0:00  
Jim: Hi and welcome back to Plantopia. Plantopia is the plant health podcast of the American phytopathological society. And I'm your host, Jim Bradeen. I'm a professor of plant pathology and associated vice president at Colorado State University. And today it's my privilege to have a conversation with Professor for Febina Matthew. And Febina is joining us from Fargo, North Dakota. She earned her Bachelor Degree in biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, and she earned her master's and PhD degrees both in plant pathology from North Dakota State University. She also holds the Graduate Certificate in statistics from NDSU. And prior to pursuing her PhD, Febina worked at NDSU as an academic advisor and lecturer, and as an extension research specialist. In 2014, Fabien joined the faculty of the Department of Agronomy, horticulture in Plant Science at South Dakota State University and she was promoted to associate professor in 2020. Last year in 2022, for abena joined the faculty of Plant Pathology at North Dakota State University where she holds the rank of Associate Professor and broadleaf oilseed crop pathologist. But Febina is known for her disease biology and management research in a variety of crops, especially soybean and sunflower. And she and her colleagues published widely and well respected journals. That mean his research is also supported by national regional, state and commodity funding, including recent grants from the USDA, the United Soybean Board, the National sunflower Association, and the South Dakota oil seed Council. And Febina is a frequent invited speaker for international and national conferences, and she and her colleagues are very active participants in plant health, which is the annual meeting of the American phytopathological society. Broader career for being has been a passionate mentor for students, postdocs and visiting scientists. And to date she has mentored 15 undergraduate students, 12 graduate students for postdocs, and visiting scientists from Egypt and Serbia. And for betta is very quick to highlight the many accomplishments of our graduate students, including numerous awards and scholarships. But Febina is also actively involved in service to her institution and our profession. Currently, she serves as a member of the APS early career professionals committee, the epidemiology Committee, and the soil microbiology and root diseases committee of the American phytopathological society. She is also the secretary treasurer of the APS North Central Division. She serves as section editor for the diseases of ACA section of the handbook of vegetable diseases, which is coming out from Springer press. And since 2018, she has served as a disease notes Assignment Editor for the Journal plant disease. The Bina has earned numerous awards throughout her career, including the APS scrofa faces of the future award in 2017, the Early Career Award from the APS North Central Division in 2021, and also in 2021. She and her colleagues are in the North Central Regional multistate Research Award for NCAA era 137 Soybean diseases. The Bina is especially passionate about outreach to women and underrepresented groups in our profession. And in recent weeks was awarded a faculty fellowship for broadening participation from NDSU. You can follow Febina on LinkedIn. And on Twitter. She's at Febina underscore M. Febina, welcome to Plantopia. And thank you for being here.

3:44  
Febina: Thank you, Jim. That was a wonderful introduction. Thank you so much for having me.

3:48  
Jim: We're delighted to have you here. And I want to kick off today by learning a little bit about you. Tell us about your your background and how you found and got into the field of plant pathology.

