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Gulf Coast Research and Education Center

Gulf Coast Research and Education Center

Dr. Johan Desaeger

Assistant Professor of Entomology and Nematology

Dr. Johan Desaeger was born and raised in Belgium,and he graduated as an agricultural engineer from the University of Ghent. He started working with nematodes in 1994 in Kenya at the International Center for Research in Agroforestry. After completing his PhD in Applied Biological Sciences from the University of Leuven in 2001. he moved to the U.S. to work on nematode management in vegetables at the Universities of Florida and Georgia. He made the leap to industry in 2005 when he joined DuPont to start up a nematology program at their former research facility in Delaware.

Dr. Desaeger came back to Florida and joined the UF/IFAS faculty in the summer of 2016 to build a new nematology research group at the GCREC.

  • Research

    Research – major accomplishments

    • New chemical and biological nematicides tests.
    • Tomato: nematode-resistant tomato cv’s evaluations at the GCREC farm.
    • Strawberry: strawberry fields were surveyed for presence of foliar, root-knot and lesion nematodes; transplants from different out-of-state strawberry nurseries were analyzed for presence of nematodes.
    • Strawberry: cover crops evaluations for nematode hosting.
    • Hops: hop varieties evaluations for root-knot nematode host status in greenhouse and field.
    • Nematode-suppressiveness evaluations for different soils collected throughout Florida.
    • Several Aphelenchoides isolations from strawberry fields, identification and feeding habits (plant/fungi) investigations.
    • Collaborative projects, including nematode-disease interactions, compact bed research, new fumigants, transplant heat treatment, ornamentals, citrus, new crops, tomato genomics, suppressive soils.
  • Extension

    Extension – major accomplishments

    1. Large plot grower trials for evaluating new nematicides, biologicals, and fumigants (cucumber, tomato, strawberries, caladium).
    2. Training and research updates to growers, consultants, and industry reps during grower meetings/conferences, GCREC events.
    3. Contributions on nematode management to the Annual Vegetable Production Handbook for Florida and the Southeastern Vegetable Crop Handbook.
  • Lab Team
    Lab Phone Number: 813-419-6582
    Staff MemberContact Information
    Justin Carter, Bio Scientist II justincarter@ufl.edu
    Jaqueline Coburn, Grad Student jd.corburn@ufl.edu
    Clemen de Oliveira, Grad Student clemendeoliveira@ufl.edu
    Jacey Dixon, OPS  
    Sherline Estaing, OPS sestaing@ufl.edu
    David Moreira, Grad Student daanmoca94@ufl.edu
    Homan Regmi, Grad Student hregmi@ufl.edu
    Gabrieli Riva, OPS gabrieliriva@ufl.edu
    Marco Suarez, OPS marcosuarez@ufl.edu
    Tristan Watson, PostDoc tristan.watson@ufl.edu
    Chenzhao (Bonnie) Xie, Bio Scientist II chenzhaoxie@ufl.edu

Contact

Rm. # 135
Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
14625 CR 672
Wimauma, FL  33598
813-419-6592
jad@ufl.edu