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.
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Research
Research ā major accomplishments
- New chemical and biological nematicides tests.
- Tomato: nematode-resistant tomato cvās 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.
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Extension
Extension ā major accomplishments
- Large plot grower trials for evaluating new nematicides, biologicals, and fumigants (cucumber, tomato, strawberries, caladium).
- Training and research updates to growers, consultants, and industry reps during grower meetings/conferences, GCREC events.
- Contributions on nematode management to the Annual Vegetable Production Handbook for Florida and the Southeastern Vegetable Crop Handbook.
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Lab Team
Lab Phone Number: 813-419-6582 Staff Member Contact 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 David Moreira, Grad Student daanmoca94@ufl.edu Homan Regmi, Grad Student hregmi@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
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Education
Education:
- Ph.D. Applied Biological Sciences (Nematology), Univerity of Leuven, Belgium, 2001
- Advanced studies in agricultural department, Univeristy of Gent, Belgium, 1994
- Agricultural Engineer Plant Protection, University of Gent, Belgium, 1988
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Publications
- Extension Publications
- Research Publications
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Professional Service and Awards