As a Research Assistant and Field Technician in Lina Quesada’s Vegetable Pathology lab at NC State, Hunter Collins finds great value in helping to find methods to better manage diseases in vegetable crops.
CucCAP Disease Management Team
The Disease Management Team contributions to the CucCAP project include English and Spanish factsheets about cucurbit crop and disease management strategies including images of disease symptoms for crop producers, articles about cucurbit plant pathology, and articles about the team’s research efforts and accomplishments.
Management Strategies of Phytophthora Blight in Cucurbits
The USDA has identified vegetable crops as challenged specialty crops. Cucurbits are important cash crops in the United States. The profitable and sustainable production of cucurbits is severely impacted by the destructive soilborne disease, Phytophthora blight.
Cucumber Disease Survey 2023
CucCAP Agricultural and Resource Economics Extension Specialist Dr. Daniel Tregeagle invites commercial cucumber growers to participate in this 30 minute survey.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Kelly Avila
Kelly Avila is a Post Doctoral Researcher and works with CucCAP Plant Pathologist Dr. Lina Quesada in the Vegetable Pathology Lab at NC State University. She chose to work in the Quasada lab because of the focus on Extension, integrated disease management, and genomics.
CucCAP scientists evaluate disease forecasting models for downy mildew control in cucumber
Cucurbit downy mildew is a major threat for pickling cucumber production requiring frequent fungicide applications.
Disease Survey for Cucumber growers
You are invited to take part in a research study. Your participation in this study is voluntary. You have the right to be a part of this study, to choose not to participate, and to stop participating at any time without penalty. The purpose of this research study is to gain a better understanding of grower’s opinions on cucumber varieties.
CDM confirmed on squash in Johnson County, N.C.
This disease was confirmed on squash in Johnson County, North Carolina on August 25, 2023. Disease incidence was approximately 15% and the affected leaves showed 45% disease severity.
Cucumber field trials 2023
The Vegetable Pathology Lab at NC State conducts field trials each growing season to study plant pathogens, resistance of plant varieties to pathogens, and vegetable disease management strategies. When a field trial is harvested, the crop is weighed, graded, and evaluated for disease damage and marketability.