4:00  
Febina: I was born and raised in a Middle East that's typically in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. As I was completed my high school, moved to India for my undergraduate studies and biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering. At the time I was pursuing my undergraduate studies, biotechnology was really a blooming field, especially in India, we had exposure to different disciplines like pharmaceutical scientists, biochemistry, bioengineering, agriculture, biotechnology, and so on. So it was one of my, I had a senior you project in my final year of my undergrad education, which was on plant and tissue culture. So my den mentor, talk to me about the uses of where tissue culture can help, but besides propagation, that also I know there's something outside that hole propagation and trying to increase productivity because there's all these challenges when we do those kinds of techniques and So that's where the diseases came in. And the crop that I was working on at that time was sandalwood, which is kind of exclusively used for making cosmetics, and so on. So we talked me into the field asked me to do a little bit of homework through internet, and see that it's something that disconnect near to me, though. In India, unfortunately, we don't necessarily have a plant pathology department in all the agricultural universities that are very few that is all thing. So it seems like the opportunities were much more outside the US or outside India. And so us was one of my destinations. I did look at universities mockeries state had a fabulous program and pathology. But I remember the day when I you know, we sent it as I had already applied, I got a scholarship letter invitation letter from NDSU. And I had no idea that Fargo was on the map. And I we were booking our tickets to say it was me and my dad that we booked our tickets and we asked the agent can you join us many tacky burgers at the quiet Canada or the US because we had so many questions. And all the challenges he knew that somewhere near Chicago and that's a bit but we didn't know exactly what direction to go. So that that was one and the day I went to get my USB so the consular officer even asked me if I knew where partner with other mouth and he said he gave me my read and he then you should probably watch the movie Fargo to know where exactly you're going. That though when I came to Fargo, the counselor was right. It was more of a weather shock because it was winter as opposed to culture at the time. And so I came here and began my plant pathology journey. In the peak winter when there was perhaps a totally new crops to look at what came somewhere. It's when I began to look at a lot of the oilseed crops at the time when I was doing Masters under Dr. Lewis, the NGO that we were looking at guide will be in Corolla he showed me what the diseases look like. And then it kind of sparked my interest as to what actually what causes these diseases? And how can it be a challenge and a follow up period, and what we can do about it. So that then following masters, it led me to working under call that lead briefly. And then Sammarco, who eventually became my PhD mentor. And we started looking at it outside the box, it was not just at research, but also communicating with the farmers to know what exactly their problem is and how we as mantha colleges could potentially play a role in solving that problem. And so that's what led to my PhD eventually, in plant pathology. I focus mostly on sight meanings of quality leads in spider verse at NDSU. And then that led me to South Dakota State, where again, you all see production is really good. I mean, Khan is number one crop, but then there's soybean in front by the steward, I continued my career. And so today I am here, and I know plant pathology fairly well. And I think the most interesting aspect for me when it comes to this field is having a fair knowledge of the practical side of it. I mean, knowing something outside the classroom means a lot to me when it comes to this particular field. So it's like I feel I'm very close to nature. When I'm out there, they didn't just walk into the field or stone they'll the back kind of is a nutshell into how I actually made it I've adapted something that I was passionate about, as opposed to something that on a stone and put an option.

8:28  
Jim: Thank you so much that passion really comes through and what an incredible story that really spans the globe. I think you mentioned a moment ago, before we started recording that you've spent most of your life now in the Dakotas North and South Dakota must feel like home at this point.

8:45  
Febina: Yeah, it is it is home. You know, I just think Dakota the way you when it comes to culture, I've traveled in more than 20 states in the United but the code is salad culture that fairly unique besides the weather that is it was really nice. And it really helped me grow professionally. And it was not as Gene with one or two crops, I was able to work on a diversity of crops as a result of their production. And it was fairly easy to reach out the followers and although I don't come from and not from this culture, I was always welcomed in meetings and manner. I meant that a lot of respect. And the fact that okay, you have spent your life or come from a different country and yet you're helping us out. There was something that really touched my hand and I really chose to stay in the Dakota moment and I actually thought

9:34  
Jim: And you've mentioned a couple times to farmers and the importance of practical research. Is it fair to say that that really a key motivator in your your research?

9:44  
Febina: Yeah, so I will 100% agree with that. My forefathers our farmers in India and you know, their every year we would and they grew mostly rice, tapioca with had rubber trees. It's a different kind of crops that we see He compared to North Dakota or South Dakota.

10:02  
Jim: There's not many rubber trees in North Dakota. No.

10:08  
Febina: Pine trees and Christmas trees for decorating. I get fed up with the winters, but I don't get to see it over trees at all in the United States, perhaps it's mostly confined to India have Misha, you know, but every year, even though I mean, neither of my parents would be sending a picture of that thing. Do you know what this would be but dizzy, then we'll be to do about it. And so as much as India has granted, we actually did got a lot of research going but having come from a farming background, and well I have seen my grandparents talking about all this thing, the guy insect pests can have compromised the production, I saw the need to be able to solve the problem because it is connected to our livelihood. That's number one, then comes the economy of the state the country and you know, then eventually go economic, but trying to help somebody to do their problem. As always, something I always enjoyed doing, though, maybe grab the College became an excuse for that. But that's how I see it. They are my key motivators when the job tried, the research is working, and they call it and say, Okay, this is working we now so it means those are like, Okay, I've done my job, right? They'll be Yes, I think farmers and stakeholders that will be motivated me when it comes to my week.

