Module #13: Agricultural extension: Crops and expert advice
Leaders: Gerald Holmes, NC State; and Eric Davis, NC State
Members: A.G. Rud, Purdue; Mark Gleason, ISU; Barb Ingham, UW; Carl Evenson, UH; Omon Isiekuemen , NC A&T; and Brooke Edmunds, grad student.
This module will provide general training for doctoral candidates in plant pathology extension, helping them to recognize and address ethical issues in their professions. It will introduce a range of value questions students are likely to encounter in their careers, provide guidance for thinking through them, and increase students’ confidence in making ethical decisions.
The module focuses on the issue of q uarantines, very politically charged actions. Plant pathologists often find themselves in the middle of quarrels when government agencies decide to quarantine certain crops. On the one hand, the USDA-PPQ has to take a hard line to protect growers not affected, while industry and the public, on the other hand, are often wondering why all the fuss. A plant pathology extension specialist may find their scientific data being interpreted in conflicting ways. Often, interested parties will take the data to the extreme on both sides. How should professionals respond?
This is issue is especially relevant to students as the relatively new threat of crop bioterrorism means that there will likely be more quarantines in the future. Historical and current quarantines, including citrus canker and karnal bunt, will be used as examples.
Babadoost, M. 2000. Comments on the Zero-Tolerance Quarantine of Karnal Bunt of Wheat. Plant Disease 84(7): 711-712.
Gottwald, T. R., Graham, J. H., and Schubert, T. S. 2002. Citrus canker: The pathogen and its impact. Online. Plant Health Progress doi:10.1094/PHP-2002-0812-01-RV.
Kahn, R.P. 1991. Exclusion as a Plant Disease Control Strategy. Annual Review of Phytopathology 29:219-246.
Mathre, D.E. 1996. Dwarf bunt: Politics, Identification, and Biology. Annual Review of Phytopathology 34:67-85.
Mathys, G. Baker, E.A. 1980. An Appraisal of the Effectiveness of Quarantines. Annual Review of Phytopathology 18:85-101.
Rush, C.M., Stein, J.M., Bowden, R.L., Riemenschneider, R., Boratynski, T. and Royer, M.H. 2005. Status of Karnal Bunt of Wheat in the United States 1996 to 2004. Plant Disease 89:212-223.
Wheelis, M., Casagrande, R. and Madden, L.V. 2002. Biological attack on agriculture: low-tech, high-impact bioterrorism. BioScience 52:569-576.