James MacDonald

James MacDonald earned his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant pathology from the University of California, Davis. He joined the Department of Plant Pathology faculty in 1978, with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Environmental Horticulture. In 1995, he was appointed chair of the plant pathology department, and was named executive associate dean for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 1999. He has taught courses in mycology and plant disease diagnosis in the plant pathology department, and gives guest lectures in environmental horticulture on topics relating to diseases of nursery, landscape and turf crops.

MacDonald's research emphasizes root diseases, soil microbiology, diseases of ornamentals and the role of environmental stress in plant disease. He has considerable experience with Phytophthora root rots on a variety of ornamental and horticultural crops. Over the past few years, he and his students obtained data concerning the role of various environmental stresses on the severity of Phytophthora root rots, the movement of pathogens in recycled irrigation water and alternatives to methyl bromide for the producers of specialty crops.

In 1989, MacDonald received the California Association of Nurserymen Research Award. He is a member of the American Phytopathological Society, serving as an associate editor for the journal Plant Disease, and is involved in worldwide development of the society's electronic communications and journal delivery. In 1998, he received the Teaching Excellence Award of the American Phytopathological Society. He received the Media Award of Excellence from the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture for an instructional CD-ROM on turfgrass diseases. MacDonald belongs to the Mycological Society of America and the California Association of Nurserymen.