Research initiatives to understand plant disease challenges in diverse urban and controlled systems: surveys, collaborations, and connections.
Kashyap’s U-CEP Lab actively conducts a series of comprehensive surveys across various urban and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems to better understand the unique plant disease challenges faced by growers. Alongside surveys, the lab’s projects focus on characterizing microbial communities, assessing risks, studying the impact of environmental stressors on pathogen dynamics, and developing integrated disease management solutions. These efforts aim to bridge knowledge gaps and create practical tools for growers in urban and CEA settings. Conducted regularly in collaboration with UGA Extension, the surveys form the foundation for building meaningful connections with stakeholders in urban and CEA agriculture. By gathering data from diverse systems, U-CEP Lab aims to create actionable insights and solutions that address plant disease challenges while supporting the broader goal of sustainable urban agriculture. The research strategies of the lab are designed in a way to help generate educational resources to empower local gardeners, practitioners, growers, and emerging startups to implement effective disease management strategies. U-CEP lab hopes to foster community engagement and help achieve an overall goal of providing healthy food from farm to fork.
Survey and Monitoring:
Hydroponic, Aeroponic, and Aquaponic Controlled Environments
Controlled environment systems vary in their structure and production methods, ranging from nutrient film techniques, deep water cultures, grow bags, Dutch/Bacto buckets, to vertical farms and tower farms. These facilities can operate as hydroponic, aeroponic, or aquaponic systems, depending on the setup. Unique plant disease challenges arise due to the distinct microclimates in these controlled environments. The lab aims to identify the specific plant pathogens affecting crops, such as leafy greens, tomatoes, and herbs, within these highly controlled settings and develop integrated disease management strategies.
Hoop Houses, High Tunnels, and Greenhouses
The lab also closely works with and conducts surveys in high tunnel systems, hoop houses, and traditional greenhouse production facilities, where unique plant disease challenges emerge in seedling production, vegetable transplant greenhouses, and organic high tunnels. This initiative aligns with the lab’s focus on generating site and system specific information on plant diseases and then develop management strategies.
Community Gardens, Rooftops, and Greenways
In addition to more technical and commercial systems, U-CEP Lab actively engages with community gardens, rooftop farms, kitchen gardens, food forests, and other urban and rural settings. The focus is on addressing the challenges faced by master gardeners, NGOs, homeowners, and local growers and helping them gain skills to identify diseases and adopt preventative strategies.
Project Interests: In the Pipeline
Characterization of fungal and oomycete communities across CEA system in Georgia and South: This research seeks to identify and analyze the diverse microbial populations present in various CEA settings. By investigating the composition and dynamics of these communities, the lab aims to uncover patterns in pathogen distribution, epidemiology, etiology, and interactions, providing valuable insights into how different production environments influence disease development. This work is critical for understanding the microbial landscape within CEA systems and will inform the development of more effective, tailored disease management strategies to improve plant health and productivity in urban and controlled agriculture.
Risk assessments and development of best management practices for disease prevention in CEA systems: A comprehensive examination of phytopathogenic hazards and risks in complex CEA systems is essential as it provides a valuable framework for identifying and addressing critical control points (CCPs) in the production process that pose contamination risks as well as guide the development of targeted management strategies. The lab focuses on developing science-driven, tailored BMPs that address the unique challenges of various CEA systems. The aim of the developed practices is to minimize pathogen introduction, reduce the risk of disease spread, and enhance overall plant resilience.
Evaluating the Impact of Environmental Stressors on Pathogen Dynamics in CEA Systems: Environmental stressors, such as temperature, humidity, light intensity, and nutrient imbalances, can significantly influence the behavior and virulence of plant pathogens in CEA systems. The lab aims to explore how these stressors affect the development and spread of fungal, oomycete, and bacterial pathogens across various CEA systems. By assessing the environmental factors and pathogen distribution within these systems, the lab is working to develop tailored disease management strategies that can help optimize crop production, reduce disease incidence, and improve overall plant health.
Development of Integrated Applied Disease Management Solutions for CEA Systems: Key components of these integrated strategies include early disease detection, the use of biocontrol agents, optimizing growing conditions to reduce pathogen stress, and applying biorational pesticides when necessary.