BLACKSBURG, Va., Aug. 10 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:
An experimental enzyme significantly reduced fire blight in apple orchard field trials, offering growers a promising new way to fight one of the fruit industry's most destructive diseases.
The findings, published in Environmental Science & Technology, mark the first major research milestone in a $5.7 million U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Research Initiative project led by Virginia Tech. Researchers from eight institutions across seven apple-producing states are combining expertise in engineering, plant pathology, robotics, and other fields to develop a new generation of fire blight management tools.
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