Tom C Creswell

Lab Director / Plant Disease Diagnostian

Department: Botany and Plant Pathology
Phone: 765.494.8081
Fax: 765.494.3958
Office: Plant & Soils Building, Room 101
E-mail: creswell@purdue.edu

As Director of the Plant & Pest Diagnostic Laboratory (P&PDL), I am responsible for overseeing daily operations and administration of the lab. The P&PDL is an interdisciplinary lab, taking advantage of technical expertise from several departments in the College of Agriculture to provide diagnostic and identification services to our clients. Our lab serves as the state laboratory for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

My responsibilities include supervising P&PDL staff, and managing all accounts and finances. In my role as a diagnostician I work toward accurate and timely diagnosis of plant disease problems on samples submitted to the Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory, along with control recommendations when requested. I help provide training in disease diagnostics to county Cooperative Extension educators, grower groups and others.

Outreach efforts include timely contributions of disease diagnostic information to newsletters and our website to help keep our clients informed about current problems.

Education

1987 North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC - Ph.D. Plant Pathology

1982 Auburn University, Auburn, AL - M.S. Plant Pathology

1980 Auburn University, Auburn, AL - B.S. Major: Botany with emphasis in Horticulture

Experience

2008 to present: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Director, Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab, Dept. of Botany and Plant Pathology

1987 to 2008: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Lab Director, Plant Disease and Insect Clinic, Department of Plant Pathology

- Recent Publications

Ruhl, G. E., K. A. Wise, T. C. Creswell, A. J. Leonberger, & C. L. Speers (2009). First Report of Goss’s Bacterial Wilt and Leaf Blight on Corn Caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis in Indiana. Plant Disease, 93.

Jurick, W. M., C. L. Harmon, J. Marois, D. L. Wright, K. Lamour, A. Vitoreli, T. C. Creswell, D. Hershman, C. Estevez, B. Kemerait, C. Balbalian, & P. F. Harmon (2007). A comparative analysis of diagnostic protocols for detection of the Asian soybean rust pathogen, Phakopsora pachyrhizi. Plant Health Progress.

Koenning, S. R., J. W. Frye, S. C. Butler, & T. C. Creswell (2006). First Report of Phakopsora pachyrhizi on Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) in North Carolina and Increased Incidence of Soybean Rust on Soybean in 2006. Plant Disease, 91(5), 637.

Koenning, S., T. C. Creswell, E. Dunphy, E. Sikora, & J. Mueller (2006). Increased incidence of target spot of soybean caused by Corynespora cassiicola in the Southeastern US. Plant Disease, 90(7), 974.

Koenning, S., A. Moore, T. C. Creswell, G. Abad, M. Palm, J. Hernandez, J. McKemy, L. Levy, & R. DeVries-Paterson (2006). First report of soybean rust caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi in North Carolina. Plant Disease, 90(7), 973.

Silva-Rojas, H. V., T. C. Creswell, J. L. Phillips, J. A. Abad, & Z. G. Abad (2004). Two putative new species of Pythiogeton associated with cypress and English ivy in North Carolina. Phytopathology, 94(S95).

Abad, Z. G., J. A. Abad, & T. C. Creswell (2002). Advances in the integration of morphological and molecular characterization in Phytophthora genus: The case of P. kelmania and other putative new species. Phytopathology, 92(S1).

Polston, J. E., T. R. Rosebrock, T. Sherwood, T. C. Creswell, & P. J. Shoemaker (2002). Appearance of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus in North Carolina. Plant Disease, 86(1), 73.

Creswell, T. C., & R. Wick (2001). Cryptomeria Diseases. Diseases of Woody Ornamentals. St. Paul, MN: APS Press.