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Biorationals and nanoparticles, and secondary metabolites
Biological control: The occurrence of
fungicide-resistant pathogens and the potential adverse effects of
pesticides on the environment require using alternative low-risk
strategies such as biological control agents (BCA) for disease control.Currently, however, BCAs
are not used extensively in integrated disease management programs of
crops.BCAs are wide spread in
the environment and their deployment for controlling crop pathogens
and diseases will reduce exposure of growers and consumers to
chemicals and will mitigate fungicide-associated health and
environmental risks. Our goal is to conduct research on several commerciall and experimental BCAs against major
fungal pathogens.
Secondary Metabolites mining: Several medicinal
plants and microorganisms are rich sources of bioactive compounds.
Although these sources are primarily used for discovering human
medicines, they also hold promise for identifying antimicrobial
compounds that target plant pathogens. In collaboration with
scientists in China, our lab are screening
several traditional chinese medicinal
plants for secondary metabolites that display antimicrobial activity.
Ultimate goal of this project is to
diversify repertoire of chemistries for controlling plant diseases
and to mitigate the impact of appearance of fungicide-resistant
strains of plant pathogens on agriculture.
Synthesis and application of Nanoparaticles
for the control of plant diseases: In this project, we explore various medicinal plants for
the production of nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are then physically
characterized using ultra violet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy,
dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy and
energy-dispersive X-ray(EDX) analysis. Synthesized nanoparicles are then evaluated for control of
plant pathogens in vitro and in planta.
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