Steven T Koike

Steven Koike is plant pathologist with and director of TriCal Diagnostics, a commercial plant pathology diagnostic and research company. He oversees operations for this industry lab, leads the team in providing expert plant disease diagnostics and problem solving, conducts soil testing for pathogens, carries out research on soilborne and foliar pathogens, and provides plant pathology and IPM information to those who grow and work with agricultural commodities throughout the U.S. Prior to TriCal Diagnostics, for 28 years Koike was extension plant pathologist with the University of California Cooperative Extension and conducted research and extension activities in California’s central coast region.

Koike has extensive field and research experience with the diseases of many crops including vegetables, fruits, horticultural commodities, and landscape plantings. In his career as a plant pathologist, he published over 1,130 articles, including more than 400 scientific/peer-reviewed articles. He wrote the widely used 450-page book Vegetable Diseases: A Color Handbook. He has presented over 400 talks at grower meetings, extension events, technical workshops, and national/international scientific conferences.

Koike has received numerous awards, including the national Excellence in Extension Plant Pathology award from the American Phytopathological Society (APS) and the Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture Award from the California Association of Pest Control Advisors (CAPCA).