Alan R. Biggs, Ph.D. WVU-KTFREC P.O. Box 609 Kearneysville, WV  25430 Alan.Biggs@mail.wvu.edu

• Education:

  • The Pennsylvania State University - Ph.D., Plant Pathology (1982)

  • The Pennsylvania State University - M.Sc., Plant Pathology (1978)

  • The Pennsylvania State University - B.Sc., Forest Biology (1976)

• Employment History:

  • Professor of Plant Pathology and Extension Specialist,-- Tree Fruit Pathology, West Virginia University, Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center, P. O. Box 609, Kearneysville, WV 25430. Member - Graduate Faculty. July 1, 1995 - present.
     
  • Associate Professor of Plant Pathology and Extension Specialist,-- Tree Fruit Pathology, West Virginia University, Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center, P. O. Box 609, Kearneysville, WV 25430. Member - Graduate Faculty. September 1, 1989 - June 30, 1995.
     
  • Research Scientist and Head, Plant Pathology Section, Agriculture Canada, Vineland Research Station, Vineland Station, Ontario. Fungal and bacterial diseases of tree fruits, administration of the Plant Pathology section. April 1986 - August, 1989.
     
  • Research Scientist, Agriculture Canada, Vineland Research Station, Vineland Station, Ontario. Fungal and bacterial diseases of tree fruits. January 1983 - March 1986.
     

• Research Interests:

  • Organic, alternative, and ecosystem-based apple culture: Leader of a multidisciplinary team to investigate sustainable and organic systems for fresh and processing apple production.

  • Fire blight epidemiology and disease management.

  • Canker diseases: Mechanisms of disease resistance, breeding for disease resistance with conventional methods and with somaclonal variation, physiology of the host/parasite interaction, tissue culture, integrated pest management.

  • Brown rot of stone fruits: Ecology and epidemiology, biology of overwintering, influence of environment on infection, influence of fruit age and inoculum density on infection, evaluation of disease management strategies, integrated pest management.

  • Apple diseases: Control of apple scab with sterol-inhibiting fungicides, pre-infection and post-symptom effects, use of sterol-inhibiting fungicides in integrated pest management programs, influence of fungicides on apple orchard arthropods, role of sterol-inhibiting fungicides on overwintering of V. inaequalis, evaluation of disease management strategies, disease prediction and modeling, suppression of rot diseases with calcium compounds.

  • Electronic technology for extension communication (see The Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center World Wide Web Home Page).

• Awards and Honors:
  • Lee M. Hutchins Award from the American Phytopathological Society. This award is presented annually and recognizes the best contribution, presented in one or more full-length papers, in research on diseases of perennial fruit plants; received in 1993.


• Service:
  • Editor-in-Chief of Plant Disease (2001 - 2003)
  • Senior Editor of Plant Disease (1998 - 2000)
  • Associate Editor of Plant Disease (1994 - 1996)
  • Associate Editor of Phytopathology (1988 - 1990)


• Recent Refereed Publications in Scientific Journals:
  • Sugimoto, T., K. Watanabe, S. Yoshida, M. Aino, K. Irie, and Biggs, A. R. 2008. Select calcium compounds reduce Phytophthora stem rot disease of soybean. Plant Disease 92:1559-1565. (Journal article pdf).
  • Biggs, A.R., Turechek, W. W., and Gottwald, T. R. 2008. Analysis of fire blight shoot infection epidemics on four apple cultivars. Plant Disease 92:1349-1356. (Journal article pdf).
  • Dewdney, M. M., Biggs, A. R., and Turechek, W. W. 2007. A statistical comparison of the blossom blight forecasts of Maryblyt and Cougarblight with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Phytopathology 97: 1164-1176.
  • Grove, G. G. and Biggs, A. R. 2006. Production and dispersal of conidia of Leucostoma cinctum in peach and cherry orchards under irrigation in Eastern Washington. Plant Disease 90:587-591.
  • Biggs, A. R. and Grove, G. G. 2006. Leucostoma canker of stone fruits. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-I-2005-1220-01.
  • Biggs, A. R and N.W. Miles. 2005. Variation in wound healing and resistance to Leucostoma persoonii in peach derived from embryo culture. HortScience 40:1585-1586.
  • Biggs, A. R. and S.S. Miller. 2005. Relative susceptibility of NE-183 apple cultivars to fruit rot pathogens in West Virginia. Journal of the American Pomological Society. 59: 72-77.
  • Biggs, A. R. and S. S. Miller.  2004.  Relative susceptibility of selected apple cultivars to Botryosphaeria obtusa.  HortScience 39:303-306.
  • Biggs, A. R. 2004. Effect of inoculum concentration and calcium salts on infection of apple fruit by Botryosphaeria dothidea. Plant Disease 88:147-151.
  • Biggs, A. R. and S. S. Miller.  2003.  Relative susceptibility of selected apple cultivars to Botryosphaeria dothidea.  HortScience 38:400-403.
  • Biggs, A. R. and S. S. Miller. 2001. Relative susceptibility of selected NE-183 apple cultivars to Colletotrichum acutatum. Plant Disease 85:657-660.
  • Biggs, A. R., H. W. Hogmire, and A. R. Collins. 2000. Assessment of an alternative IPM program for the production of apples for processing. Plant Disease 84:1140-1146.
  • Biggs, A. R. 2000. Evaluation of calcium chloride for apple disease control, 1994-1997. Biological and Cultural Tests for Control of Plant Diseases 15:47-48.
  • Biggs, A. R. 2000. Comparison of rotary and flail mowers for inhibiting fungal reproduction on apple prunings. Biological and Cultural Tests for the Control of Plant Diseases 15:49-50.
  • Biggs, A. R. 1999. Effects of calcium salts on apple bitter rot caused by two Colletotrichum spp. Plant Disease 83: 1001-1005.
  • Biggs, A. R. and G. G. Grove. 1998. Role of the World Wide Web in Extension plant pathology: Case studies in tree fruits and grapes. Plant Disease 82:452-464.

-- Many of the publications are available here, including chapters from the books below.

Books:

Defense Mechanisms of Woody Plants Against Fungi. 1992. Blanchette, R.A. and A.R. Biggs, Eds. Springer-Verlag (Berlin) 458 pp.

Cytology, Histology, and Histochemistry of Fruit Tree Diseases. 1993. Biggs, A.R., Editor. CRC Press, Inc. 330 pp.

Web Site Author: Alan R. Biggs
Copyright ©1996-2008.