Leslie Holland, assistant professor and extension specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology, recently received $4.1M in funding for a project titled “Systems approach to managing the expression (same) of cranberry fruit rot,” from the NIFA Speciality Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). The project was among 25 awards that shared $70M in funding.

Project description (from CRIS website): The US leads the world in production of cranberries; unfortunately, 75% of growers that we surveyed reported that cranberry fruit rots (CFR) significantly reduced marketable yields in the last 5 years, and for many, the losses were annual. CFR and associated fruit quality issues are identified as the highest research priority by cranberry growers across all the growing regions. Managing CFR is challenging; >15 fungal species are associated with CFR and there are no modern disease risk models. Some of the newer high-yielding cultivars are highly susceptible to CFR. Only a few classes of fungicides are registered for cranberry, thus resistance management is complex. The current solutions for cranberry fruit rot are centered on preventing infections during the bloom period, and while fungicides sprays are shown to reduce the incidence of fruit rot, in years with heat stress or increased precipitation during berry development, fruit rot emerges as a major issue. In this proposal, we take a multidisciplinary approach to understand and manage CFR. We will vet molecular methods to identify pathogens and monitor pathogen sensitivity to fungicides regionally and at the farm level (Obj. 1). We will evaluate the impact of environmental stressors and fertilizer on fruit chemistry and symptom development (Obj. 2). Genetic resources for CFR resistance and stress tolerance will be identified to guide breeding (Obj. 3). We will develop predictive models for CFR management, examine the economics of CFR management, and distribute tailored solutions to growers throughout the US through extension networks and training (Obj 4).