11:23  
Jim: That's great. I often think of plant pathology is a truly international science and in a way that not all disciplines are. Of course we all eat. We all grow crops, and disease, insect environmental stresses are commonality regardless of the crop or the culture. You've obviously worked a lot on soybean and sunflower. And you've mentioned several other crops that you've worked on. What I think about those production systems, even if we're only talking about soybean, or sunflower, there are a lot of disease challenges. Could you talk us through your thought process when you're faced with a broad menu of things you could work on? How do you make decisions and what research problems are really worth your time and expertise?

12:10  
Febina: And that's a good question, Jim. So the when I began my career, I thought Dakota state that was a question I had in my mind, I was in charge of the oilseed crops by 12 crops was what I was working on at that point. And absorbing sunflowers and cotton had importance at the time. But thinking okay, I don't know how many problems I can actually talk for the farmers because delete is it's not one disease in a fear that like you have multitude of diseases happening rap at the same time, driven by almost the same environmental conditions, different organisms, it could be a fungus and bacteria co infecting. And so how I decided to then go about positioning my program was to be able to address immediate stakeholder priorities when it comes to diseases. So for instance, if it is soybean, it was sudden death syndrome was just newly identified and Dr. Cordell and it became an emerging threat. We know it is an important disease in other soybean producing states in the US but in decodes it was fairly new, when the one of the varieties at the time had any tolerance to the cause of organic chemistry during World War Two farming. And so we saw the need to be able to explore the use of seed treatments as an option to manage Sudden Death Syndrome. In addition to also being able to screen the John class and persistence to the area. With sunflower the story was very similar to my PhD, we did bump up sis 10 King, which is which a major e limiting disease and from Thor's, the problem was pretty much in Minnesota, North Korea, but the year I started in South Dakota, we had a disease epidemic. And then that triggered my research program to be again looking at management solution. So for the disease priorities, whatever I had chose, and I pretty much chose to go alongside of what the stakeholders were expecting. But having said that, I've also picked up diseases that may not be a priority to the decoders. So that would be like the diaper day pump off streets is impacting soybeans. But I do know that it is the major problem in the southern United States, for example, and I took up some of that research program to be able to understand the organism better. As to there is a lot of questions as to why we have not been able to identify an effective fungicide against the species or why is it that the jumpers and didn't think they have a good printer material that has resistance, although these organisms have been recorded in 1940, and we're already in like about, you know, 60 years, 7080 years ahead, and we still don't know why that has, there's no solutions in play. So I decided to take up some of those organisms just because after interest or having samples I decided to continue that into soybeans as well. And so I placed it between immediate priorities versus Something that the Dakota is also could be at risk in years to come. So that's how I'm playing. I'm balancing between the organic was.

15:08  
Jim: Yeah, thank you so much for sharing that out very logical. And I think that's very helpful to all of us, as we're thinking about the mini challenges opportunities that we all face in this field, the Plex Knology. In 2017, you are one of the recipients of the APS scrofa faces of the future award. For the benefit of our listeners, let me explain that this award annually recognizes for early career professionals who share their research perspectives, and prognosticate on where our field is going as part of an annual symposium. And in 2017, this competition focused on host resistance and host pathogen interactions. So for Urbina, that was six years ago 2017 That you were part of this symposium. Thinking back, do you recall what you saw as big trends in the area of plant pathology, and how has your perspective changed or stayed the same over that period of time.

16:01  
Febina: The topic that I best endured as otter B Ward was on dipo, they built up disinfecting balls at the time I finished my PhD, we screened several breeding minds at the time that was almost available to the farmers were assistance to these organisms, but we couldn't find anything that had persistence to multiple species. But this was an early project that I took up at South Dakota State to again, go back to the dental materials, which we call the USDA cultivated gunpowder and Batum and check to see if they were resistant otherwise, and interestingly, the found resistance in the landscape was released in 1970, by the USD ARS unit, again, partly multiple. So that was a big breakthrough, because the cheated that we identified resistance had resistance to not one species, but two species die, both end and aquaponically. And the material all the sudden became a big hit in the market, like there will be those international breeders also wanting to get proceeds from the nested collection within things pertaining to this particular variety. So at the time, when I wrote the person doing the research, the PI, the the basic finding that okay, we have a resistant material in hand was a big breakthrough. The next step obviously, was to be able to identify candidate chain that may be present in this particular material. But this visit by we're calling it to be interested, that became other people set up a challenge because I like rehab techniques that are to identify and validate candidate genes like in crops such as soybean, solving two out of Topsis, we're not quite set up for that in some flowers. So that became more of a futuristic idea. Now, how do I transform sunflowers in such a way that I could be validating the gene that I identified as resistance? So an idea was fleshed out at the time of this symposium? And it's an idea that we're still trying to work on with the breeders to see okay, how can we make this happen so that we know this particular gene is the golden gene that one would need to deploy in commercial hybrid to protect it against the markers. So that will be proud to be working on it at the time I proposed it. I didn't know if it was going to work. But I think we're still working on it and Tim pike with dating for momentum that we got the material and and that

