Addison Plaisance
Graduate Student
E-mail: aplaisance@agcenter.lsu.edu  

Major Professor: Dr. Edward McGawley

Education:

• 2010-Present – M. Sc. student, Dept. of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Louisiana State University

• 2006-2010 - B.Sc. (Biology), Honors College,  Louisiana State University

Experience:

• 2008-2010 - Student worker in Nematology lab.

Area of Research:

Turfgrasses are the most widely used ornamental crops in the United States, making their health extremely important to our ecosystem and economy. My research project involves conducting a survey of the nematodes present in residential home lawns in the East Baton Rouge area. Ultimately, the goal is to assess the impact of plant parasitic nematodes on St. Augustine and centipede turfgrasses by isolating the populations uncovered from home lawns and using them to infest the soil with these grasses in greenhouse trials. After completion of this project, I intend to study the interaction between nematodes and fungi and their cumulative effects on these turfgrasses.

Eventually, I hope to travel and identify nematodes in remote areas of the world.