I See Dead Plants

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Rachel Vann of the University of Illinois. They talk about Rachel's experiences with extension in different regions as well as her work with the science for success program Additional Resources https://resources.ipmcenters.org/resource.cfm?rid=45271&vid=30391 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Y18p4N_UI&feature=youtu.be   Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction to Dr. Rache...

In this epsiode Ed, Maddle Henrickson and Zach Schum talk fireflies just in time for the the 4th! In this episode we talk firefly basics and speculate on recent firefly news.   Transcript

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Sebastian Eves-van den Akker of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. They discuss how Sebastian and his lab are using tech such a machine learning and 3d printing to gather data regarding plant parasitic nematodes. Additional Resources   List of Contributors: Siyuan Wei, Jie Zhou, Olaf Prosper Kranse, Unnati Sonawala, Gang Sun, Ziyang He, Beatrice Se...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Tom wolf of Agrimetrix research and training. They discuss spray drones past, current and future, with regards to agriculture. Additional Resources https://sprayers101.com/about/ Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction to Spray Drones and Pesticide Applications 00:55 Who Operates the Drones? 01:17 Challenges of Pesticide Application with Drones 11:10 Practical Applications...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Tom wolf of Agrimetrix research and training. They discuss spray drones past, current and future, with regards to agriculture. Additional Resources https://sprayers101.com/about/ Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction to Spray Drones and Pesticide Applications 02:21 Tom Wolf's Journey into Plant Sciences 10:28 Understanding Drones: Basics and Types 14:24 The Evolving Dron...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. David Shapiro-Ilan of the USDA-ARS. They discuss the work of David's lab using entomopathogenic nematodes as a form of biocontrol. Additional Resources https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=411611   Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction to Entomopathogenic Nematodes 03:21 Life Cycle and Mechanism of Action 06:19 Host Specificity and Target...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. José González-Acuña , recent Ph. D. graduate at Iowa State University. They discuss José's Thesis work on frogeye leaf spot and efforts to expand the ever growing library of plant disease predictive models. Additional Resources https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-46975-z#Sec14 https://journals.ashs.org/view/journals/horttech/27/5/article-p710.xml https://cr...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. José González-Acuña , recent Ph. D. graduate at Iowa State University. They discuss José's Thesis work on frogeye leaf spot and efforts to expand the ever growing library of plant disease predictive models. Additional Resources https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-46975-z#Sec14 https://journals.ashs.org/view/journals/horttech/27/5/article-p710.xml https://cr...

In this episode Ed interviews Fernando Garcia-Bastidas, also known as Dr. banana. They discuss banana production and the very destructive disease known as banana wilt.   Additional Resources https://www.keygene.com/banana-research-and-breeding-keygene/ https://linktr.ee/DrBananaGarcia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhPEErJnErU   Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction to Bananas and Fernando's Journey 00:...

In this episode Ed interviews Brian Kelley of the Gathering Growth foundation. They discuss Brian's mission to photograph and document some of the nation's oldest and largest trees to raise awareness and preserve their legacy.   Additional Resources https://www.gatheringgrowth.org/ https://www.americanforests.org/champion-trees/ https://nationalchampiontree.org https://soundcloud.com/user-95426710...

