US strawberry production is a multi-billion dollar industry wherein vast numbers of transplants are produced in nurseries, sometimes thousands of miles from fruit production fields

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Florida $4,010,850 on July 1, 2026, under the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (CFDA 10.309) to develop detection methods, characterize epidemiology, and implement mitigation strategies for Neopestalotiopsis pathogen in strawberry transplant production systems.

The award funds coordinated research and outreach to address an emergent pathogen that has spread across multiple U.S. states and internationally through symptomless transplants, driving some strawberry producers out of business and threatening industry sustainability. The work applies molecular detection, artificial intelligence, spatio-temporal epidemiology, thermotherapy, germicidal ultraviolet light, fungicides, and disease warning systems to identify the pathogen at its source in nurseries, understand its transmission and survival mechanisms within production systems, develop practical elimination or reduction methods, and rapidly communicate solutions to stakeholders throughout the United States. The research leverages the geographic separation between transplant nurseries and fruit production fields as an interception opportunity to mitigate impacts before widespread damage occurs.

Performance runs through June 30, 2030, with work conducted in Gainesville, Florida. The University of Florida Division of Sponsored Research administers the award as prime recipient.

Recently, the industry has been HIT by an emergent pathogen: neopestalotiopsis. First detected in one nursery operation (now bankrupt), IT spread to several US states and internationally through symptomless and cryptically infected transplants that evade our present detection systems. This pathogen now poses a national threat to sustainability. IT has driven some producers out of business and poses a dire threat to others. The separation between nurseries and fruit production fields creates a critical vulnerability, but IT is also an opportunity to intercept the pathogen and mitigate impacts before widespread damage occurs. Addressing this challenge requires coordinated research and rapid delivery of solutions. We propose to apply a battery of novel methods to: (i) effectively develop and implement sensitive detection methods to identify the pathogen at its source; (II) characterize how IT spreads and survives once established within the production system; (III) develop effective and practical means to eliminate or reduce the pathogen; and (IV) rapidly communicate solutions to stakeholders throughout the US. Our transdisciplinary and exceptionally skilled team has demonstrated success in the relevant technologies, including molecular detection, artificial intelligence, spatio-temporal epidemiology, thermotherapy, germicidal UV, fungicides, disease warning systems, economics, and outreach education. With strong stakeholder engagement, substantial preliminary data, a refined research and outreach plan, and the support of a national-level neopestalotiopsis working group, we are well positioned to safeguard sustainable strawberry production.