Pragya Adhikari
PA
Former Horticulture - PhD
Bio
- Degree Program: Ph.D. in Horticulture Science-Tomato Breeding Program Minor: Plant Pathology
- Previous Degrees: MS in Plant Science-Molecular Grape Breeding; Missouri State University
- Advisors: Dr. Dilip R. Panthee; Dr. Chris Gunter
- Dissertation: Mapping QTL Derived from Solanum pimpinellifolium L3707 for Bacterial Spot Disease Resistance and Fruit Morphology in Tomato.
- Dissertation Date: 2018-10-31
- Completion Date: December 2018
Research
My research is mainly focused on breeding tomatoes to improve resistance against a bacterial spot disease, a major problem experienced by tomato growers every year, but remained unsolved. Specific projects include:
- Characterization of pathogen phenotypes, genetic diversity, and race causing bacterial spots of tomato in North Carolina.
- Mapping QTL Derived from S. pimpinellifolium LA3707 for bacterial spot resistance in tomato.
- Mapping QTL Derived from S. pimpinellifolium LA3707 for fruit quality traits in tomato using Tomato Analyzer.