Lucky Mehra

Lucky Mehra

Plant Disease Epidemiologist

About me

I am a plant disease epidemiologist by training. I worked on epidemiology of Septoria nodorum blotch during my PhD from North Carolina State University, Raleigh. In my MS, I worked on postharvest diseases of blueberry and pomegranate at University of Georgia, Athens.

In addition to plant pathology, I love data analysis and programming in R, SAS, and python. In my free time, I enjoy reading news (mainly technology), watching TV, hiking, singing rhymes with my daughter, and gardening.

I was a teaching assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. I taught Principles of Plant Pathology (PLPTH 500) that was offered every spring semester. This is a fundamental course in plant pathology that introduces students to nature of plant pathogens and to cause, effect, and management of plant diseases.

Download my Resume or CV.

Interests

  • Disease modeling
  • R programming
  • Teaching

Education

  • PhD in Plant Pathology/Statistics, 2015

    North Carolina State University

  • MS in Plant Pathology, 2010

    The University of Georgia

  • BSc in Agriculture, 2008

    Punjab Agricultural University

Experience

 
 
 
 
 

Teaching Assistant Professor

Kansas State University

Jan 2018 – Jul 2020 Kansas

Responsibilities include:

  • Teaching Plant Pathology
  • Teaching R Programming
  • Statistical analysis
 
 
 
 
 

Postdoctoral Research Scholar

North Carolina State University

Jul 2016 – Dec 2017 Florida
Modeling of spatial and temporal spread of plant diseases.
 
 
 
 
 

Laboratory Assistant

North Carolina State University

Feb 2016 – Jun 2016 North Carolina
Analyzed cucurbit downy mildew and wheat powdery mildew data.

Teaching

Instructional activities

  • Principles of plant pathology (PLPTH 500) at Kansas State University (offered every spring semester).
  • Lab teaching of Crop Diseases (PLPTH 585) with Judy O’Mara (offered every fall semester).
  • Developing an Introduction to R workshop with Dr. Sydney Everhart.
    • co-taught with Sydney Everhart and Nikita Gambhir at University of Nebraska, Lincoln on March 11th, 2019.
    • taught with Daljit Singh at Kansas State University, Manhattan on June 27th, 2019.
    • taught to undergraduate students from ANGRAU, India on July 2nd, 2019.
  • Creating plant disease epidemiology excercises in R in collaboration with Tim Todd.

Teaching assistance

At Department of Plant Pathology, NCSU
  • PP 318 (Forest Pathology) in Spring 2014.
  • PP 315 (Principles of Plant Pathology) in Fall 2013.
  • PP 590 (Field Plant Pathology in NC) during Fall 2012.
At Department of Plant Pathology, UGA
  • Path 4400/6400 (Plant Pathology for Teachers) during Spring 2010.

Accomplish­ments

Effective Teaching Practices

Association of College and University Educators Aug 2018 – Apr 2019
See certificate

Skills

Teaching

100%

R

100%

Statistics

100%

SAS

80%

Recent Publications

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Functional response and prey stage preference of *Delphastus catalinae* and *D. pallidus* (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on *Bemisia tabaci* (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Considering the importance of natural enemies in the integrated management programme of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), in the current …
Vivek Kumar, Lucky Mehra, Cindy L McKenzie, Lance S Osborne
DOI

Relating Peanut Rx Risk Factors to Epidemics of Early and Late Leaf Spot of Peanut

Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of prescription fungicide programs, based upon Peanut Rx, to reduce combined effects of …
Abraham M. Fulmer, Lucky Mehra, Robert C. Kemerait Jr., Timothy B. Brenneman, Albert K. Culbreath, Katherine L. Stevenson, Emily G. Cantonwine
DOI

Tolerance of southern highbush and rabbiteye blueberry cultivars to saflufenacil

Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to determine tolerance of blueberry to saflufenacil. Greenhouse studies included five …
Ryan B Aldridge, Katherine M Jennings, Sushila Chaudhari, David W Monks, Wesley J Everman, Lucky Mehra
DOI

Effects of vegetation-free strip width and irrigation on newly planted peach

Field experiments were conducted at two locations (Clayton and Jackson Springs, NC) to determine the influence of vegetation-free strip …
Juliana K Buckelew, Wayne E Mitchem, David W Monks, Sushila Chaudhari, Katie M Jennings, Lucky Mehra
DOI
See all publications

Recent Posts

Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates at K-State

Introduction Activities Student work Application information for 2020 Program personnel Introduction This summer, we hosted eight undergraduate students from all over the country for our first year of Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (REEU). This program is funded under the USDA-NIFA’s Education and Workforce Development initiative. The purpose of the program is to train undergraduate students in research and extension. We will be training 35 students over the course of 4 years (2019 to 2022).
Aug 30, 2019 3 min read

Resources

Plant Pathology

Statistics

Popular Topics

Alternaria Alternaria alternata B whitefly Biofumigation biological control Blueberry Botrytis Botrytis cinerea CERCOSPORA ARACHIDICOLA CERCOSPORIDIUM PERSONATUM colletotrichum Colletotrichum acutatum Competition crisp-textured blueberry Disease management fungi parastagonospora nodorum septoria nodorum blotch stagonospora nodorum blotch wheat

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