New Project on Bacterial Plant Diseases
By Roberts SJ, 04 Dec 2019
We are delighted to announce a new three-year project on the management of bacterial plant diseases. The primary aim of the project is to improve the management or control of high priority bacterial diseases of horticultural crops through the use of healthy starting material.
The project and core objectives are structured around several high-priority diseases selected by UK growers:
- Brassicas and black rot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris)
- Broccoli spear rot (Pseudomonas)
- Bacterial blight of coriander and parsley (Pseudomonas syringae pvs. apii and coriandricola)
- Shot-hole of cherry laurel (Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae)
- Ivy and Xanthomonas leaf spot
- Hardy geraniums and Xanthomonas leaf spot
In each case, we will be developing and applying the approaches that are most likely to lead to practical improvement in disease control for growers within the shortest timescale. The selected host-pathogen combinations also serve as model crops and we believe will serve as examples of approaches that can be extended across a broader range of crops. An over-riding theme of this proposal is to obtain the data that can be used to set or define health standards for starting material that can support a 'clean-start' approach to disease control.
The project is funded by AHDB-Horticulture. It is a collaborative project led by Plant Health Solutions (PHS), with support from Stockbridge Technology Centre (STC) and Warwick Crop Centre ( WCC) and a number of growers. It will run from 2019 to 2022.
Tags: plants; diseases; bacteria; management; horticulture; Xanthomonas; Pseudomonas