In this episode Ed interviews Brian Kelley of the Gathering Growth foundation. They discuss Brian's mission to photograph and document some of the nation's oldest and largest trees to raise awareness and preserve their legacy.   Additional Resources https://www.gatheringgrowth.org/ https://www.americanforests.org/champion-trees/ https://nationalchampiontree.org https://soundcloud.com/user-95426710...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Sam Markell of North Dakota State University. They discuss the emerging threat of SCN in North Dakota and how the SCN coalition aims to combat this ever-present threat.   Additional Resources https://www.thescncoalition.com/   Time Stamps (00:00) Introduction to the ICDeadPlants Podcast (05:57) Understanding Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) (12:08) The Impact of SCN in...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Lauren Diepenbrock , Entomologist from University of Florida. They discuss the devastating and complicated insect/plant disease complex, citrus greening.   Additional Resources https://crec.ifas.ufl.edu/research/citrus-production/disease-identification/citrus-greening-huanglongbing/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261219424002990 Time Stamps (0...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Lauren Diepenbrock , Entomologist from University of Florida. They discuss the devastating and complicated insect/plant disease complex, citrus greening.   Additional Resources https://crec.ifas.ufl.edu/research/citrus-production/disease-identification/citrus-greening-huanglongbing/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261219424002990 Time Stamps (0...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Danielle Mikolajewski a postdoctoral candidate in the plant pathology department at the University of Florida. Ed and Danielle discuss some of Danielle's Ph. D. research on chestnut blight and one of the methods being studied in attempt to bring back the American Chestnut; hypovirulence.   Additional Resources https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/13033/ Time Sta...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Adam Varenhorst of South Dakota State University. They discuss Adam's work with an emerging insect problem in soybeans, Sunflowers and other plants the dectes stem borer.   Additional Resources https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/118/5/2338/8177282 Time Stamps (00:00) Introduction to I See Dead Plants Podcast (01:24) Understanding the Dectes Stem Borer (03:29) Hi...

In this episode of Alternate Hosts Ed is Joined once again by Dr. Madeline Henrickson to interview Dr. Danielle Mikolajewski, post-doctoral candidate at University of Florida. In order to get you into the holiday spirit they discuss the disease that whipped out the American Chestnut and left us all wondering what chestnuts roasting on an open fire may have been like. Thanks for listening and Happy...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Adam Varenhorst of South Dakota State University. They discuss Adam's work with an emerging insect problem in soybeans, Sunflowers and other plants the dectes stem borer.   Additional Resources https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/118/5/2338/8177282 Time Stamps (00:00) Introduction to ICDeadPlants Podcast (14:37) Understanding the Dectes Stem Borer (20:18) Agricul...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Mark Hoddle of University of California Riverside. They discuss some of Mark's worldly adventures while trying to track down biological control agents and his work with the South American palm weevil. Additional Resources Entomology's Indiana Jones Biocontrol lab Center for Invasive Species South American Palm Weevil Time Stamps (01:08:56) Flight Capacity and Ener...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Mark Hoddle of University of California Riverside. They discuss some of Mark's worldly adventures while trying to track down biological control agents and his work with the South American palm weevil. Additional Resources Entomology's Indiana Jones Biocontrol lab Center for Invasive Species South American Palm Weevil Time Stamps (00:00) Introduction to Dr. Mark Ho...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Chad Hart Ag economist at Iowa State University. They discuss the basics of ag economics, the current state of the ag economy and what the future may hold. Additional Resources https://faculty.sites.iastate.edu/chart/extension-presentations https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/ https://www.card.iastate.edu/ Time Stamps   How to cite the podcast: Zaworski, E. (Ho...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Chad Hart ag economist at Iowa State University. They discuss the basics of ag economics, the current state of the ag economy and what the future may hold. Additional Resources https://faculty.sites.iastate.edu/chart/extension-presentations https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/ https://www.card.iastate.edu/ Time Stamps (0:00) Introductions Skip to the main topic...

In this episode of alternate hosts Ed Zaworski, Maddle Henrickson and Chelsea Harbach embrace the spirit of Halloween and discuss the salem witch trials. One possible explaination for the witch hunt is that the people of salem consumed grains infested with a plant disease called ergot. Whatever you believe, join us for a fun conversation shedding light on a historically significant plant disease!...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr. Deb Samac of the USDA-ARS. They discuss the long-overlooked disease of alfalfa, bacterial stem blight. Additional Resources https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PHYTO-02-23-0059-R?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed Time Stamps (0:00) Introductions (4:06) Overview of alfalfa production Skip to the main topic: (16:30) B...

In this episode Ed interviews Dr.  Isaac Esquivel of the University of Florida and Dr. Phillip Roberts of the University of Georgia. They discuss a new pest of cotton, the cotton jassid or two-spot leaf hopper, that has very rapidly become a new concern for cotton growers. Additional Resources https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/9/966 https://site.extension.uga.edu/colquittag/2025/08/cotton-jassid-t...