WVII quotes Smart in report on spring rains, crop damage

WVII (Channel 7) quoted Alicyn Smart, a plant pathologist and assistant professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and director of UMaine’s Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab, for a report on how spring rains are damaging crops. Smart told WVII that large amounts of rain cause extra damp farming conditions that invite root diseases and water molds. “There’s potential for a post-harvest disease to occur. So an example of this would be your strawberries may not last as long in your refrigerator due to having a disease,” she said. Smart recommended farmers scout their fields for any signs of disease and send samples with potential diseases to the UMaine Extension Diagnostic and Research Laboratory sooner than later to prevent spreading diseases around the farm.