MSPB-Funded Research Fellow Studies Solutions to Soybean Disease

Fellowship recipient hopes charcoal rot research will benefit Mississippi farmers 

CANTON (September 17, 2013) – With classes back in session at Mississippi State University (MSU), the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board (MSPB) is investing in possible solutions to a major soybean yield robber as well as the education of a student who could be bringing production solutions to Mississippi soybean farmers long into the future.

MSPB recently awarded the Blaine Doctoral Fellowship to Tessie Wilkerson, a Ph.D. candidate at MSU, who plans to study the incidence of charcoal rot in soybeans and possible solutions to the disease.

“I see this fellowship as a tremendous opportunity,” said Wilkerson. “I’m glad the board made the decision to work with me, and I hope my research will be very beneficial to soybean farmers when it is complete.”

Charcoal rot is a soilborne fungal disease that favors hot and dry conditions, like those often found during summers in Mississippi. Because the disease can cause detrimental economic losses for soybean farmers in the state, Wilkerson hopes her research will shed some light on the disease and how farmers can minimize those losses. She plans to test how the addition of nutrients to the soil may prevent or lessen the damage caused by the disease.  

Although she spent the last several years working with plant diseases in a different role, Wilkerson says she has always harbored a long-term goal of receiving her Ph.D. “I always knew that if I went back to school, it would be to study plant diseases,” Wilkerson said.  

MSPB named the fellowship in honor of Alan Blaine, Ph.D., the former state soybean specialist with the MSU Extension Service, to recognize his many years of service to the state’s soybean farmers.

MSPB recognizes the importance of public research to the success of the soybean industry in the state, as well as the need to train and retain qualified researchers within the university system. For this reason, MSPB continues to support the educational development of soybean scientists, especially in the area of production agronomy. Fellowships provided by MSPB are designed to attract high-quality candidates who plan to focus their research careers in the soybean field.

Wilkerson began coursework in late August and plans to complete her Ph.D. in plant pathology. She hopes to continue to work in the Mississippi Delta after she completes her degree.  

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