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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #389935
Research Project: Integrated Disease Management of Exotic and Emerging Plant Diseases of Horticultural Crops

Location: Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit

Title: Catching spores: Linking epidemiology, pathogen biology, and physics to ground-based airborne inoculum monitoring

Author
item Mahaffee, Walter - Walt
item MARGAIRAZ, FABIEN - University Of Utah
item ULMER, LUCAS - University Of Utah
item BAILEY, BRIAN - University Of California, Davis
item STOLL, ROB - University Of Utah

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/9/2022
Publication Date: 2/1/2023
Citation: Mahaffee, W.F., Margairaz, F., Ulmer, L., Bailey, B.N., Stoll, R. 2023. Catching spores: Linking epidemiology, pathogen biology, and physics to ground-based airborne inoculum monitoring. Plant Disease. 107(1):13-33. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-21-2570-FE.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-21-2570-FE

Interpretive Summary: Scientists are becoming increasingly interested in detecting the presence of plant pathogens in the air in order to give growers actionable information that aides disease management and optimization of fungicide applications and other disease management practices. To effectively use airborne pathogen monitoring as a decision aide, there is an increasing need to understand how air currents carry pathogens in agriculture and natural environments to optimize sampler deployment and understand what these data represent at the field and larger scales. This overview is intended as brief practical summary of the biophysics of the aerial dispersion of pathogen particles and what to consider when deciding where to locate a sampler. It is based on our experience in developing pathogen monitoring systems in hops, grapes, spinach, and turf, and research into the fluid mechanics governing particle transport in sparse canopies. We present case studies to guide readers in their understanding of how particles move in the complex environments of agricultural fields and to illustrate the limited sampling area of a typical air samplers.

Technical Abstract: The use of airborne inoculum monitoring is becoming of more interest in hopes of giving growers an earlier estimate of disease development in a management unit or region. This information is sought by growers to aid in adapting to changes in the management tools at their disposal and the market driven need to reduce the use of fungicides and cost of production. To effectively use inoculum monitoring as a decision aide, there is an increasing need to understand the fluid mechanics of particle transport in agriculture and natural ecosystems to strategically deploy samplers and interpolate data from inoculum monitoring tools to field and larger scales. This overview is intended as brief practical synopsis of the biophysics of the aerial dispersion of pathogen inoculum and what to consider when deciding where to locate a sampler. It is based on our experience in developing inoculum monitoring system in hops, grapes, spinach, and turf, and research into the fluid mechanics governing particle transport in sparse canopies. We present case studies to guide readers in their understanding of how particles move in the complex environments of agricultural fields and to illustrate the limited sampling area of a typical air samplers.