Keinath named APS Fellow

Anthony “Tony” Keinath is the first Clemson University Research and Extension plant pathologist to be named a fellow by The American Phytopathological Society (APS).

This award is one of the highest levels of professional recognition conferred by APS in recognition of outstanding contributions to the profession of plant pathology.

He received this award during the Plant Health 2023 conference in Denver, Colorado, on Aug. 13.

Keinath is a plant pathologist in the Clemson University Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences. He started his career when he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Botany from Michigan State University in 1982. He completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in plant pathology at Cornell University in 1985 and 1988 respectively. After a postdoctoral position with the USDA in Beltsville, Maryland, Keinath began working at the Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1991.

He is known for his studies of cucurbit diseases, most notably for his work with Stagonosporopsis, the fungi responsible for gummy stem blight, a disease feared by watermelon growers in the southeastern United States. Keinath demonstrated that the disease could be managed and yields could be increased if growers practiced weekly fungicide applications.

His most popular Cooperative Extension Service publication, Watermelon Fungicide Guide, is a comprehensive spray program based on his research on gummy stem blight, anthracnose, powdery mildew, downy mildew and bacterial fruit blotch, the primary foliar pathogens found on watermelon in the southeastern United States.

Throughout his career, Keinath’s research has critically examined the economic impacts of diseases. His program’s goals are to provide growers with effective, environmentally sound, economical disease management solutions. He incorporates information on input costs, crop values and profits from management practices he tests into his publications and presentations to promote adoption.

More information about Keinath’s career can be found at https://bit.ly/AKeinath_APS_Fellow.

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