Themis Michailides - Dept. Plant Pathology UC Davis
Our laboratory is leading research in fungal fruit tree pathology and is nationally and internationally recognized for the innovative ecological, epidemiological and disease management studies of devastating diseases of fruit crops such as brown rot in stone fruit (population dynamics, epidemiology, fungicide resistance, preharvest and postharvest detection, and disease management), Botrytis gray mold of kiwifruit and pistachio, fig endosepsis and smut, Botryosphaeria of pistachio, almond, and walnut, Alternaria late blight disease of pistachio, Alternaria rot and anthracnose of citrus, and aflatoxin contamination of nut crops (pistachio and almond) and figs. A pioneering contribution of the research in my laboratory was the discovery of resistance mechanisms of Alternaria alternata to strobilurin fungicides and the first in the world to identify the mutations that confer resistance to the carboxamide boscalid. Our research was a pioneer in the detection of fungal latent infections by Monilinia spp., Botrytis cinerea, and Botryosphaeria fungi and the development of practical techniques that are now used commercially by private laboratories to help California and worldwide growers to make decisions in disease management. The most recent pioneering accomplishment was the registration of the atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus strain AF36 in pistachio in 2012 to reduce aflatoxin contamination. About 73,000 acres of pistachios were treated with AF36 in 2012 for the first time. Subsequently, 150,000 acres and more than 250,000 were treated in each year from 2013 through 2023. In addition, Michailides’ lab research has contributed to the registration of a second biocontrol agent, Afla-Guard, for the reduction of aflatoxin contamination. Currently, we are studying the population dynamics of Alternaria resistant strains among pistachio orchards, the management of black heart disease of pomegranate, and the causes and factors that contribute to ochratoxin contamination in pistachios. In the last 4 years or so, we are trying to reduce mold in walnuts that became a problem for growers of walnuts in California.
