Len Tesoriero Science Protecting Plant Health 2017

Len Tesoriero

Len is a Senior Plant Pathologist with NSW Department of Primary Industries having over 30 years’ experience in diagnosing plant health problems and conducting disease management research. Len has specialist skills with crops grown under protected cropping and hydroponics. He has a strong interest and expertise in managing diseases of vegetables, herbs and ornamentals. His research work extends to foreign-aid projects in the Philippines, Vietnam, Tonga and Laos where he has assisted with developing vegetable crop disease management strategies, capacity-building of local researchers and establishing regional plant health diagnostic laboratories. Current collaborative projects include management of diseases in olives, cherries, Rubus berries, blueberries, watermelons, Asian melons and rockmelons. Len has been a past winner of Researcher of the Year awards for the Australian Hydroponics and Greenhouse Association (2007) and the national vegetable industry association, Ausveg (2010). In 2013 he received the Most Outstanding Contribution Award from Protected Cropping Australia. He currently sits on the PCA Board of Directors and was Chairman of the 2009 national conference in Sydney.