Overview

Research is focused on endophytic plant symbionts in the genus Trichoderma and on development of systems and processes for environmental remediation and for improved horticultural practices

Research Focus

The foci deal with the following, in bullet form.

1. Specific strains of fungi in the genus Trichoderma colonize roots and become endophytic plant symbionts. They have the abilities to:
   1. Change systemically gene and protein expression in plants—they reprogram plants to become more efficient. This results in:
      1. Increased resistance to plant diseases even in leaves.
      2. Increased resistance of plants to abiotic stresses such as drought, salt and temperature. They do this by enhancing the abilities of plants to cope with stress by enhancing pathways that limit the accumulation of toxic reactive oxygen species.
      3. Enhanced abilities of plants to use nitrogen fertilizer more efficiently. This can result in fertilizer savings of up to 50%, which is very helpful in food security in developing countries and in reducing N pollution in air and water.
      4. Enhanced plant photosynthetic efficiency, especially under stressful conditions.
   2. We are concurrently developing practices and uses of the strains in commercial agriculture and identifying specific genes and pathways involved in these processes.
2. We are developing processes for environmental remediation that use dried bovine manure as the active ingredient to accomplish:
   1. Oil spill cleanup on land and water, including the Gulf of Mexico.
   2. Removal of hydrogen sulfide from biogas for energy production, in water treatment plants and the like: such systems are essential for bioenergy production.
   3. Removal of toxic heavy metals from polluted water.
3. We are integrating Trichoderma with other technologies for horticultural applications including:
   1. Easy and light weight products for home gardeners that contain manure or mushroom composts.
   2. Enhanced and improved organic fertilizers for home and commercial use.
   3. Pad constructs containing manure or other plant nutrients in a fiber envelope for:
      1. Living walls
      2. Living roofs
      3. Weed free home gardening
      4. Better biodegradable row covers to replace black plastic

Outreach and Extension Focus

All of the technologies just described are rapidly being tested in commercial systems and are being manufactured and sold. These Companies products have very high societal advantages and result in jobs and economic advantages to NY, national and internationally. The use of manure as a major product enhances agriculture by providing an alternative use for this material as opposed to land spreading. Several of the Companies are located in the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park in Geneva. A private lab funded by the Companies is located there as well, and I expect to reduce my time commitment at Cornell to spend more time directing these private lab activities. The blend of University and commercial research and development is much more efficient than either one alone.

Additional Links

• CV
• CV (short)
• Selected publications (.pdfs)
• Link to CALS Research portal
• Link to CALS Impact statements

Return to the faculty list for the Department of Horticulture

[top]