Research Interests

My expertise is in the management of plant diseases, and I am trained in disease diagnostics. I am interested and experienced across plant topics of regulatory significance including plant diseases, plant pests, and invasive plant species. Currently, I am working on a plant breeding program for eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, and resistance to the invasive pest, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). Specifically, our goals for this project are to optimize asexual propagation techniques, determine methods to initiate early seed cone production, and create a bioassay to screen hemlock trees for susceptibility to HWA. With previous experience in a cooperative extension lab, as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Miami University, and as a lecturer at John Carroll University, I am also committed to education and public outreach regarding these interests.

Select Publications

Dlugos, D.M., Bridges, W.C., and Jeffers, S.J. 2024. Phytophthora root and crown rot of lavender: New host-pathogen relationships involving six species of Phytophthora and three species of Lavandula. Plant Disease 108:769-777

Oliveira, S.A, Dlugos, D.M., Agudelo, P. and Jeffers, S.N. 2021. First report of Meloidogyne javanica pathogenic on hybrid lavender (Lavandula ×intermedia) in the United States. Plant Disease 106:305.

Drenovsky, R.E., Thornhill, M.L., Knestrick, M.A., Dlugos, D.M., Svejcar, T., and James, J.J. 2016. Seed production and seedling fitness are uncoupled from maternal plant productivity in three aridland bunchgrasses. Rangeland Ecology and Management 69:161-168.

Dlugos, D.M., Collins, H., Bartelme, E.M., and Drenovsky, R.E. 2015. The non-native plant Rosa multiflora expresses shade tolerance traits under low light availability. American Journal of Botany 102:1323-1331.

Frank, M.S., and Dlugos, D. Imperata cylindrica. Cogongrass. September 2011. Weed of the month. Florida Division of Plant Industry.

Dlugos, D., and Anderson, P. Colubrina asiatica, (L.) Brongn. Latherleaf, Asian nakedwood. May 2011. Weed of the Month. Florida Division of Plant Industry.

Dlugos, D.M., Bridges, W.C., and Jeffers, S.J. 2025. Managing Phytophthora root and crown rot on English lavender in the greenhouse with fungicides. HortScience 60(3):446-454

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