Professor Linda Kinkel is nourishing soil microbiomes (and taking home awards!) with her startup, Jord Bioscience: plpa.cfans.umn.edu/news/jord-93...

Fungus as a control method for invasive buckthorn in Minnesota? It's more likely than you think! See PhD student Ryan Franke's biocontrol development process: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri-R...

Buckthorn Biocontrol with Ryan Franke

YouTube video by University Of Minnesota Dept. Of Plant Pathology

youtube.com

Minnesota's summer this year has been great for sugar-beet growing... and great weather for sugar beet disease Cercospora leaf spot! @mprnews.org www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Minnesota sugar beet growers brace for the possible return of a devastating disease

Minnesota farmers have battled a devastating sugar beet disease for the past two years. Now, they're bracing for its possible return.

mprnews.org

Are you seeing dying black locust tree stands in the upper Midwest? Reach out to the Blanchette Lab using the form in this Wisconsin DNR story: forestrynews.blogs.govdelivery.com/2026/06/10/u...

Thank you to Minneapolis-St Paul Magazine for featuring Colin Peters and lab @forestmycology.bsky.social research into emerald ash borer in Minnesota 🪲 mspmag.com/arts-and-cul...

Has the Emerald Ash Borer Met Its Match?

A new way to eradicate the emerald ash borer beetle has emerged thanks to researchers at the U of M, and the solution could be found in the ash trees themselves.

mspmag.com

🌱 RESEARCH 🌱 No Cost of Resistance in Wheat Gene Stack Lines Containing 10 Stem Rust Resistance Transgenes - Luo et al. 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/pbi.... #plantscience 🧪 @umnplantpath.bsky.social

A burl is a swollen growth on a tree trunk or branch where the grain has grown in a deformed pattern. These growths are caused by stress, injury or viral/fungal infections that disrupt the tree's normal cell growth. This one is in the Boston Common 🌱 🧪 @plantdisease @plantdisease.bsky.social

Plant health is everywhere! Eric Otto (PhD '22), now a DNR forest health specialist, is quoted by @mprnews.org about a surprising intersection between caterpillar outbreaks and forest fires www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...

How a caterpillar native to Minnesota made its forests fuel for wildfires

A native insect called the spruce budworm has killed trees across more than 2,000 square miles of northern Minnesota forests, creating dry tinder fuel in the areas burned by the Camp House and Jenkins...

mprnews.org

Linda Kinkel finds the right soil microbes are the secret to plant health, both in her UMN research and at her startup: twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/... #planthealth #sustainable

When microbes cooperate, crops win

Professor Linda Kinkel discovered how conflict among soil microbes can benefit crops — and founded a company based on her work.

twin-cities.umn.edu

Minnesota has a larger Ash Tree population than any other American state. How are Emerald Ash Borer beetles changing the lives and health of Minnesota's ash populations? plpa.cfans.umn.edu/news/galleries research by @andrewmann.bsky.social @forestmycology.bsky.social funding by NSF

Thank you to the Des Moines Register for honoring Norman Borlaug, perhaps our most famous alumnus! www.desmoinesregister.com/story/life/2...

Iowa History Month: The Iowa roots of a global agricultural legacy

Norman Borlaug’s life reflects the kind of innovation that can grow from Iowa soil and reach far beyond it.

desmoinesregister.com

Decoding the genetic secrets of two of the 21st Century's biggest wheat stem rust epidemics: plpa.cfans.umn.edu/news/spanner...

Four new fungal species discovered during examination of an Eastern larch beetle outbreak by @forestmycology.bsky.social @andrewmann.bsky.social plpa.cfans.umn.edu/news/elb-lar...

Scientists testing fungi to protect Minnesota's one billion ash trees: new from @mprnews.org @forestmycology.bsky.social www.mprnews.org/episode/2025... #fungifriends #mycology

Scientists testing fungi to protect Minnesota's one billion ash trees

A Minnesota scientist is experimenting with using parasitic fungi to kill emerald ash borer, a beetle that has transformed forests and city streets in parts of the state.

mprnews.org

APPLY NOW! Postdoctoral researcher in the Ranjan Lab: hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/int/371... (internal) hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/371... (external)

Fungi from Minnesota can kill emerald ash borer beetles, opening up potential biocontrol solutions: twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/... @forestmycology.bsky.social

Fungi from Minnesota can kill emerald ash borer beetles

A new study from the University of Minnesota found that several species of parasitic fungi were effective at killing emerald ash borer beetles, one of the most devastating forest pests to ever hit Nor...

twin-cities.umn.edu

It's Give to the Max Day in Minnesota! By giving to our fund, you'll directly support the career-building experiences of hardworking graduate students. crowdfund.umn.edu/participants...

