News and Articles
Carrot field storage - New report
17 Jan 2017
Our report on the first year of AHDB-Horticulure project FV 398b that is loolking at alternative 'insulation' materials for carrot field storage is now available from the AHDB-Horticulture website. Download the report...
Onion neck rot report
15 Jun 2016
Our report on onion neck rot pathogens and seed treatments can now be downloaded from the HDC website. Around 26% of 2015 commercial bulb onion seed lots were found to be infested with neck rot. Both of the main neck rot pathogens Botrytis aclada and B. allii were detected, including from fungicide-treated seed.… Download the report...
Carrot field storage
01 Sep 2015
Most UK carrots for winter/spring use are stored in situ in the field, covered with a thick layer of straw insulation.… Read more
Onion neck rot: seed infection, pathogens and treatments
01 Feb 2015
HDC is funding Plant Health Solutions to investigate seed-borne neck rot in onions. Neck rot can cause significant losses in stored onions. It is mainly caused by two species of Botrytis: B. aclada, B. allii; that were previously lumped together as one species (B. allii).… Read more
New HDC Bacterial Canker Project
01 May 2014
Bacterial canker is a destructive disease of plums and cherries, caused by two distinct pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae: pv. morsprunorum (Psm) and pv. syringae (Pss). Psm is host specific to Prunus spp., whereas Pss has a much wider host range.… Read more
Bacterial canker of stone fruit - New factsheet
07 Feb 2014
Bacterial canker is a destructive disease of cherries and plums, potentially killing trees. It is caused by two distinct pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae: pv. morsprunorum and pv. syringae. We have produced a new factsheet targeted at its management in the nursery situation that has recently been published by the HDC. Download from the HDC
Bacterial diseases of herbaceous perennials - New Factsheet
31 Jan 2014
A new factsheet on bacterial diseases of herbaceous perennials has recently been published by the HDC. Bacterial diseases can cause significant losses to growers of herbaceous perennials, but often go unrecognised until it is too late for effective control.… Download from HDC...
Onion storage rots caused by Burkholderia gladioli
20 Nov 2013
The most common cause of bacterial rots in stored onions in the UK seems to be Burkholderia gladioli pv. alliicola (formerly called Pseudomonas gladioli pv. alliicola). Problems are perceived to be worse in crops grown from sets, and in wet seasons.… Download the handout
Bacterial diseases of herbaceous perennials - New report
11 Oct 2013
Our final report for HDC project HNS 178 on bacterial diseases of herbaceous perennials is now available on the HDC website. Highlights include recommended health standards for Xanthomonas in Erysimum cuttings / plug plants and Pseudomonas syringae pv. delphinii in Delphinium seed.… Download the report
Biological control of onion neck rot
18 Sep 2013
The handout of a new poster describing the latest results from a project to identify commercial biological seed treatments for onion neck rot is now available to download. The disease is caused by Botrytis aclada (allii) and has been reported to cause up to 48% losses in stored bulbs.… Download the handout
Bacterial canker of plum and cherry - new report
05 Jul 2013
Bacterial canker is probably the number one killer of plums and cherries. It is caused by two distinct pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae: pv. morsprunorum and pv. syringae. As well as stem cankers, they also cause leaf spots, shot-holes, bud death, shoot diesback and flower blights.… Read more Link to the full report
Disinfection of pruning tools
12 Feb 2013
Research by Plant Health Solutions on practical methods for disinfection of pruning tools in the field is highlighted in the February edition of HDC News. The research tested a number of options for reducing the potential transfer of the plum and cherry bacterial canker pathgoen (Pseudomonas syringae pv.… Link to the HDC News
Elsoms Onion Conference
07 Nov 2012
Steve Roberts of Plant Health Solutions will be presenting some of the latest work on onion storage rots caused by the fungus Botrytis aclada/alli and the bacterium Burkholderia gladioli pv. alliicola at the Elsoms Onion Conference.
HDC Website upgrade breaks links
09 Aug 2012
Due to an "upgrade" to the HDC website, many of the links to reports and documents are now broken. We apologise for this inconvenience, but it is beyond our control. We will endeavour to correct as time permits.
Confirmed: coriander blight pathogen infects parsley
01 Jul 2012
Thanks to funding from the HDC (Horticultural Development Company), we have been able to confirm reports from the USA that Pseudomonas syringae pv. coriandricola is able to infect parsley. Tests with a number of recent isolates of the pathogen from the UK have confirmed that they are pathogenic on parsley.… Link to the grower summary
HDC News: Start dry, stay healthy
01 Nov 2011
Keeping watering to the minimum is likely to have the biggest impact on soil-borne Pythium infection in brassica transplants. Incorporating composted green waste or the bio-pesticide Trianum G into the the growing-medium can also reduce Pythium, but their effects weren't as big as reducing the amount of watering.… Link to the news article
New factsheet on bacterial shot-hole of cherry laurel
01 Oct 2011
Bacterial shot-hole of cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv syringae. The disease can lead to product downgrading and losses in cherry laurel and other susceptible ornamental plant species.… Link to the factsheet
Bacterial diseases widespread in herbaceous perennials
01 Oct 2011
In a survey of on herbaceous nurseries by Plant Health Solutions, bacterial diseases at all of the nurseries surveyed. The most prevalent was a geranium leaf spot or blight caused by Xanthomonas hortorum pv. pelargonii. Bacterial diseases were also confirmed on aquilegia, delphinium, erysimum and lavender.… Link to the news article
Coriander blight pathogen infects parsley
01 Jul 2011
A recent scientific paper from the USA suggests that the seed-borne coriander bacterial blight pathogen (Pseudomonas syringae pv. coriandricola, Psc) is able to infect not only coriander but also parsley and celery. These results contradict earlier studies indicating that P. s. pv.… Link to the paper in Phytopathology
Onion sets and storage rots
01 Jun 2011
Bacterial rots caused by Burkholderia gladioli pv. alliicola, neck rot caused by Botrytis allii and Fusarium basal rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum fsp. cepae are the main storage rots of concern to onion growers. Problems seem to be greater in crops grown from heat treated sets.… Read more