Dr. Richard Raid

Dr. Richard Raid is currently a Professor of Plant Pathology at the Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade. Since joining the University of Florida faculty in 1986, he has worked on a myriad of vegetable crops, including: celery, lettuce, escarole, endive, snap beans, spinach, radish, broccoli, parsley, dill, cilantro, cabbage, and sweet corn. He has also performed research on diseases of rice and sugarcane. Although the bulk of his plant pathology program has focused on foliar fungal pathogens, Raid has also worked with important viral and bacterial diseases, such as bean red node and bacterial leaf spot of lettuce. Dr. Raid’s research program is primarily applied, investigating the integration of management strategies for control of plant diseases. Raid has a very active fungicide testing program and has served as both Section Editor and Editor-in-Chief for Fungicide and Nematicide Tests, published by APS Press.

Since 1994, Dr. Raid has worked with a program utilizing barn owls for sustainable rodent control in the Everglades Agricultural Area of south Florida. Using the program as an outreach and education program, Dr. Raid has enlisted the support of hundreds of student volunteers to enhance barn owl populations in the Glades by building and erecting nesting boxes. Annually, the UF Barn Owl Program donates thousands of owl pellets to schools and nature centers throughout the nation for hands-on lessons in predator/prey relationships.

Dr. Raid has also created a school garden program called Students SOAR, for Sharing Our Agricultural Roots. Designed to promote agricultural awareness, the SOAR program utilizes school gardens to provide hands-on lessons to students of all backgrounds and grade levels. The “hands-on” nature and the use of all five senses make lessons learned in the garden fun, greatly improving their retention. The SOAR program has been instrumental in the establishment of more than 70 school gardens at elementary, middle, and high schools throughout Palm Beach County and 10 additional Florida counties. A number of teachers who have adopted the UF school garden program have gone on to win local, state, and even national awards. In 2001, the Barn Owl Program and Students SOAR were recognized with a Secretary of Agriculture’s USDA Honor Award.

Education
B.S. Pennsylvania State University - Entomology, 1979
M.S. Pennsylvania State University – Plant Pathology, 1982
Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University – Plant Pathology, 1986

Employment
University of Florida, Professor, 1997- present
University of Florida, Associate Professor, 1991-1997
University of Florida, Assistant Professor, 1986-1991
Penn State University, Graduate Assistant, 1979-1986
Behrend College, Penn State University, Laboratory and Field Assistant, 1977

Assignment
30% Research, 70% Extension in the area of Integrated Pest Management on Diseases of Vegetables and Sugarcane, Youth Gardening for Educational Purposes, and Use of Barn Owls for Rodent Control

Areas of Expertise
Foliar diseases of leafy vegetables (lettuce, celery, escarole, endive, parsley, etc.)
Fungal diseases of sweet corn and snap beans
Fungicidal control of plant diseases
Barn owl biology
Youth gardening

Teaching Experience
Use of school gardens for educational purposes
Field Plant Pathology (assist)

Active Projects

• Use of barn owls for sustainable rodent control
• Students SOAR: Sharing Our Agricultural Roots…. School Gardens
• Evaluation of foliar fungicides for disease control
• Integrated management strategies for control of celery early blight
• Integrated management strategies for control of lettuce downy mildew
• Improved germination and stand establishment of mechanically-planted sugarcane

Hobbies and Other Interests:

• Long-distance bicycle touring
• Long-distance backpacking
• Canoeing
• Fishing/Outdoor Activities
• Birdwatching
• Gardening