Michael R. Schwarz has been recognized as an innovative leader during his more than 38 years of industrial and academic research and development for crop protection, garden and professional care, and biotechnology. He has enjoyed a highly successful career pursuing his passion for making basic and applied agricultural research from industry and academia available to thousands of growers. He has always aspired to the principle “One person can make a difference," especially in a large international organization such as Bayer.
Raised in a small town in south-central Wisconsin, the heart of “dairyland," Schwarz attended the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, where he earned a BS in biology with a minor in chemistry in 1976. His passion for plant pathology began when he took a mycology course and was involved in a special project looking at phytoalexins. In 1981, he received a PhD in plant pathology with a minor in entomology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research on the etiology and epidemiology of cranberry diseases showed him the rewards of deriving practical answers from sound research. As a student, he led the student diagnostic clinic, starting him on the road to extension and research implementation.
Schwarz began his professional career as an extension associate and adjunct professor of plant pathology at Cornell University from 1981 to 1985. There, he conceived and directed a statewide integrated pest management (IPM) program in tree fruits and grapes by unifying the efforts of university research and extension faculty in many disciplines, along with regional and county extension specialists; industry technical service, sales, and research representatives; and influential growers. The IPM program was implemented through numerous personal contacts, innovative publications and research projects, computer networks, and regular grower meetings. Many of these publications are still used, including scouting manuals, crop and pest phenology diagrams, disease diagnostic keys, and disease identification sheets.
Schwarz made many contacts as an IPM coordinator, eventually leading to his employment by Bayer in 1985 as a field development representative. At Bayer, he coordinated and conducted field research and technical service for crop protection products on agronomic, horticultural, and hygienic crops in the Northeast. He maintained close ties with academia and with plant pathology by conducting field research of new fungicides and validating a disease-predictive model for grape black rot with extension faculty from Penn State University and others. From 1988 to 1991, he served as the group leader for fungicide early development in Vero Beach, Florida, directing national and international development and implementation of lab, greenhouse, and field tests for hundreds of candidate fungicides and biocontrol agents. A highlight of this assignment was conducting field research with Dr. E. B. Nelson, of Cornell University, to screen potential biocontrol agents for Pythium spp. activity. Schwarz also developed methodologies to determine the baseline sensitivity of Cercosporidium personatum (causal agent of peanut late leafspot) to tebuconazole, and he conducted similar research on the sensitivity of Magnaporthe poae (causal agent of summer patch), Sclerotinia homoeocarpa (causal agent of dollar spot), and other pathogens to DMI fungicides.
Flexibility is key in industry, so from 1991 to 2008, Schwarz maintained a dual role as senior product development manager of fungicide early development and director of insecticide and seed treatment product development, leading research, development, and marketing strategies for insecticide and seed treatment products and for fungicide early development. He led strategic efforts to develop and register the seed treatment insecticide clothianidin (products Poncho, Poncho Beta, Sepresto) in corn and other crops. He established foundational research for the “refuge-in-a-bag" concept for managing corn pest resistance in transgenic corn that is currently used by leading corn seed companies. He also developed the seed treatment fungicide trifloxystrobin (product Trilex) and invented the seed treatment insecticide/nematicide Aeris. Poncho was registered in 2003 and used immediately on almost 75 million acres of U.S. corn. It remained Bayer's biggest single product until the company's divestment to BASF in 2018. During a 4-month assignment at the Bayer AG Research Facility in Monheim, Germany, Schwarz developed screening methods for systemic Phycomycete fungicides. Additional highlights during this time include being selected for a USDA–ARS project review panel of plant pathologists and becoming a member of the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) DMI Working Group (serving from 1991 to 1996). Finally, Schwarz directed lab and field tests of genetically modified tobacco containing the stilbene synthase gene for the production of resveratrol (a phytoalexin), the first Bayer transgenic crop test conducted worldwide, and he gained international recognition for research using Metarhizium anisopliae and Verticillium lecanii for biocontrol of soil insects and nematodes.
Schwarz is currently an R&D Fellow in Agronomic Development for Bayer US and an adjunct professor of plant pathology at North Carolina State University (NCSU). He provides leadership for research, development, and marketing strategies for horticultural products in NAFTA and international markets. In addition, he leads the evaluation and integration of biological fungicides, overseeing sustainability projects with major producers to develop sustainable potato disease control programs that integrate biologics with traditional fungicides, and he designs “integrated solutions" concepts, in which Bayer and third-party product programs are evaluated by sound research for vigor, yield, quality, and return on investment. Finally, he spearheads research into the mode of action of the nematicides spirotetramat and fluopyram.
Most importantly, Schwarz continues to demonstrate his passion for plant pathology by leading efforts to nurture strong ties between Bayer US and land-grant universities and by mentoring graduate students. He has established five Bayer US Fellowships for graduate students in plant pathology and horticulture, which provide students with full monetary support and employment with Bayer after graduation. Schwarz serves on the committees for all of these students and helps direct their research. He also has been visible as the president of the Plant Pathology Society of North Carolina (2006–2007) and as a member of its advisory board (2005–2017). In addition, he has served on the advisory board of the Center for Integrated Fungal Research at NCSU (2010–present); on the advisory board for zebra chip research conducted by the Specialty Crop Research Initiative and Texas A&M University (2009–2014); on the review panel for the Center for Integrated Pest Management at NCSU (2012–2013); and as co-researcher for the control of cucurbit downy mildew and sensitivity of Pseudoperonospora cubensis to Previcur Flex (propamocarb) and Presidio (fluopicolide) with Peter Ojiambo at NCSU (2012–present). Through the lectures he gives at various universities and professional meetings, Schwarz serves as an ambassador for “what it's like to work in industry."
Schwarz has aptly served The American Phytopathological Society in many ways: as a member of the board of directors for the Office of Industry Relations (2002–2013); as chairperson of the Industry Committee (2001–2003), the Biological Control Committee (1988–1989), and the Sustaining Associates (1994–1995); and as a member of the Turf Pathology Committee (2001–2003), the IPM Committee, the Placement Committee (1983–1985), and the Biological Control Committee (1987–1989).
