein mediated transgenic resistance squash cultivars and cultivars with Mendelian resistance to several viruses are valuable for spring plantings but succumb to papaya ringspot virus type W in the fall. He was instrumental in publishing a color pamphlet displaying various symptoms of watermelon fruit blotch that also listed control tactics useful for seed companies, transplant producers, and watermelon growers. Finally, he demonstrated that strains of Didymella bryoniae, causal agent of gummy stem blight, in Florida were resistant to benomyl and azoxystrobin.
Other contributions
include the building of the University of Florida Plant Disease Clinic earlier
in his career. Dr. Kucharek incorporated cutting edge technologies and research
techniques for making diagnoses. In the early 1970's he used selective media
for Pythium and Phytophthora spp. and microscopic examination
of cellular inclusions for viral infections. In the latter 1970's he used tobacco
hypersensitivity and other techniques to identify bacteria. In the new millennium,
Dr. Kucharek is in the forefront of the clinic 'Distance Diagnostic Identification
System.'
Dr. Kucharek has published results of his research extensively in referred journals as well as presentations at meetings. He has authored numerous extension fact sheets, plant protection pointers, extension manuals and circulars, and farm magazine articles over the years. Dr. Kucharek is sole author of the Florida Plant Disease Management Guide (2000), one of the premier Extension Plant Disease Control Guides in the world.
Dr. Kucharek has been recognized in numerous ways for his contributions. He received the Florida Association County Agricultural Agents Outstanding Specialist Award, the American Horticultural Society Extension Publication Award, the Southern Region Extension Publication Award, the IFAS Jim App Award for Outstanding Design Team for Vegetable Production and IPM, the University of Florida Extension, Florida First Enhancement Award, the University of Florida Professorial Excellence Award, the IFAS Interdisciplinary Research Team Award and the APS Excellence in Extension Award. He has served as President, Secretary, and Newsletter Editor of the Florida Pathological Society, and President of Southern Division of APS. He has served on the editorial board of Plant Disease and other APS committees.
Southern Division is pleased to recognize Dr. Thomas Kucharek with the Outstanding Plant Pathologist Award.