Extension/Outreach

Extension outreach and engagement are integral to our department.  Extension focus areas include Educational Programming, One Health, and Diagnostics.

Educational Programming

Our Extension faculty and Program Specialists are committed to providing our stakeholders with the best available science, and delivering this information in a way that will improve disease management and public health, enhance product quality and safety, and benefit the environment and our stakeholders.

Our primary approach for outreach and engagement is through our Extension educational programming. Program delivery takes many forms, from distance education (webinars, online courses etc.), social media (Facebook, Twitter etc.) and other online platforms (blogs, program websites etc.), to traditional face-to-face meetings (in-services, grower meetings, field days etc.), factsheets (traditional and interactive) and a variety of printed publications.  Our faculty and state specialists work closely with county Extension educators, independent and company-based crop advisors and consultants, Ohio-based seed companies, agricultural business associations, large producers as well as Plain (i.e. Amish) communities

In addition, we partner with OSU Extension Teams such as the Agronomics Crop Team, Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crop Team, Extension Nursery Landscape and Turf Team (ENLT), and interdisciplinary IPM Center Working Groups such as the Great Lakes Fruit Workers (GLFW), Great Lakes Vegetables, and Great Lakes Hops, and the Greenhouse Industry Roundtable of the Midwest (GIRM).

One Health

A One Health approach brings together diverse disciplines to address the spread of disease, promote health and emphasize the connection among humans, animals, plants and the environment.  Faculty in the department extend knowledge locally, nationally and globally on

1. prevention and control of foodborne pathogens (i.e. Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Norovirus, Shiga-toxin E. coli) and mycotoxins associated with food crops,
2. environmental risk factors that impact agricultural food systems including pesticide stewardship and antimicrobial resistance and
3. good agricultural practices to mitigate preharvest plant disease and food safety risks.

Plant Disease Diagnostics

Accurate diagnosis of plant diseases and insect pests is essential for choosing the right management strategy. Many problems can produce similar symptoms, but their causes, and therefore their treatments, may be very different. Correct identification helps growers and gardeners avoid unnecessary or ineffective pesticide applications, reduce costs, protect beneficial organisms and the environment, and respond before a problem becomes more severe or spreads to other plants. Plant disease diagnostic services are provided across the state to commercial producers and backyard gardeners.  Services are provided by the C. Wayne Ellett Plant Disease and Pest Diagnostic Clinic,CFAES Wooster Campus, Ohio and by commodity specific Specialists located in the Department at the Wooster campus.

Meet Our Extension Specialists

Melanie L. Lewis Ivey Fruit, Hope and Nut Crops Fresh Produce Safety	OSU Fruit Pathology OSU Fruit and Vegetable Safety
Andres Sanabria-Velazquez Vegetable Crops	Vegetable Pathology Lab
Pierce Paul Field Crops	Agronomic Crops Corn Disease
Horacio Lopez Nicora Soybean	Agronomic Crops - Soybean
Francesca Rotondo Plant Diagnostics	C. Wayne Ellett Plant Disease and Diagnostics Clinic