b'Dr. Julie Pasche, NDSU By Tom Berg, NDSU Extension Writing AssociateOne of the aspects Dr. Julie Pascheshe was a multi-time all-conferenceresearchingpotatoesdiseasesin likes most about her job is workingperformer.2020.directly with potato growers. TheMoorheadnativecompletedItryandhelpthegrowerswith PascheistheNeilC.Gudmestadher bachelors degree in microbiolo- whatevertheirneedsare,Pasche Endowed Chair of Potato Pathologygy at NDSU and later finished hersaid.Someofmystrengthsare atNorthDakotaStateUniversity.mastersdegreeanddoctorateinleaf-spottingdiseases,Verticillium Shewasnamedtotheposition,plant pathology at the school.wilt,blackdotImgettingmore whichwasNDSUsfirstendowedinvolved in powdery scab which is a chair, in 2020. She was hired at NDSU by Dr. Neillittle bit newer for me, and we do Gudmestadtostudybacteriainsome work in common scab which I really enjoy the interaction withpotatoes. is something that we started since I the growers. Its important for us asreturned to potatoes. researchers to understand not onlyI was hired by Neil as a microbiolo-what their challenges are, but whatgist to work on bacterial ring rot, sorts of solutions they need, PaschePasche said. SomeofPaschesdoctoratework said.Wemightdevelopsolutionsfocused on Verticillium wilt, which that are not able to be implementedI worked on bacterial ring rot for ahasbeenanongoingproblemfor on a commercial growing scale. Wefewyearsandthenmovedintopotato growers. need to understand that end game,other projects. so we can work towards some solu- Verticillium wilt has been a main-tions that are sustainable for a grow- During that time, Pasche was work- stay for the project from the time I er. That interaction is hugely impor- ing on her masters degree in micro- started,Paschesaid.Partofmy tant to our research and why we dobiologyatNDSU,butpartwayPh.D. work was on Verticillium wilt, the research.through, switched to plant patholo- and we continue to do Verticillium gy, in part because of the interactionwilt work. I think we will probably PascheisaBisonthroughandwith the growers. dosountiltheendofmycareer. through. She was a two-sport stand- Hopefullywefindsomesolutions. out athlete at NDSU and was induct- I enjoyed working with the growersAlongthewayIthinkwehave. edintotheBisonAthleticHallofandlikedthefieldaspectofit,Wevelearnedalotaboutcultivar Famein2010.ShewasanAVCAPasche said. susceptibility and the importance of DivisionIIAll-Americanfirstteamreturning inoculum to the soil. selection twice, a three-time all-con- Aftercompletingherdoctorate, ferenceselectionandranksinthePasche worked with pulse crops andPasches pathology project also has top five of several career statisticaldry beans for several years, but thebeenworkingonfungicideresist-lists in volleyball. She also compet- Gudmestadendowedpositionance,particularlyonSDHI ed in the high jump at NDSU whereallowedhertomovebacktochemistries and what the outcome 24 POTATO GROWER MAY/JUNE 2023'