WSU plant pathology graduates lead crop-defending clean plant programs

SPOKANE — Viral diseases cause multi-billion-dollar damages to global food crops annually. Scientists at Washington State University are training the next generation of virologists to fight these diseases with a simple but crucial tool: clean plants. Growing crops from virus-tested seeds, tubers, or cuttings is one of the most effective ways to reduce the damage caused by plant viruses. Currently, six alumni of WSU’s Department of Plant Pathology lead or manage clean-plant certification programs in five U.S. states and Canada, holding the first line of disease defense for apples, berries, sweet potatoes, ornamentals, and other important crops. “There is no cure and no option to ‘get rid of a virus’ once a plant is infected,” said Hanu Pappu, WSU professor and plant pathologist. “The best option is to avoid them in the first place. The often-repeated mantra is “start clean, stay clean.”