Ahmed Abdelmagid and Yong Min Kim are AAFC plant pathologists who work to diagnose the diseases of MPSG crops.
BY: Ashley Robinson, editor
While Ahmed Abdelmagid and Yong Min Kim may have grown up thousands of miles apart and in different countries, they had similar entries into the world of plant pathology.
Kim grew up in South Korea and Abdelmagid was raised in Egypt. Both were influenced by their fathers to study plant pathology. Kim’s father, a university professor himself, encouraged him to pursue pathology.
Abdelmagid’s father told him that plant pathology would satisfy him because it’s mix of agriculture and other sciences. “So, then I started to explore this idea and what plant pathology is,” Abdelmagid says. “The interaction between plants and microbes and the impact they have on plants – I found it was very interesting.”
As the two pursued their studies, they furthered their studies in Canada, which eventually lead to their jobs with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) – Abdelmagid as a research scientist in oil seeds and pulse crops pathology at AAFC Morden Research and Development Centre, and Kim as a research scientist in oil seeds and pulse crops pathology at AAFC Brandon Research and Development Centre. Through their positions they work closely with the staff at Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers (MPSG) to identify research projects that help MPSG farmers.
“I always try to be close to MPSG to know what are the real issues impacting farmers,” Abdelmagid explains. “I always try to find the ideas that will have a direct impact on [dry beans, field peas and soybeans] for the farmers.”
While it’s important to work on long term research, it’s also important to have research projects that are three to four years in length and can deliver results to farmers faster, Abdelmagid adds.
“As a plant pathologist one of our main goals is to understand the current status of the pathogen
populations that we’re dealing with. While also trying to keep an eye out for any new or emerging diseases,” Kim says. “Our disease surveillance activities for various field crops in Manitoba help us identify root pathogens and any emerging threats early on. This is essential for sustainable crop production and maintaining good security.”
Currently Abdelmagid and Kim are working on annual provincial disease surveys together. These surveys inspect for diseases found in soybeans, dry beans and field peas. The surveys are focused on identifying disease pathotypes. The two plant pathologists are working together on the soybean survey specifically. The soybean survey is looking at the incidences of stem diseases, previously they had focused on foliage and root diseases.
Kim is working on improved disease management strategies for pulse and oilseed crop production and the management of plant disease risk in diversified cropping systems. Abdelmagid is also working on diversifying crop rotations and is researching that if by growing fava beans in a field can it reduce Aphanomyces incidence.