UGA Pathologist Recognized For Excellence In Extension

UGA Pathologist Recognized For Improving The World, One Peanut At A Time

When University of Georgia peanut pathologist Bob Kemerait does something, he does it wholeheartedly.

A passionate advocate for producers near his academic home at the University of Georgia Tifton campus and around the world, Kemerait describes himself as “a field guy.” He is most comfortable among the rows detecting, diagnosing and addressing the myriad of diseases and pests that threaten Georgia’s second-largest row crop.

Kemerait has been instrumental in the continuing development of the Peanut Rx that was created to help producers make critical crop decisions. The tool is based on a number of risk factors including variety planted, inputs, row pattern, tillage, plant population, crop rotation, disease pressure, irrigation and planting date.

He’s also been central to UGA’s international Extension efforts in Guyana, Haiti, the Philippines and, most recently, Gambia. Traveling intercontinentally, he has helped small-scale farmers improve peanut production as an important source of nutrition and income.

On Nov. 9, the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture honored Kemerait with the 2021 Southern Region Excellence in Extension Award.

“When we mention model Extension specialists, Bob’s name comes to mind. His technical expertise, passion and people skills are the foundation for the impact he has on both our agent workforce and the commodities he supports,” says Laura Perry Johnson, UGA Cooperative Extension associate dean. “Kemerait is a true public servant in all aspects of his life.”

In July, Kemerait was chosen as the recipient of The American Phytopathological Society 2021 Excellence in International Service Award for “outstanding contributions to plant pathology by APS members for countries other than their own.”

Peanut Rx

Kemerait joined UGA on March 1, 2000, two days after completing requirements for his doctoral program at the University of Florida.

“That was a leap year, so I moved to Tifton on Feb. 29 and started my job on March 1,” he says. “I was fortunate that what I did for my Ph.D. project — working with peanuts, working with farmers, working with county agents — allowed me to step right into this role. There was a learning curve, but what I had been doing was directly applicable to what I am doing now.”

When Kemerait began studying plant pathology, researchers were using a tool called the Tomato Spotted Wilt Risk Index to determine producer risk for the disease.

Building on the TSWV risk index, Kemerait worked with UGA plant pathologists Albert Culbreath and Tim Brenneman to develop a separate fungal disease risk index. Eventually, Kemerait suggested merging the indices into one that both determined the risk for a number of diseases and provided management recommendations for producers based on their results.

“What we were designing would not only be a risk index that would tell you if your risk was higher or lower for certain problems based on the information you put in but how you could manage diseases both before planting and during the growing season,” Kemerait says. “We developed programs where we could recommend how often to spray based on risk. It was all research-based and we documented all of the results.”

The team’s efforts and the results of the tool captured the attention of international agricultural company Syngenta, which became a corporate partner to support the new tool.

“Syngenta was willing to partner with us because they were of the opinion that whatever was good for the growers was good for them — because whatever keeps the growers profitable is what is going to keep their company strong,” Kemerait says. “Today a number of companies support Peanut Rx, and I think this truly shows the trust and partnership between UGA Extension and the agricultural industry.

University of Georgia Extension plant pathologist Bob Kemerait talks about peanut diseases during the Georgia Peanut Tour in Midville, Georgia, in 2014.

“The Peanut Rx tool, at its core, is using everything we know from our research. It involves everything we have done and everything we are doing at UGA across disciplines — from agronomy to entomology, even to weed science — captured in a relatively simple document growers can use. The whole package is now available in an online form that encompasses everything we know about the biology of these pathogens, the development of these diseases, and how growers can affect risk. All of the research, not only from Georgia, but from other institutions, is right there,” he says

Getting To Growers

Growers have embraced the system, in large part due to the effort of UGA Extension agents who have brought the tool into the field.

“Our Extension agents are the tip of the spear out there. They are the educators and recognize that these factors — variety, planting date, row spacing, seed spacing — all have an impact on disease. The agents are the ones who are really driving the implementation at the farm level,” Kemerait says.

As research progresses on important and emerging diseases and pests, that information is added to the system.

“We are constantly making annotations. It’s a living document,” he says.

Kemerait currently heads a committee of researchers from UGA, UF, Auburn University, Clemson University and Mississippi State University that convenes every year to assess Peanut Rx and add the latest available research-based information to the tool.

“All of the research, all of the variety testing, the surveys, will go in and we will adjust it to whatever is new or changing,” he says. “Efforts are now underway to incorporate climate predictions. We are looking to use real-time modeling information on the impact of climate, which is going to affect your disease and insect risk.”

The success of the Peanut Rx risk index has inspired other risk index tools in agriculture.

“That, to me, is the true measure of the impact of Peanut Rx: You can look around the country and around the world at others who have used Peanut Rx as a building point,” Kemerait says.

Peanut Ambassador

Beyond the impact his involvement with Peanut Rx has made, Kemerait has pursued his enthusiasm for international research and Extension work in peanut production. When he first came to UGA, he asked his supervisors about the possibility of working abroad, which led to peanut-related projects in Guyana, Haiti and the Philippines.

“Peanut farmers everywhere are struggling with the same problems our famers have here in Georgia.” Kemerait adds, “I am blessed to be a part of UGA Extension. It’s the very best job in the world. We are family.” PG

Former President Jimmy Carter (center) talks with UGA scientists Glen Harris (left) and Bob Kemerait during the Georgia Peanut Tour in 2017

Article by Maria M. Lameiras, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.