MSU researchers, including Dr. Monique L Sakalidis, Bert Cregg and Deb McCullough, are part of the oak wilt response team. They are looking at novel ways of protecting trees from the deadly pathogen. Michigan Department of Natural Resources MI Ag & Rural Dev Michigan EGLE USDA Forest Service MSU CANR canr.msu.edu/news/msu-resea…

repotting chestnut saplings with Karan Chahal, MS, PhD 🍄🌳🔬🧫🧬🧪🐞 and Ethan! we moved them up from quart-sized to 1.5 gallon pots and loosely staked them to promote straighter growth 🪴

on a field trip with Dr. Monique L Sakalidis ! it's a beautiful day to be outside ☀️

creating B. fagacearum spore suspensions and learning how to use a hemacytometer 🔬 thanks karan for the guidance!

started our #oakwilt cultures today! field season is coming up fast 🌳🍄

some finds today exploring Baker Woodlot at MSU !

it's duckling season! saved six babies from the sewer drain outside my apartment this morning 🦆 mom was nearby supervising. thanks to the bath county officer that came and helped me out!

Sakalidis lab #oakwilt field day …do you see the tiny nitidulids in the mycelial mat? #foresthealth #forestpathology ⁦MSU-PSM Department⁩ ⁦MSU AgBioResearch⁩ ⁦MSU CANR⁩ ⁦MSU Extension⁩ ⁦MSU Forestry⁩ ⁦Karan Chahal, MS, PhD 🍄🌳🔬🧫🧬🧪🐞⁩ ⁦Ava 🌳🔬⁩ & Ethan!

checking out our field site in northern MI... check out these #oakwilt mycelial mats! we couldn't have asked for nicer weather!!! next week we'll be implementing our first experiment of the season (and me and ethan's first experiment of our master's!!)

Has anyone used thermal dissipation probes for sap flow sensing? We are looking into implexx and dynamax but are seeking input from others.#oakwilt #forestpathology Ava 🌳🔬 Karan Chahal, MS, PhD 🍄🌳🔬🧫🧬🧪🐞

my #redoak saplings arrived today! once these little guys get a bit more established we'll be inoculating them with #oakwilt as a mirror experiment to our field trials! we'll also be doing a herbicide experiment to see what cause the quickest root mortality. #forestpathology

Showing preparation of fungal spore suspensions to Ethan, not on Twitter, new MS student in Dr. Monique L Sakalidis lab. He was surprised seeing sporulation potential of #oakwilt fungus in vivo and invitro, good for plant pathologists but sad for oaks!!

and our stump experiment is officially off the ground!!! huge thank you to sam from kellogg forest for cutting our trees down. we're determining whether or not stumps can act as an infection court for below ground spread of oak wilt #forestpathology #oakwilt

cute little leaves!

cottonwoods are VILIFIED you aren't allergic to the cotton!!! its the fruit!!! its because other plants are releasing pollen at the same time! leave the cottonwoods ALONE 😭

Visiting my old buddies 🌳 with new labmates, team #oakwilt Ava 🌳🔬, Ethan and Madeline.

successful field outing today to three of our field sites! some fun things we found, plus an entire armful of spring oyster mushrooms!

Plant Pathologist(s) (noun): a doctor who specializes in how to make plants sick! ;) Conducting #oakwilt pathogenicity trial on chestnuts.

inoculating chestnut saplings to test pathogenicity of oak wilt! had an efficient conga line going with karan drilling, ethan inoculating, and me wrapping the wounds 🌳🌰🦠🍄🔬

From the archives: This appears to be a photograph of the first female packer in the Forest Service, on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest! The archives unfortunately do not include her name, but we will start digging!