February 27, 2014
Craig Webb to present lecture on how plant pathogen diagnostics support domestic programs regulated by the USDA
Submitted by Stephanie Alvord-Albanese
Craig Webb, adjunct faculty in plant pathology, will present "The Role of the Domestic Identifier-Plant Pathologist Laboratory: How Plant Pathogen Diagnostics Support Domestic Programs Regulated by the USDA" at 3:45 p.m. Feb. 27, in 4031 Throckmorton Hall.
The lecture's abstract:
The mission of USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service is to protect the health and value of American agriculture and natural resources from the ubiquitous threat of pests and diseases. Within APHIS, the Plant Protection and Quarantine unit oversees plant health issues internationally, at U.S. ports-of-entry, and domestically. A cadre of five USDA-APHIS-PPQ scientists, ‘Domestic Identifiers’, perform insect identification and plant disease diagnostics on detections from domestic survey activities across the country. One of the two PPQ Domestic Identifier-Plant Pathology Laboratories has been housed in the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University since 2004. The activities of this Laboratory, and the variety of interesting diseases it receives, will be highlighted throughout the seminar. Information on careers in USDA-APHIS will also be provided.