The Raudales team conducts applied research on controlled environment agriculture with emphasis on microbial and chemical parameters of water quality that affect plant health and irrigation efficiency. The Raudales team in collaboration with Drs. Lubell-Brand and Berkowitz published the first report of Cannabis wilt and root rot caused by Pythium myriotylium on cannabis in the United States. The CAHNR research team observed that this pathogen can cause >80% disease incidence, resulting in high plant mortality or significant reduction in plant growth. The disease is resistant to two major biofungicides used in the industry. The Raudales team is currently characterizing other pathogenic isolates obtained from a commercial medical marijuana facility and they will further evaluate fungicide resistance and disease control alternatives, which are of direct and immediate need in the industry.

Email: rosa.raudales@uconn.edu

Publications

• Pathogenicity and mefenoxam sensitivity of Pythium, Globisporangium, and Fusarium isolates from coconut coir and rockwool in marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) production, Frontiers in Agronomy, provisionally accepted
  
• First Report of Root Rot and Wilt Caused by Pythium myriotylum on Hemp (Cannabis sativa) in the United States, Plant Disease, October, 2019