Don Huber: Managing Nutrition to Control Plant Disease

In this presentation Dr. Don Huber, editor of the book Mineral Nutrition and Plant Disease, will share insights from his 50 years of research on nutrient-disease interactions in managing nutrition for the control of plant diseases. He will discuss six principles to controlling disease through crop nutrition, specifically nutrient/micronutrient interactions. He will explain the importance of:

Plant efficiency Nutrient availability Plant sufficiency levels Application method & timing Nutrient sources & associated elements Integration with other management practices He will touch on how common herbicides, such as glyphosate, tie up mineral nutrients and facilitate disease attack.Don Huber is professor emeritus of plant pathology at Purdue University. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Idaho, a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College and Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

He was cereal pathologist at the University of Idaho for 8 years before joining the Department of Botany & Plant Pathology at Purdue University in 1971. His agricultural research the past 50 years has focused on the epidemiology and control of soilborne plant pathogens with emphasis on microbial ecology, cultural and biological controls, and physiology of host-parasite relationships. Research also includes nitrogen metabolism, micronutrient physiology, inhibition of nitrification, and nutrient-disease interactions. In addition to his academic positions and research, he is internationally recognized for his expertise in the development of nitrification inhibitors to improve the efficiency of N fertilizers, interactions of the form of nitrogen, manganese and other nutrients in disease, herbicide-nutrient-disease interactions, techniques for rapid microbial identification, and cultural control of plant diseases.

(1 hour, 3 minutes, 22 seconds) Recorded Friday, December 13, 2013