David G. Schmale III

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Assistant Professor
Food Safety and Plant Biosecurity

403 Latham Hall (0390)
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061

Phone: (540) 231-6943
Fax: (540) 231-7477
E-Mail: dschmale at vt.edu
Click here to visit the Schmale Lab website

Education| Research Interests| Selected Publications

Education

  • Ph.D., Plant Pathology, Cornell University
  • B.S., Biological Sciences, University of California Davis

Research Interests

Dr. Schmale's research program bridges concepts in plant pathology, aerobiology (how airborne pathogens get where they are going), and crop and food safety and security. Current research projects in his laboratory include: (1) monitoring the long-distance movement and survival of airborne plant pathogens, (2) investigating the origin and distribution of airborne plant pathogen populations, (3) implementing strong monitoring and disease control programs for airborne plant diseases, (4) detecting toxin-producing plant pathogens that threaten the health of humans and domestic animals, and (5) preventing the introduction and spread of exotic airborne plant pathogens in the United States. Dr. Schmale teaches an undergraduate course titled 'Mysterious Mushrooms, Malicious Molds' and a graduate course titled 'Fungal Plant Pathology'. The ultimate goals of Dr. Schmale's research program are to enhance the protection and safety of the Nation's agriculture and food supply and develop new strategies to anticipate, prevent, and respond to agricultural threats of high risk plant pathogens. The ultimate goals of Dr. Schmale's education and outreach program are to provide stakeholders with practical solutions to related problems and foster a multidisciplinary network of valuable research and educational opportunities for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, particularly minority groups. Dr. Schmale routinely conducts training demonstrations for growers, producers, county agents, government officials, faculty, and students.

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Selected Publications

  • Techy, L., Woolsey, C.A., and Schmale, D.G. III. 2008. Path planning for efficient UAV coordination in aerobiological sampling missions. American Control Conference. In press.
  • Schmale, D.G., Dingus, B.R., and Reinholtz, C. 2008. Development and application of an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle for precise aerobiological sampling above agricultural fields. Journal of Field Robotics 25: 133-147. Click here to access the article online.
  • Scoza, L.B, Astolfi, P., Reartes, D.S., Schmale, D.G. III, Moraes, M.G., and Del Ponte, E.M. 2008. Trichothecene mycotoxin genotypes of Fusarium graminearum sensu stricto and Fusarium meridionale in wheat from southern Brazil. Plant Pathology. In press.
  • Marine, S.C., Schmale III, D.G., and Yoder, K.S. 2007. Resistance to myclobutanil in populations of Venturia inaequalis in Winchester, Virginia. Plant Health Progress DOI:10.1094/PHP-2007-1113-01-RS. Click here to access the article online.
  • Schmale, D. G. III, and Bergstrom, G. C. 2007. The aerobiology and population genetic structure of Gibberella zeae. Plant Health Progress DOI:10.1094/PHP-2007-0726-04-RV. Click here to access the article online.
  • Schmale, D.G., Wood-Jones, A.K., Hansen, M.A., Stromberg, E.L., and Roane, C.W. 2007. First report of Cephalosporium gramineaum, causal agent of Cephalosporium stripe of wheat, in a commercial winter wheat field in Virginia. Plant Disease 91: 329. DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-91-3-0329C. Click here to access the article online.
  • Wang J, Patel V, Woolsey CA, Hovakimyan N, and Schmale, D.G. 2007. L1 adaptive control of a UAV for aerobiological sampling. American Control Conference, 4660-4665. Click here to access the article online.
  • Schmale, D.G., Leslie, J. F., Zeller, K. A., Saleh, A. A., Shields, E. J., and Bergstrom, G.C. 2006. Genetic structure of atmospheric populations of Gibberella zeae. Phytopathology 96:1021-1026. Click here to access the article online.
  • Schmale, D. G., Shields, E. J., and Bergstrom, G. C. 2006. Night-time spore deposition of the Fusarium head blight pathogen, Gibberella zeae. Can. J. Plant Pathology 28:100-108. Click here to access the article online.
  • Schmale, D. G., Shah, D. A., and Bergstrom, G. C. 2005. Spatial patterns of viable spore deposition of Gibberella zeae in wheat fields. Phytopathology 95: 472-479. Click here to access the article online.
  • Schmale, D. G., Shah, D. A., and Bergstrom, G. C. 2005. Spatial patterns of viable spore deposition of the corn ear rot pathogen, Gibberella zeae, in first- year corn fields. Can. J. Plant Pathol. 27: 225-233. Click here to access the article online.
  • Schmale, D. G., Arntsen, Q. A., and Bergstrom, G. C. 2005. The forcible discharge distance of ascospores of Gibberella zeae. Can. J. Plant Pathol. 27:376-382. Click here to access the article online.
  • Maldonado-Ramirez, S. L., Schmale, D. G., Shields, E. J., and Bergstrom, G. C. 2005. The relative abundance of viable spores of Gibberella zeae in the planetary boundary layer suggests the role of long- distance transport in regional epidemics of Fusarium head blight. Agric. For. Meteorol. 132: 20-27. Click here to access the article online.
  • Schmale, D. G., and Bergstrom, G. C. 2004. Spore deposition of the ear rot pathogen, Gibberella zeae, inside corn canopies. Can. J. Plant Pathol. 26: 591-595. Click here to access the article online.
  • Schmale, D. G., and Bergstrom, G. C. 2003. Fusarium head blight. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI:10.1094/PHI-I-2003-0612-01. Click here to access the article online.

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