School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences College of Science

Higher-Education

• PhD, Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, 2016
• MS, Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, 2013
• BS, Plant Sciences, University of Maryland , 2009

Research Overview

Ultimately, the goal of our lab is to improve sustainable agricultural production in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond by using epidemiology and disease ecology. Research in my lab focuses on four broad topics:

• Effects of land cover use on crop pathogens
• Modeling risk of transmission of pathogens and potential mitigation strategies
• Interaction between biotic and abiotic stressors in plant health
• Microbial ecology of disease-stressed agricultural systems

We work closely with agroecologists, entomologists, and molecular biologists to build a holistic research program that integrates field work, lab work, and simulation modeling

Publications

• Young, C.; Choudhury, R.; Crisosto, C.; Gubler, W., Brown spot in table grape Redglobe controlled in study with sulfur dioxide and temperature treatments. California Agriculture 2020, 74, (3), 163-168.
• Choudhury, R. A.; Sutherland, A. M.; Hengel, M. J.; Parrella, M. P.; Gubler, W. D., Imidacloprid movement into fungal conidia is lethal to mycophagous beetles. Insects 2020, 11, (8), 496. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11080496
• Choudhury, R. A.; McRoberts, N., Characterization of Pathogen Airborne Inoculum Density by Information Theoretic Analysis of Spore Trap Time Series Data. Entropy 2020, 22, (12), 1343. https://doi.org/10.3390/e22121343
• Choudhury, R. A.; Er, H. L.; Hughes, M. A.; Smith, J. A.; Pruett, G. E.; Konkol, J.; Ploetz, R. C.; Marois, J. J.; Garrett, K. A.; van Bruggen, A. H., Host density dependence and environmental factors affecting laurel wilt disease incidence. Plant Pathology 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/PPA.13314
• Hughes, G.; Choudhury, R.; McRoberts, N., Summary Measures of Predictive Power Associated with Logistic Regression Models of Disease Risk. Phytopathology 2019, 109, (5), 712-715. https://doi.org/10.1094/phyto-09-18-0356-le
• Choudhury, R. A.; McRoberts, N., Temperature and light effects on in vitro germination of Peronospora effusa sporangia. Tropical Plant Pathology 2018, 43, (6), 572-576. https://doi.org/10.1101/163923
• Bourret, T. B.; Choudhury, R. A.; Mehl, H. K.; Blomquist, C. L.; McRoberts, N.; Rizzo, D. M., Multiple origins of downy mildews and mito-nuclear discordance within the paraphyletic genus Phytophthora. PloS one 2018, 13, (3), e0192502. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192502
• Ploetz, R. C.; Kendra, P. E.; Choudhury, R. A.; Rollins, J. A.; Campbell, A.; Garrett, K.; Hughes, M.; Dreaden, T., Laurel wilt in natural and agricultural ecosystems: understanding the drivers and scales of complex pathosystems. Forests 2017, 8, (2), 48. https://doi.org/10.3390/f8020048
• Choudhury, R. A.; Garrett, K. A.; Klosterman, S. J.; Subbarao, K. V.; McRoberts, N., A framework for optimizing phytosanitary thresholds in seed systems. Phytopathology 2017, 107, (10), 1219-1228. https://doi.org/10.1094/phyto-04-17-0131-fi
• Choudhury, R.; Koike, S.; Fox, A.; Anchieta, A.; Subbarao, K.; Klosterman, S.; McRoberts, N., Spatiotemporal patterns in the airborne dispersal of spinach downy mildew. Phytopathology 2017, 107, (1), 50-58. https://doi.org/10.1094/phyto-04-16-0162-r
• Choudhury, R.; Koike, S.; Fox, A.; Anchieta, A.; Subbarao, K.; Klosterman, S.; McRoberts, N., Season-long dynamics of spinach downy mildew determined by spore trapping and disease incidence. Phytopathology 2016, 106, (11), 1311-1318. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-12-15-0333-R

Present Courses

• BIOL1406: Introduction to Biology I
• BIOL4406/5406: Mycology
• BIOL4408/5408: Plant Pathology
• EEMS6350: Novel Ecosystems and Built Environment