Projects
Completed Projects
Effects of micronutrients on pine tree defenses
Effects of loblolly genetics on pine tip moth infestations rates
Elucidating needlecast disease in southern pines
Rapid resistance phenotyping and risk modeling of fusiform rust
Current Projects
Resistance phenotyping and genotyping of needle blight
Effect of fungicide treatments and thinning on brown spot needle blight
Application timing of pine tip moth insecticide treatments
Nanopore diagnostic tool for needle diseases
Interactions between environmental conditions and Ips beetles
Identification of brown spot needle blight resistance markers
Automated sensors monitor bark beetle activity in forest stands
A new systemic insecticide for pine tip moth suppression
Papers
Technical Papers
Lim-Hing, S., Conrad, A.O., Montes, C.R., Gandhi, K.J.K., McCarty, E.P., Payn, K.G., Walker, T.D., and Villari, C. 2023. Identifying fusiform rust resistance in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) through vibrational spectroscopy. Southern Pine Health Research Cooperative, University of Georgia. Technical Report #5-2023, 14 pp.
Lim-Hing, S., Walker, T.D., Shalizi, N.M., Gandhi, K.J.K., McCarty, E.P., Montes, C.R., and Villari, C. 2023. Enhanced fusiform rust hazard maps: incorporating genotype and climate to predict disease. Southern Pine Health Research Cooperative, University of Georgia. Technical Report #4-2023, 11 pp.
Lim-Hing, S., Gandhi, K.J.K., Barnes, B.F., Sullivan, B.T., McCarty, E.P., and Villari, C. 2023. Effects of Manganese availability on the defense and physiology of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Southern Pine Health Research Cooperative, University of Georgia. Technical Report #3-2023, 20 pp.
Meinecke, C.D., McCarty, E., and Villari 2022. A next-generation survey of fungi associated with needle disease outbreaks on loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) in the southeastern Unites States. The Southern Pine Health Research Cooperative (SPHRC), Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia. SPHRC Technical Report #2-2022.
McCarty, E. 2021. Loblolly pine susceptibility to Nantucket pine tip moth: Do tree genetics play a role? The Southern Pine Health Research Cooperative (SPHRC), Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia. SPHRC Technical Report #1-2021.
Outreach Papers
McCarty E., and Torbett M. 2024. Southern Pine Beetle in Georgia. University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and the Georgia Forestry Commission, WSFNR-24-30a.
Meinecke C.D., Eshleman R.A., Villari C. and E. McCarty. 2024. Brown Spot Needle Blight and Needlecast: Emerging Diseases of Loblolly Pine. University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the Georgia Forestry Commission, WSFNR-24-25a. 8 Pages.
Gandhi, K.J.K., Klepzig, K.D., Gochnour, B., Barnes, B.F., Sheehan, T.N., McCarty, E., Villari, C., and Vogt, J.T. 2019. Bark and woodboring beetles in wind-damaged pine stands in the southern United States. Joint publication of the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the Jones Center at Ichauway, WSFNR-19-38.
McCarty, E., Cassidy, V., Gandhi, K.J.K., and Villari, C. 2019. Nantucket pine tip moth: an insect pest of young pine stands. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Entomology Outreach Series, WSFNR-19-3.
Peer-reviewed Papers
Lim-Hing, S., Conrad, A. O., Montes, C. R., Gandhi, K. J., Payn, K. G., Walker, T. D., & Villari, C. (2025). Near-infrared spectroscopy as a high-throughput phenotyping method for fusiform rust resistance in loblolly pine. Plant Phenomics 7:100066. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphe.2025.100066
McCarty, E., Clabo, D., Dickens, D., Waldrop, C., Gandhi, K.J.K., and Villari, C. 2023. Loblolly pine susceptibility to Nantucket pine tip moth: do tree genetics play a role? Forest Science, https://doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxad025.
Meinecke C.D., Niyas A., McCarty E., Quesada T., Smith J.A., and Villari C. 2024. Searching the Pinus taeda foliar mycobiome for emerging pathogens among brown spot needle blight and needlecast outbreaks in the Southeast United States. Phytobiomes, https://doi.org/10.1094/PBIOMES-02-24-0013-R.
Lim-Hing, S., Montes, C.R., Walker, T.D., Shalizi, M.N., Gandhi, K.J.K., and Villari, C. 2024. Enhanced fusiform rust hazard maps for loblolly pine: incorporating genotype and climate to predict disease. Forest Ecology and Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122158. Available at SSRN 4728237.
Press Releases
- New hazard maps may predict rust diseases in loblolly pine trees.
- Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR). 2024. FFAR Grant Addresses Emerging Pine Needle Diseases.
- Gandhi, K.J.K., Benton, E., and Villari, C. 2019. Press Release: Southern Pine Health Research Cooperative. TimberMart South, Fourth Quarter, pp. 48-49.