News and Articles
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
Plant Health Solutions Incorporates
11 Oct 2010
The legal status of Plant Health Solutions has changed. Now a private limited company, Plant Health Solutions Ltd was formed on the 8th October 2010 and formally took over the sole-trader business of Dr S J Roberts t/a Plant Health Solutions on 11th October 2010.…
Herbs project final report now available
08 Oct 2010
The final report for the HDC project on Outdoor Herbs is now available from the HDC. The project was a collaboration between Plant Health Solutions and ADAS. For coriander bacterial blight, caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv.… Grower summary
New biological seed treatment technologies
01 Oct 2010
Plant Health Solutions will be working on a new project developing biolgical seed treatment technologies. The three-year project, led by Elsoms Seeds, together with the University of Warwick, Becker Underwood and Vegetable Consultancy Services is part-funded by the Technology Strategy Board.…
Clean seeds for clean leaves
01 Sep 2010
Results from a joint Plant Health Solutions - ADAS project were highlighted in the September 2009 edition of HDC News. The project targeted two seed-borne disease, coriander bacterial blight and parsley septoria leaf spot, that are recurring problems in field grown herbs.… Read more Details of PHS seed testing services
Welcome to PHS Web 2.0
20 Apr 2010
Welcome to the new version of the Plant Health Solutions website, we hope you like it. We have made quite a few changes behind the scenes to make the site more dynamic and easier to keep up to date.…
PHS to tackle bacterial problems in herbaceous perennials
01 Apr 2010
HDC is funding a new project to look at bacterial disease problems in herbaceous nursery stock. Over the last few years sporadic losses of up to 100% have occurred in a number of different subjects. During the first year nurseries will be surveyed for bacterial diseases.…
New Bacterial Canker Project
01 Apr 2010
Bacterial canker has been an on-going problem for HNS growers for many years; it also causes losses to stone fruit growers. It is caused by either Pseudomonas syringae pv. morsprunorum (Psm) or P.s. pv. syringae (Pss). Psm is host specific to Prunus spp., whereas pv.…
Science into Practice: Controlling Brassica black rot with biologicals
12 Feb 2010
Results from one of our recent HDC-funded projects (FV 335) have been highlighted in Horticulture Week. Black rot is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris.… Link to the article
Diversity of Xanthomonas from brassicas in Nepal
10 Feb 2010
A new scientific paper on the occurence and diveristy of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) in Nepal has been published in Plant Disease. The paper reports the results of race-typing and genetic fingerprinting of Xcc isolates from cabbage and cauliflower crops growing in Nepal.… Read more Link to the full paper...
Brassica Conference 2010 Poster
19 Jan 2010
A copy of the poster on the current project on Disease Management in Organic Brassica Transplants is now available. The poster is due to be presented at the Brassica Growers Conference and Trade Exhibition in Lincoln, 19 Feb 2010.… Click here to download poster...
XLII Brazilian Congress of Phytopathology
3-7 August 2009
Steve Roberts presented a keynote lecture on Eradication of seedborne plant pathogens at the XLII Brazilian Congress of Phytopathology. The conference is the the largest and most important plant pathology congress in South America and was attended by over 800 participants.… Download presentation handout (pdf)...
Disease management in organic brassica transplants
01 Jun 2009
A new project on disease management in organic brassica seed and transplants is being funded by the HDC. The two-year project will aim to evaluate a range of organically acceptable brassica seed and transplant treatments for their efficacy and cost effectiveness in controlling common soil and seed-borne diseases.…
BCPC Symposium: Seed Production and Treatment in a Changing Environment
24-25 Feb 2009
Since the third BCPC 2001 Symposium on seed health and treatment, there has been more information available on the technology of treatment, the interpretation of seed testing, the technology of seed testing and sampling of seeds and production methods which lessen the risk of pest or pathogen attack.… Symposium website
Alien invader found in Warwick garden
12 Jul 2008
Several adults and pupae of a large and unusual ladybird were recently spotted in a Warwick garden. It turns out that this is an alien species to the UK - the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) which has been spreading north and west since its first sighting in 2004 in the South East.… Read more Link to Harlequin Ladybird Survey