Georgia is one of the top producers of fresh vegetables in the U.S.

During the summer growing season, the love many have for a homegrown tomato approaches obsession. In fact, some people love tomatoes so much that they struggle to grow them — because they give their plants too much care.

Why have tomatoes lost their flavor? Why do some dishes call for ketchup when cooking with tomatoes? These are a couple of the questions that Qian Feng, a second-year University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences doctoral candidate, seeks to answer through her research.

Fusarium wilt, caused by a soilborne fungus, is one of the most damaging diseases of watermelons worldwide. Since it was discovered in 1894, it’s been a battle for producers to manage through crop rotation and chemical fungicides.

Home gardeners and commercial farmers alike can attest to the disappointment of seeing a beautiful tomato ripening on a vine, only to discover that the fruit has dark, sunken pits at the blossom end of the fruit. Called blossom-end rot (BER), this physiological disorder is prevalent in fruit and vegetable crops, including tomatoes, and can cause severe economic losses.