David A. Rosenberger

DEPARTMENT:   Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University
               TITLE:      Professor Emeritus

Address:  Cornell’s Hudson Valley Lab, P.O. Box 727, Highland, NY 12528
Phone:      (office) 845-691-7231;  (cell) 845-594-3060
E-mail:     dar22@cornell.edu

EDUCATION

Year          Degree             Institution
1977            Ph.D.                   Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
1969           B.A.                     Goshen College, Goshen, IN

ACADEMIC RANKS (year achieved)

Professor Emeritus: 2014
Professor:  1998
Associate Professor:  1984
Assistant Professor:  1977

LIFETIME PUBLICATION LIST (download file with hyperlinks)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Assistant Professor                       Cornell University (Hudson Valley Lab)           1977-1984
Visiting Scientist (sabbatical)         University of California, Riverside                     1984
Associate Professor                       Cornell University (Hudson Valley Lab)           1984-1998
Visiting Scientist (sabbatical)         Oregon State University, Hood River                1990
Superintendent                              Cornell’s Hudson Valley Laboratory                  1990-2013
Professor                                       Cornell University (Hudson Valley Lab)            1998-2014

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Integrated pest management for tree fruits
Diseases of tree fruits
Chemical control of fungal diseases
Postharvest pathology for fruit crops
Extension programming for tree fruits

 SABBATICALS AND STUDY LEAVES (year, project, location)

1984 (Jan.-July): Benzimidazole resistance in Penicillium species that attack citrus.  Worked with Dr. Joseph Eckert, University of California, Riverside CA.

1990 (Jan.-July): Studies on Penicillium species that attack pome fruits.  Worked with Dr. Robert Spotts, Mid-Columbia Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Hood River, OR.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

1967:         Ten-week study tour in Haiti organized by Goshen College.

1969-71:  Two years on a multi-national rural development team in Algeria.

1993-98:  Co-director of an apple integrated pest management project in Hungary; the project sponsored exchange visits to Hungary in 1993, 1995, and 1998.

2005:       Participant on a two-week tour of apple production in China organized by the International Fruit Tree Association.

PARTICIPATION IN MULTI-STATE PROJECTS

NE-1036 Multi-State Research Project: Postharvest Biology of Fruit  2003-2013

NE-183 Regional Research Technical Comm.: Multi-disciplinary Evaluation of New Apple Cultivars  1994-2005; Co-organizer of the project in 1994

Northeast Sustainable Apple Production Project, USDA SARE Program:
Coordinator of NY portion of a multidisciplinary five-state project   1989-1997

NE-156 Regional Research Technical Comm.: Integrated Management
of Apple Pests in the Northeast  1985-1990

NE-87 Regional Research Technical Comm.: Control of Postharvest
Decays of Fruits and Vegetables 1982-1992;  Sec.: 1985-86, Chair: 1987-88

NE-14 Regional Research Technical Comm.: Virus and Virus-Like
Diseases of Woody Deciduous Fruit Crops 1977-1987; Sec.: 1983, Chair: 1984

RESPONSIBILITIES (prior to retirement)

Research (50%):
My research focused on integrating pesticides and knowledge of pathogen biology, genetic resistance to diseases, and cultural controls into cost-effective and environmentally sound management strategies for diseases of tree fruits, both in the field and after harvest. A significant part of my program involved field evaluations of new fungicides and fungicide programs for controlling apple diseases. Over the 15 years prior to retirement, I studied the epidemiology of Penicillium expansum, the fungal pathogen responsible for most apple fruit decays that develop during storage. Starting in 2009, I  also directed field and postharvest trials to determine if/how sublethal glyphosate exposure affects apple tree health and fruit quality.

Extension (30%):
I provided diagnoses for unusual diseases in commercial orchards and apple storages and assisted in determining epidemiological factors that contributed to unexpected losses. Results of my research and seasonal observations on disease development were provided to regional extension educators and/or are published in Scaffolds Fruit Journal <www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/scaffolds>, New York Fruit Quar­terly, the Apple-crop list-serve <apple-crop@virtualorchard.net>, and in proceedings of extension meetings. I  regularly participated in Cornell’s Tree Fruit and Berry Program Work Team, the coordinating group for all Cornell faculty and Extension field specialists working on tree fruit and small fruit.

