Christian Cumagun

Research Scientist, University of Idaho and Adjunct Faculty of Biology, Brigham Young University-Idaho

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Learning to become a better biology teacher. AP Biology Reading in Cincinnati Ohio was a blast!

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

My hometown, Lipa City, Batangas, was crucial to the Philippines becoming the world's 4th largest coffee exporter in the 1880s. But in 1889, a coffee rust outbreak completely decimated this global hub—even prompting the British to shift their preference from coffee to tea.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Bacterial brown spot (Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae) is a sporadically severe disease of Idaho beans, particularly in sprinkler-irrigated fields.The disease is a regulated, quarantine-type in Idaho, particularly under Idaho’s strict bean seed production rules.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Introducing plant pathology or plant medicine to high school seniors as part of the summer job fair.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Santol leaf galls are warty, bumpy growths caused by mites. It is a tropical fruit known in English as cotton fruit or wild mangosteen.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Early blight of potato is a common fungal disease caused by Alternaria solani that primarily attacks stressed or aging plant tissue, often appearing first as dark, target-like spots on older, lower leaves

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Fusarium Head Blight or head scab, is a devastating fungal disease that turns wheat kernels into shriveled, bleached "tombstones" and produces dangerous toxins like deoxynivalenol, which can cause severe illness in humans and livestock if contaminated grain enters the food supply

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Papaya Ringspot Virus was the target of the first successful commercial application of genetic engineering in a fruit crop, which effectively saved the Hawaiian papaya industry from near extinction in the late 1990s

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Fusarium ear rot not only impacts the yield and quality of corn, but also contaminates it with mycotoxins associated with animal diseases and human health risks.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Rice blast. Annual yield losses are estimated to destroy enough rice to feed approximately 60 million to 70 million people. Typical symptoms are diamond-shaped spots, which my students at the University of the Philippines Los Banos would always identify correctly during exams.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Potato late blight caused the infamous Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, resulting in one million death due to starvation and an additional one million emigrating to America.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Wheat Blast - a pandemic disease. First identified in Brazil in 1985, it has spread across South America, South Asia, and Africa, imperiling global food security by causing up to 100% crop loss within days. We elucidated the pathogen evolution in Inoue et al. (2017) in Science.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Panama wilt (Fusarium wilt) is a banana destroyer that has reshaped worldwide agricultural practices.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Our latest Review paper on postharvest treatment by mycofumigation using yeasts is now out https://t.co/AiE3A55xHf

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Sheath Blight of Rice - a destructive rice disease worldwide

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

https://t.co/8U83iT1cJ9

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

My former masters student in the Philippines, Rochelle Olana, published her PhD research project on biological control of anthracnose of chilli using yeasts at Chiang Mai University, Thailand https://t.co/Ew3QpKLYNn

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

Idaho ranks number 1 in mint production in the US along with potato production, as highlighted in my presentation to growers, crop consultants, and academics at the Annual Meeting of the Idaho Association for Plant Protection.

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

A visit to buy food at a grocery store (SM SaveMore) in Sta. Mesa, Manila as a Balik (Returning) Scientist at Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) earlier this March led to this discovery. I extend my gratitude to my co-authors. https://t.co/tVhSmHGZ2m

[Christian Cumagun @CCumagun]

https://t.co/3ylU9vLbNx