Nina Zidack

Zidack grew up on a farm/ranch in Central Montana. After receiving a B.S. in Horticulture in 1987 from Montana State University, she went on to receive a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology at Auburn University in 1993. Nina has served as the Director of Seed Potato Certification at Montana State University since 2008. Her responsibilities to the Montana Seed Potato Program include supervision of all field inspections, both in Montana and for the Postharvest Test in Hawaii, and the administration of activities performed by the MSU Potato Lab. This includes maintenance of mother stock, distribution of in-vitro plant material to growers, and disease testing. In addition to the regular functions of certification, the MSU Potato Lab is actively involved in adopting and improving on the latest diagnostic methods available for the identification of potato diseases important for certification.