Administration: Superintendent, Hudson Valley Lab  (1990-2013, 20%):
As superintendent of Cornell’s Hudson Valley Laboratory, I was responsible for management and maintenance of facilities at the Hudson Valley Laboratory and for assignment of laboratory space and orchard field plots to resident scientists.  I also participated in board meetings of the Hudson Valley Research Lab, Inc., the grower non-profit organization that owns the Hudson Valley Laboratory and leased it to Cornell University, and I acted as liaison between that board and Cornell administration. During last two years of my tenure, I assisted in development of a management transition plan for the Hudson Valley Lab that resulted in a shared-funding partnership between Hudson Valley agricultural interests and Cornell University.

Key Extension Audiences and Scope of Impact:

  1. New York tree fruit growers: Provided tree-fruit growers with both background information and time-sensitive information that assists them in selecting appropriate fungicides, thereby preventing both losses to preventable tree fruit diseases and excessive expenditures for unnecessary fungicides.  I also helped growers diagnose disease problems with the objective of rectifying problems that allowed the diseases to develop.
  2. New York & New England cooperative extension field staff working on tree fruit: Assisted professional staff via in-service education (e.g., annual meeting of the New England, New York, and Canadian Fruit Workers in Burlington, VT); by participating as a speaker in events that they organize for fruit growers; and by responding to inquiries via telephone and e-mail.
  3. New York & New England consultants working on tree fruit: Same interaction as noted for extension professionals, but with greater emphasis on chemical control options.
  4. Agrichemical companies producing fungicides for fruits: Assisted company representatives in understanding both the NY fruit industry and the disease problems faced by fruit growers.
  5. U.S. & Canadian tree fruit growers (especially apple growers) east of the Rockies and north of Virginia: Responded to inquiries from fruit growers throughout northeastern North America concerning specific disease control problems. This clientele group also benefits from my published extension information that is available through many different venues.

Internet Presence (websites):

Contributed articles to Scaffolds Fruit Journal edited by Art Agnello: www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/scaffolds.  These articles are frequently used in other extension newsletters throughout New York and other parts of eastern United States as detailed in my extension publications list.

Professional Societies

American Phytopathological Society (APS) and Northeastern Division of APS
American Association for the Advancement of Science
New York State Horticultural Society

Editorial Work:

Section Editor for Pome Fruits, Fungicide and Nematicide Tests  1992-2001
Associate editor for Plant Disease  1995-1997
Associate editor for Plant Health Progress  2010-2012

HONORS AND AWARDS:

February 2013  Researcher of the Year Award, International Fruit Tree Association.

February 2013  Carlson Lecture (invited presentation), International Fruit Tree Association Winter Conference, Boston, MA

March 2012      Plenary session speaker (invited presentation), 7th International IPM Symposium, Memphis, TN

October 2005    Award of Merit, Northeastern Division of the American Phytopathological Service: The highest service award provided by the Northeastern Division for “Meritorious contributions to the progress of Plant Pathology.”

July 2002          Member of the NE-501 Regional Research Project that was awarded the 2002 USDA Group Honor Award for Excellence.  The NE-501 Project, “Eradication, Containment and/or Management of Plum Pox (Sharka Disease)”, was given the award “For effectively limiting the spread of the invasive and devastating plum pox virus in U.S. stone fruits by building an inclusive team of University, State, Federal, and agricultural industry personnel.

June 2001         Member of the NE-183 Regional Research Project that was awarded the 2001 USDA Group Honor Award for Excellence.  The NE-103 Project, “Multidisciplinary Evaluation of New Apple Cultivars, was given the award “For providing timely information to apple growers nationally about the likely success of establishing new apple cultivars in different regions while meeting consumers’ desire for diverse and tasty apples.”  NE-183 was organized in 1994 through the cooperative efforts of Dave Rosenberger at Cornell and Duane Greene at the University of Massachusetts.

March 2000      NERA 2000 Award for Research Excellence: presented to participants in the NE-183 Regional Research Technical Committee.

This page was last updated 15 November 2019

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