Rate My Professor Mizuho Nita

Mizuho Nita is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in grape pathology in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech, stationed at the Alson H. Smith Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Winchester, Virginia. He joined Virginia Tech in 2009 as a Research and Extension Plant Pathologist, advancing to Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science in April 2012. Prior positions include Research Associate in the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University from 2007 to 2009 under Dr. Erick De Wolf, and Postdoctoral Scholar at Pennsylvania State University from 2005 to 2007 with the same principal investigator. Earlier, he was a Graduate Research Associate at The Ohio State University from 1999 to 2005 under Drs. Laurence V. Madden and Mike A. Ellis. Nita holds a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from The Ohio State University (2005), an M.S. in Plant Pathology from the same university (2002), and a B.A. in Geography from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (1994). He provides guest lectures in courses such as Plant Pathology 6004 and Horticulture 4654.

Nita's academic interests center on applied plant pathology and plant disease epidemiology, utilizing statistical and analytical tools to characterize pathogen behavior and develop biologically, environmentally, and economically sound disease management strategies. At Virginia Tech, his research encompasses epidemiological studies of grapevine leafroll associated virus and its vectors, map-based disease risk assessment tools for grape and apple diseases in Virginia, infection processes of ripe rot caused by Colletotrichum species, trunk disease management, organic wine grape production methods, and fungicide efficacy evaluations. Current projects are funded by USDA/NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative, Virginia Wine Board, VDACS Specialty Crop Research Initiative block grants, Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium, and Virginia Agricultural Council. His extension program integrates with research to educate growers and Cooperative Extension agents on grape disease identification and management through workshops, training, and the Virginia Grape Disease Updates blog. Selected publications include 'Spatial Pattern of Phomopsis Cane and Leaf Spot Symptoms in Commercial Vineyards in Ohio' (Journal of Phytopathology, 2012), 'Disease incidence of Phomopsis cane and leaf spot of grape in Ohio vineyard: a state-wide survey' (Plant Disease, 2008), 'A Survey of Xylella fastidiosa in the U.S. State of Virginia Reveals Wide Distribution' (Phytopathology, 2024), and 'Evaluating the effectiveness of participatory science dog teams to detect devitalized Spotted Lanternfly egg masses' (2025). He edited 'Fungicide: Volume III' (InTech, 2013) and contributed book chapters on fungicide optimization and plant pathogens as climate change indicators. Nita received the 2005 APS Foundation Student Travel Award for the I.E. Melhus Graduate Student Symposium. His work supports Virginia's wine grape industry with practical disease management resources.