The research and education program in my laboratory focuses on the ecology and management of economically important plant diseases, with an emphasis on sustainable agriculture and fruit crops. We have worked primarily on integrated pest management systems, IPM, for apples, strawberries, and grapes. Our recent research has focused on the epidemiology of the sooty blotch/flyspeck disease complex of apples, and development of a forecast model for the disease and alternative methods of disease management. The long-term goal of this work is to develop disease management tools that contribute to more sustainable fruit production systems. Our lab has opportunities for graduate research, and undergraduate research during the school year and in summer.

My home department is the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, and I have an adjunct appointment in the Department of Microbiology. I teach courses in plant pathology, such as "Plant Disease Management and Ecology", and "Plagues: The Ecology of Disease" that covers major human diseases.

Check out our collaboration with Red Tomato at the Eco Apple Program web site. You may also want to look at my full CV, some recent publications, a talk on the Eco Apple work at the 7th International Integrated Pest Management Symposium, and a talk on models that forecast sooty blotch/flyspeck risk at the 9th International IOBC-WPRS Workshop on Pome Fruit Diseases in Belgium.

Contact Information

Daniel R. Cooley
Professor
Plant Disease
Ecology and Management