Projects are all of a practical nature and directly applicable to agriculture.
A close association with growers is maintained and field-oriented studies addressing grower problems is encouraged. Our laboratory is dedicated to the study of root ecology and its relationships to root health of important crop plants such as citrus and avocados. Experiments are conducted on a wide range of factors affecting root health, such as pathogen ecology, rhizosphere organisms, biocontrol organisms, nutrient root growth, competition in the rhizosphere, suppressive soils and control of plant disease by cultural methods, resistance, biocontrol and chemical control. Urban and agricultural wastes for use as mulches on avocados and citrus for delivery of microbial biocontrol agents. El-Hamalawi, Z.A. and J.A. Menge.