Kelly L. Ivors

Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist

Appointment: 80% extension, 20% research

B.S. (Bioenvironmental Science), Texas A&M University
M.S. (Plant Pathology), Texas A&M University
Ph.D. (Plant Pathology), The Pennsylvania State University

Activities

General

I am located over 250 miles away from the main campus of NC State at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River, NC.  My program encompasses 80% extension and 20% research responsibilities, and focuses on plant pathogens of the diverse agricultural economy of North Carolina, including ornamentals, Christmas trees, and vegetables in  the western part of the state. The greenhouse and nursery industry ranks third in the state behind only hogs and broilers, and includes over 2000 different commercial crops. The relatively mild winter temperatures combined with the cooler summer temperatures in western NC make it ideal for greenhouse and nursery production. Applied research and education are needed to assist growers in production of these high-value crops in order to enhance the economy of farming. Although the temperature, abundant rainfall, and fertile river bottom soils of this region are highly favorable for production of quality crops, this climate is also conducive to intense disease pressure from numerous economically important plant pathogens.

Extension

Extension activities include diagnosis of plant samples submitted to my lab, publication of spray guides and disease management recommendations for ornamentals, vegetables, and Christmas trees, evaluation of fungicides and cultural control methodologies, and monitoring pathogen populations for the development of fungicide resistance. Detecting fungicide resistance in pathogen populations helps determine the efficacy of future applications and gives growers the opportunity to make better management decisions. Information is disseminated via a variety of formats including the World Wide Web, formal and informal oral presentations, trade and scientific journals, newsletters, workshops, and on-farm visits.

Research

An integral part of producing a profitable crop involves proper disease monitoring and identification, followed by the implementation of management programs that focus on long-term prevention or suppression of pathogens.

Research projects in my lab involve applied and molecular disease diagnostics and pathogen population biology. Many of the pathosystems I investigate involve Phytophthora species, as Phytophthora affects all major crops that I study.

Currently my lab is initiating a state-wide project to survey nurseries and greenhouses for water-dispersed plant pathogens. Our goal is to gain a better understanding of the various systems both greenhouse and nursery growers use to sanitize their irrigation water, as well as gaining a better understanding of the water quality issues facing this industry. We are also conducting similar surveys of forest streams within NC to determine what kinds of pathogens are established in our forests. In addition, I am involved in a collaborative multi-state project involving the development of the Phytophthora database. With the goal of enhancing the ability to detect, diagnose, monitor, and manage Phytophthora diseases, we aim to build a highly integrative system that is centered around a genotype and phenotype database, which is accessible through the Phytophthora Database.

For additional information, go to her Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension web page.

Program Personnel

• Dreama Milks, Agricultural Research Technician
• Chris Holmberg, Field Technician
• Brantlee Richter, Ph.D. student

