Schaeffer, R.

Robert Schaeffer

Examining microbial mediation of disease resistance, pollinator attraction, and crop yield in apple crops

The composition of microbial communities can have dramatic, but often unappreciated, impacts on crop production. In apple crops, surveys indicate that numerous microbe species colonize flowers and nectar, which can in turn mediate floral and nectar traits and pollinator behavior. Microbial communities also affect the susceptibility of trees to pathogens such as the bacterium Erwinia […]