Sudden oak death was detected in Minnesota. What does that mean for our forests and nurseries? @forestmycology.bsky.social @nickrajtar.bsky.social twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/...

Sudden oak death pathogen detected for the first time in Minnesota

University of Minnesota researchers detected the pathogen that causes sudden oak death in Minnesota for the first time. Sudden oak death is a tree disease that has devastated forests on the West Coast...

twin-cities.umn.edu

Foxtail barley serves as alternate host for fungal pathogens of barley: www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

Foxtail barley serves as a host for fungal pathogens attacking barley

Researchers at the University of Minnesota reported that foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum), a wild relative of cultivated barley, can harbor several fungal pathogens and may play a role in the disease ...

eurekalert.org

"Blightmare on Stem Street"? We're intrigued! USDA-ARS scientist and UMN Adjunct Professor Dr Deb Samac got on @cropnetwork.bsky.social's podcast to discuss a truly spooky alfalfa pathogen, bacterial stem blight. sites.libsyn.com/416264/s4e38...

I See Dead Plants: (S4:E38) Blightmare on Stem Street: Alfalfa Bacterial Stem Blight

In this episode Ed interviews of the USDA-ARS. They discuss the long-overlooked disease of alfalfa, bacterial stem blight. Additional Resources Time Stamps (0:00) Introductions (4:06) Overview of al...

sites.libsyn.com

We can't resist celebrating Witches' Cauldrons in spooky season, even though this unique little cup fungus appears in spring when the snow melts. Read Bob Blanchette and Nick Rajtar in FUNGI on Witches' Cauldrons: fungimag.com/v18i1/v18i1-...

Professor Dean Malvick spoke with @mprnews.org about red crown rot, a soybean disease with no cure, being found in Minnesota and potential consequences: www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...

Soybean disease with no cure was detected in Minnesota for the first time

Red crown rot, a fungal disease that hides in soil, rots soybean roots away and destroys part of the bean's leaf tissue, has no cure. It’s been found in Minnesota for the first time.

mprnews.org

A new study just published from @andrewmann.bsky.social PhD dissertation on fungi and bacteria associated with the red turpentine beetle in its native range #fungi #insects #ecology www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/16...

Common smut on corn caused by Ustilago maydis. Easy to ID by the gray galls that form & contain masses of dark spores. Spores can be spread by wind/splashing rain. Control includes selecting hybrids w/t more resistance, crop rotation, balanced fertility & gall removal #Fungi #Corn #Plant-disease 🧪

Find it in the Field: Oat Smut with Haidyn Larson This video shows how to recognize oat smut, a long-lasting fungal oat pathogen, and a little about how collaborative research is working to solve it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5SP... #fungifriends #mycology #planthealth

Find it in the Field: Oat Smut with Haidyn Larson

YouTube video by University Of Minnesota Dept. Of Plant Pathology

youtube.com

If you've found a Stinkhorn Mushroom in the wild before, did you see it or smell it first? 🍄 These funky fungi can be found in lawns or mulch as well as in the wild near wood decay. extension.umn.edu/lawn-care/co... #mycology #fungifriends #fungi

📢🍄Mycology job alert🍄📢 The Department of Plant Biology at @michiganstateu.bsky.social has a job opening for a herbarium/fungarium director at the Assistant, Associate or Full professor level. Review of applications start on 3rd October 2025. careers.msu.edu/jobs/assista...

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Tenure System - East Lansing, Michigan, United States

Working/Functional Title Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Tenure System Position Summary The Department of Plant Biology (PLB) at Michigan State University (MSU) seeks applications for a director of...

careers.msu.edu

Rare taxonomic #mycology job in NZ! Conduct fungal biodiversity & taxonomy research, secure funding, publish outputs. Working with the National Collections. PhD + postdoc experience required 🧪. Apply here: careers.sciencenewzealand.org/jobdetails?a...

We see dead (well, dying) plants 💀! This is a good thing when they are located in research trials… Plant early dying and signs and symptoms of black dot are appearing in trials located in Becker MN. Jasper’s inoculum worked like a charm! 🥔⚫️🍄! @umnplantpath.bsky.social

PLPA on WCCO News: @nickrajtar.bsky.social discusses "plant destroyer" water molds in Minnesota @wcconews.bsky.social www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...

More "plant destroyer" water mold species discovered in Minnesota

Scientists at the University of Minnesota say they've discovered more than a dozen different types of a mold known as "plant destroyers."

cbsnews.com