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Lab focuses on addressing emerging forest diseases
Work includes addressing oak wilt in Michigan
Michigan trees and the native and invasive diseases that attack them are at the center of research performed by Monique Sakalidis, MSU professor in the departments of Forestry and Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences.
Sakalidis
Her lab develops molecular tools that identify pathogens within a few hours, a process that could take weeks using traditional methods. She works closely with the plant and pest diagnostic labs at MSU and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) to move these tools into application.
While she studies exotic pathogens, Sakalidis is also concerned with native pathogens that are becoming empowered by stress and climate change.
MSU researcher working to address emerald ash borer
Emerald Ash Borer
Researchers didn’t see emerald ash borer (EAB) coming when it first appeared in Michigan in 2002, and the spread has been devastating killing tens of millions of ash trees in Michigan. The troublesome beetle most likely entered the U.S. through wood crating and/or pallets used to ship cargo from Asia and has led to a full-blown plant health emergency.
Deborah McCullough, MSU forest entomology professor, has worked with other researchers, technicians and students on EAB population dynamics, spread, impacts and control.
McCullough
“We collected tree rings across a 5,800 square mile area in southeast Michigan and found that emerald ash borer had arrived in the Detroit metro area near Westland and Garden City by at least the early 1990s, but it wasn’t discovered until 2002,” she said. “EAB is now in 35 states, five Canadian provinces and is considered the most destructive and costly forest insect t