Elsa Petit

Agriculture is one of the contributor to climate change and diminishing biodiversity. The goal of my research is to better understand plant-microbe interactions to help make agriculture one of the solutions to climate change and increase biodiversity.  My model system is grape species and its associated microbes in the Northeast US, one of two grape's biodiversity centers. I contrast cultivated crops and their wild relatives to quantify the impact of human management on microbial dynamics and study disease resistance variations. I lead the Extension program for Grape production in Massachusetts, connecting academic research and grape growers. I also teach General Plant Pathology and Sustainable Grape Production and one large course for senior under-graduate students on Global Issues in Applied Biology.