18:18  
Jim: That's great. Yeah, it's good to see progress. And really thumbs up research, right, we get some things right. Some things are more complex than we think. And that's why we continue to invest in this field. Right? I don't know if this is a fair question or not. But we talked about where he's our field going six years ago, where do you think will be six years from now? What is 2029 gonna look like for Plant Pathology?

18:42  
Febina: I have been reading now are seeing the new talent that are there. You know, anytime I go for the EPS meeting that I said, the only Korean professionals on the books that have just started like fresh from graduate school, or human, the students that are just getting ready to graduate their cell that is coming up the interdisciplinary training, it's not that traditional path apologies there. But it is in the wide with not a research areas for other fields, pension engineering, and that's where the precision agriculture is coming in. With it, it was around since the 1930s. But it's not a field that anyone paid a lot of attention to, unlike what we have today with a lot of the technologies that are coming or crops that are into developing transgenics cultivars to protect, you know, against zone organisms, including framing system adored and so on. The I see where students are going to be chained in about interdisciplinary areas alongside climatology. Perhaps it's the need of the hour to address a lot of the critical workforce. The industry needs at this time, but I see a lot more potential and then that because our students are probably going to be very competent, they're on they're going to be good researchers. They know the best stock market was and I think that's better feature as part of the pathology doesn't need a traditional apart, apologists are daunting. It's just that they are there. But it's probably going to be mostly in the back no 19, which is the title of the rock technology, artificial intelligence to me, other thing.

20:13  
Jim: Yeah, it really is an exciting time. And to your point about that, I don't know the tension between plant pathology as a discipline unto itself. And the opportunities for interdisciplinary work might add a really enlightening conversation with Professor Jan leach in I guess it was episode one of season three of plant topia where we talked on that very topic as well. So we'll invite you back in six years to see how how you did it. And we'll we'll ask you what the next six years will look like as well. I'd like to turn now to mentoring which has been something that you really are very passionate about, and in particular, your supportive women and underrepresented groups. Where does this passion come from? And how do you think this this passion is reflected in your approach to to our science?

21:05  
Febina: I'm a loving woman of color. And this one article that came out in Nature, the author's Natalia, discusses about how academia sculptural work almost broke the researcher, and how she is basically working to undo it. This was a conversation that I often have of it, not necessarily just women, but also books from any background, it could be cultured with the chamber, or it could be age, even students come and talk about how old I'll maintain academia be. I haven't gone through the process myself as an assistant professor working towards promotion and tenure. There was a time I remember in my early career for three years, I got started at SD state, I nearly hit the rock bottom, because I thought they I was overworking myself, I just didn't have time for any activity. Or you know, I benched and see you know, book me read the Quit books at collaborated with me they started reaching out ask me Is everything okay? Besides writing grants and publications and everything, I just couldn't get a very strong handle on myself. And that was the first time I thought I was just all coming, me. And I did try to strike a conversation with my then mentor, with my boss at the time. But I just couldn't figure out what was really going on with me. So it took me some time to understand that it's probably an overkill, without really thinking as to how I could establish in such a way that I can still make my presence in the community at APS community or con pathology community in general. But I've actually overtraining, and that's where I thought, I can share my experience with folks that are going through the same emotional turmoil, perhaps they will at least get them on support or the understanding, okay, they're not all by ourselves. And that is a much better effective way of doing it, rather than going to their traditional way of just kidding in. So that's what led me to mentor, you know, again, women, underrepresented group, anybody who is going through that stress in their life, I decided to go take an extra step and help them out. I think as humans have been, you know, we'd have that civil responsibility, if you were to help each other out, watch out for others, if somebody is having a tough day, or you know, maybe a tough time at their job, or whatever. So that's how I got into mentoring, not just faculty members, but also students. So anyone that I see who's undergoing stress.

