Venkateshwaran’s research focuses on plant-microbe interactions, plant disease management, and sustainable agriculture. His work explores how plants communicate with beneficial microbes in the soil to improve health, resilience, and crop productivity.
Alfalfa is a vital crop for Wisconsin’s dairy farms, providing high-quality feed for cows in the form of hay and silage. However, a soilborne disease called Aphanomyces root rot poses a serious threat to alfalfa production, especially in the Midwest. Once this disease infects a field, there are currently no effective treatments, and fungicides have shown little success. Breeding disease-resistant alfalfa varieties is one approach, but not many resistant options are available—and the pathogen can evolve, making it harder to manage over time. To help tackle this challenge, researchers supported by the Dairy Innovation Hub previously identified three essential plant oils that showed strong promise in reducing the disease in lab and greenhouse trials.
The research team will test whether these plant-based treatments can effectively protect alfalfa crops under real-world farming conditions. If successful, this work could offer dairy producers a more natural, sustainable solution to keep alfalfa healthy and ensure a steady supply of feed for Wisconsin’s dairy herds.