The bioterrorism frenzy in the US tends to focus on glamorous pathogens like smallpox and anthrax. But Jacqueline Fletcher of Oklahoma State University worries about more obscure threats like “Karnal bunt” and “citrus canker”. Though they aren’t as well known, unleashing those plant pathogens could cost the US millions in higher food prices and lost trade. And quickly catching a plant disease in the over 1 billion acres of crops, forest, and rangeland in the US won’t be easy.

Protecting the nation’s plants against bioterrorism isn’t exactly sexy, and Fletcher’s accustomed to spending a fair amount of time justifying the need to protect plants. Today she started out with a historical approach, highlighting plant disasters from years past, like the Irish potato famine of the 1800’s that sent waves of Irish immigrants to the US. And ever wonder why so many Brits eschew coffee in favor of tea? Thank the coffee rust epidemic in the mid-1800’s that wiped out coffee supplies.