Selected Publications

• Ivors, K., Abad, Z.G., and Benson, D.M. 2008. Evaluating the pathogenicity of Pythium vexans isolates from Abies fraseri in North Carolina. Plant Health Progress. doi:10.1094/PHP-2008-1006-01-RS.
• Park, J., Park, B., Veeraraghavan, N., Jung, K., Lee, Y.-H., Blair, J. E., Geiser, D. M., Isard, S., Mansfield, M. A., Nikolaeva, E., Park, S.-Y., Russo, J., Kim, S. H., Greene, M., Ivors, K. L., Balci, Y., Peiman, M., Erwin, D. C., Coffey, M. D., Rossman, A., Farr, D., Cline, E., Grünwald, N. J., Luster, D. G., Schrandt, J., Martin, F., Ribeiro, O. K., Makalowska, I., and Kang, S. 2008. Phytophthora Database: A forensic database supporting the identification and monitoring of Phytophthora. Plant Dis. 92:966-972.
• Chandelier, A., Garbelotto, M., Ivors, K. 2006. Validation of a real time PCR method for the detection of Phytophthora ramorum. EPPO Bulletin. In press.
• Tyler, B.M., Tripathy, S., Zhang, X., Dehal, P., Jiang, R., Aerts, A., Arredondo,F.D., Baxter, L., Bensasson, D., Beynon, J.L., Chapman, J., Damasceno, C.M.B., Dorrance, A.E., Dou, D., Dickerman, A.W., Dubchak, I.L., Garbelotto, M., Gijzen, M., Gordon, S.G., Govers, F.G., Grunwald, N.J., Huang, W., Ivors, K.L., Jones, R.W., Kamoun, S., Krampis, K., Lamour, K.H., Lee, M., McDonald, W.H., Medina, M., Meijer, H.J.G., Nordberg, E.K., Maclean, D.J., Ospina-Giraldo, M.D., Morris, P.F., Phuntumart, V., Putnam, N.H., Rash, S., Rose, J.K.C., Sakihama, Y., Salamov, A.A., Savidor, A., Scheuring, C.F., Smith, B.M., Sobral, B.W.S., Terry, A., Torto-Alalibo, T.A., Win, J., Xu, Z., Zhang, H., Grigoriev, I.V., Rokhsar, D.S., and Boore, J.L. 2006. Phytophthora genome sequences uncover evolutionary origins and mechanisms of pathogenesis. Science 313:1261-1266.
• Kang, S., Blair, J.E., Geiser, D.M., Khang, C., Park, S., Gahegan, M., O'Donnel, K., Luster, D.G., Kim, S.H., Ivors, K.L., Lee, Y., Lee, Y., Grunwald, N., Martin, F., Coffey, M.D., Veeraraghavan, N., and Makalowska, I. 2006. Plant Pathogen Culture Collections: it takes a village to preserve these resources vital to the advancement of agricultural security and plant pathology. Phytopathology 96:920-925.
• Hayden, K., Ivors, K., Wilkinson, C., and Garbelotto, M. 2006. TaqMan chemistry for Phytophthora ramorum detection and quantification, with a comparison of diagnostic methods. Phytopathology 96:846-854.
• Ivors, K., Garbelotto, M., De Vries, I., Ruyter-Spira, C., Te Hekkert, B., Rosenweig, N., and Bonants, P. 2006. Microsatellite markers identify three lineages of Phytophthora ramorum in US nurseries, yet single lineages in US Forest and European nursery populations. Molecular Ecology. 15:1493-1505.
• Huberli, D., Ivors, K. L., Smith, A., Tse, J. G., and Garbelotto, M. 2005. First report of foliar infection of Matanthemum racemosum by Phtyophthora ramorum. Plant Dis. 89:204.
• Ivors, K.L. and P.B. Shoemaker. Disease Management. In: 2005 Burley Guide. pp. 85-105.
• Ivors, K.L. , Hayden, K., Bonants, P.J.M., Rizzo, D.M., and Garbelotto, M. 2004. AFLP and phylogenetic analyses of North American and European populations of Phytophthora ramorum. Mycol. Res. 108: 378-392.
• Kong, P., Hong, C.X.., Tooley, P.W., Ivors, K., Garbelotto, M., and Richardson, P.A. 2004. Rapid identification of Phytophthora ramorum using PCR-SSCP analysis of ribosomal DNA ITS-1. Letters Appl. Microbiol. 38:433-439.
• Pinkerton, J. N., Schreiner, R.P., Ivors, K.L., and Vasconcelos, M.C. 2004.  Effects of Mesocriconema xenoplax on Vitis vinifera and associated mycorrhical fungi.  Journal of Nematology 36:193-201.
• Ivors, K. and Beyer, D. 2003. Reviewing the microbiology of commercial mushroom substrate. Mushroom News 51(8): 6-16.
• Hansen, E.M., Reeser, P., Davidson, J.M., Garbelotto, M., Ivors, K., Douhan, L., and Rizzo, D.M. 2003. Phytophthora nemorosa, a new species causing cankers and leaf blight of forest trees in California and Oregon, U.S.A. Mycotaxon 88:129-138.
• Garbelotto, M., Davidson, J. M., Ivors, K., Maloney, P. E., Huberli, D., Koike, S. T., and Rizzo, D. M. 2003. Non-oak native plants are main hosts for sudden oak death pathogen in California. Cal. Ag. 57(1):18-23.
• Pinkerton, J.N., Ivors, K.L., Reeser, P.W., Bristow, P.R., and Windom, G.E. 2002. The use of soil solarization for the management of soilborne plant pathogens in strawberry and red raspberry production. Plant Dis. 86:645-651.
• Peachey, R.E., Pinkerton, J.N., Ivors, K.L., Miller, M.L., Moore, L.W. 2001. Effect of solarization, cover crops, and metham on field emergence and survival of buried annual bluegrass (Poa annua) seeds. Weed Technol. 15:81-88.
• Schreiner, R.P., Ivors, K.L., and Pinkerton, J.N. 2001. Soil solarization reduces arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi as a consequence of weed suppression. Mycorrhiza 11:273-277.
• Ivors, K.L., Collopy, P.D., Beyer, D.M., and Kang, S. 2000. Identification of bacterial microorganisms in mushroom compost using ribosomal RNA sequence. Comp. Sci. Util. 8(3): 247-253.
• Pinkerton, J.N., Forge, T.A., Ivors, K.L., and Ingham, R.E. 1999. Plant-parasitic nematodes associated with grapevines, Vitis vinifera, in Oregon vineyards. J. Nematology 31:624-634.
• Pinkerton, J.N., Johnson, K.B., Stone, J.K., and Ivors, K.L. 1998. Factors affecting the release of ascospores of Anisogramma anomala. Phytopathology 88: 122-128.
• Pinkerton, J.N., Johnson, K.B., Stone, J.K., and Ivors, K.L. 1998. Maturation and seasonal discharge pattern of ascospores of Anisogramma anomala. Phytopathology 88:1165-1173.

Professional memberships

• NC Christmas Tree Association
• Blue Ridge Horticultural Society
• American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
• Mycological Society of America (MSA)
• American Phytopathological Society (APS)

Contact Information

Dr. Kelly L. Ivors
NC State University
Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center (MHCREC)
455 Research Drive
Mills River, NC 28759
Tel: (828) 684-3562 x 143
Fax: (828) 684-8715
Email: kelly_ivors@ncsu.edu