23:34  
Jim: Wow, for being a native is very that personal story that's very powerful. And living by example. That's so important. Thank you for bringing that to your mentoring style.

23:46  
Febina: They've been I bet this particular article donation, this is a very recent one. This was I found this through Twitter, actually, when I read it, it actually just I felt like I was reading my biography. No, having come from out Fry, the not knowing the system education system that us out, which is very different than what India has, and the challenges that we've been through. But I would want to see when I read that I'm not reading it as somebody who is coming from outside the US, but it could apply to anybody, even within the US, but it's going to the same tomorrow. Yeah, so this is something I have well, I recognize for myself, although it took some time for me to recognize that but I've been trying to help people out who's going through that challenge.

24:30  
Jim: Right, that's wonderful. And we'll we'll post a link to that article at plan topia. podcast.org, the landing page for this particular episode. Continuing on the mentoring theme, very recently, you were awarded a fellowship in the Broadening Participation Program at NDSU. And this I think of the year long fellowship, what will you be doing during the next year?

24:56  
Febina: There were two faculty fellows who were awarded the Hello Take the same title. So just know me and Dr. Mackey, who is our President Biden's team for expanding opportunities for Native Americans when it comes to researching other capacity. So the job posts, what are you working alongside to develop opportunities to connect NDSU, but the tribal institutions and allowed to call it so opening up channels in such a way that they could be part of all research, and we could be part of their research project as well, which includes training in baps mentoring. And it's not just faculty members, but also students. I also proposed about improving the Diversity Equity inclusion resources at NDSU, which we do have several programs already in place. But we wanted to have a one stop place for a lot of these resources to help faculty members when they write federal grants. And these days, there are funding agencies such as NSF or NIH actually asking for the DIA plan that the diversity equity inclusion, the working plan, and having written couple of them myself, it can be a challenge of time, because we need to really know what we want to be able to propose if we have the program the initiatives in the universities. So having them listed the read out of the NDSU webpage, for instance, actually will help faculty members write our DEI plan, which has never been absent 20 years ago, the needs when we were writing grants, maybe it was not really critical. But these days are becoming more important. That's pretty much what I will be accomplishing in this era, as well as the pollution that's confirmed, so to bring in people to be part of that dei initiative.

26:43  
Jim: That alone, we look forward to seeing where you go with it over the next year. And when it comes to work with indigenous peoples, you've had a long history both at SDSU and NDSU. Tell us a little bit about what you've done.

26:58  
Febrina: In 2018, me and few colleagues after SGST we developed on USDA, well, it was USD athlete funded, but more of a research and extension experience for undergraduate that typically targeting the students of the private institutions as well as financially disadvantaged students. This was funded through the USGS education Literacy Initiative, and we call it the past are in you. And that was our response to that saying about the critical issues that we have in the STEM industry when it comes to workforce. They are a program with a big head, we did it for four years, including during the COVID time COVID time we went from the kind of limited to virtual mentoring but otherwise we had students from the strong institutions in South Dakota come to SDSU. They were mentored in different research labs, we had them pick the choice, but we gave them options as to who was available to mentor to they chose mentors, I had one student who wanted to work on sunflower diseases, and I had an welke on an extension practice sheet on both of our diseases, because he mentioned that it was an important crop in their reservation. But anytime they saw diseases, they didn't know that this was charcoal rot or this was a lapses or business droughts, they just know that something was happening. So that's where my journey started with the tribal institutions, but also to the APS and my graduate students to separate groups wanting twice so we they were what is up the natural education and almond award, and now 2016. So my students then propose to educate Native American youths in the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota, on diseases and insects, affecting their community garden. Their one way per port security comes through community gardens, so they do have a mass production happening to community gardens as opposed to like a commercial bond that we see otherwise. Just recently, we got an email again, from the or ABS foundation committee that my current students at NDSU has also been awarded the battery Education and Development Award to educate K 12 students. And these are community schools in the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. So we'll be going out there to teach them all about food safety, how to identify spoiled food, anything obviously nobody wants to take it but at least through a seeing if they see hold on slavery or if it's now something a lot and how do you identify that the food is poisoned? So that's what my students are going to be doing. So it's been a good journey. I like the learning different conscious. And this indigenous culture is something that always excited me, though, you know, the the very good opportunity to go there and give back something to the community with an ad. We're looking forward to that.

29:51  
Jim: That's very exciting work. It's wonderful to see that your students are following suit as well.

29:57  
Febina: Yeah, I run thought of them. That's what it was. You know, I'm blogged had the editor to help me out in what I'm passionate about. So building them interested in them or teaching them that this is also part of my because we see it in our kitchen or dining garden every day. But educating the one on that is important that the plant pathologist. Yeah, absolutely.

30:17  
Jim: Yeah. So there's one last question I have to ask. And we've talked, of course about your impacts and research and mentorship, which are many. But in addition to those activities, you of course, teach and you teach at a variety of plant pathology courses. What really caught my eye though, when I was reviewing your your CV, are classes that you've taught in the Department of Theatre Arts, that's not normal for most plant pathologists, what classes have you been part of in the theatre arts,

30:48  
Febina: I don't know how many people know that. But I am a trained dancer, I started my dance journey at age of four. And we go through the Indian language, or native. So we go through a graduation ceremony, which I did at the age of 10. After having moved to the United States, I began teaching dance. I taught at the NDCs Wellness Center for a while when I was a graduate student, it was just part of the hobby. But I thought the age group or even kids from age four, all the way up to, I don't know 5060 folks that just wanted to do it for the sake of doing it like especially physical fitness, or someone who is really extremely passionate about dancing, but has not had a chance to learn dancing, maybe perhaps during the younger days, but you know, decided to take some time out for themselves as they grow older. So I did a lot of shows in Fargo, mostly charity work, like churches, Make A Wish Foundation cancer awareness, or so many of that sought to any proceeds that came out of the dance shows pretty much went to those organizations at South Dakota State. You know, we do have an international student population, including faculty members, staff, and the university needs a lot of effort to expose people from different cultures. And that's how I got picked up to teach Indian classical dance in sophomore class called multi culture dance. And I think we have about 2025 students, I have to say that when I started teaching or dance, it just stuck in my head, it's so easy to teach intro path ecology because you can go blank, he talking about a particular orgasm, or oz analysis, and you hardly have to even read through the slide. But when it came to dance, it was a little bit of a challenge. Because it's not something that I do every day, I found myself actually being known as teaching, like a dance class, like he has been a sophomore level. And so I took my time to basically even review, prepare 100 I don't know, I've worked so hard in preparing for any other lecture when it came to pathology. But it was an interesting experience. I taught them different styles of dance, I also did a demonstration, I had books that told me that they weren't interested in being part of the studio read, I would come and teach them Indian dance on a weekly basis because they wanted to learn something outside the regular jazz, hip hop, belly Taliban thing. So that could have touched my heart that I saw students that were actually open to understanding another culture that they may not be exposed to the specifically in Brookings, South Dakota. So that was my downstairs and I really enjoy teaching that. And I will be looking for opportunities here. Now that adaptive barbells

33:34  
Jim: That's really exciting. And I can say without a doubt that teaching a dance class would make me a lot more nervous than teaching a planned path class. Since I know literally nothing about dance does it? Maybe someday you and I can talk about that, too. been it's been really fun having this conversation getting to know you a bit better. Do you have any parting thoughts for listeners?

33:55  
Febina: Yeah, I wanted to share the best advice I've gotten in my life. And that is, I did it, everybody. But I think it's applicable to anyone any lead in the world. It should just be your cell. Your if you just promotion tenure, whether there's a competition, whether it is just living a life, that is more luxury, but we that we better. And so what I think is best for me is what I need to be doing and I don't have to be watching around to see who is doing what, and then perhaps trap accordingly. That's something I live in by nature in life. It's always boggling to just be ourselves and do what makes us happy rather than what others need us to do. So that's my parting advice.

34:37  
Jim: That's great advice for Plant Pathology and for light. So Febina, thank you so much again for being here on Plantopia.

34:44  
Febina: Thank you so much for having me again. It was nice to cough something up. All right. That's I really enjoyed this conversation.

34:49  
Jim: So did I. So we just heard from the Febiuna Matthew fina is an associate professor of Plant Pathology at North Dakota State University. And this is is the Plantopia podcast I'm Jim Bradeen and I'm looking forward to our next conversation thanks for listening

Transcribed by https://otter.ai