American potato growers will be able to find out about the presence of diseases before a large-scale infection occurs.
Potato growers in Idaho received a new plant protection tool thanks to the efforts of a team of scientists from the University of Idaho.
The research team, led by James Woodhol, has placed 14 upgraded instruments that collect data on the presence of fungal pathogens in the air on potato fields in the Snake Valley.
The devices work around the clock and are designed to detect the presence of fungal pathogens of potatoes that cause late blight, rot and others. The first tests were successful and the authors of the development are going to continue research until September, when the potato season in Idaho ends.
According to the authors, the new samplers allow a much faster pace to evaluate air quality for the content of pathogenic spores in comparison with existing technologies.
“The technology itself has been around for many years, but traditionally it can take weeks to collect, analyze and report results,” says Woodhole. - By that time, the disease may have spread significantly and the farmer will not have time to do anything. We can get results much faster - within 24 - 48 hours. ”
If before, potato growers had to wait for weeks to find out the results of the tests, while pathogens potentially infected their crops, now they can find out which pathogen is threatening the culture and perform preventive treatments with pesticides. Also in Idaho, there have been several times when farmers were too in a hurry with fungicidal protection, although the disease was not detected later.
“With real-time data, farmers will only apply treatments when needed,” says Woodhole.
The next step in the scientists' work will be to determine how widespread the pathogens are. “The gap is that we don't know if the results are representative of this field, or the county, or even a wider area,” Woodhole added. "Further research will provide us with more data to determine which areas will be affected and by which pathogen."
Most of the research was funded by the potato industry in Idaho, and so the focus of the project was on potato diseases.
However, scientists are going to expand the range of experiments for other crops that suffer from the same fungal pathogens as potatoes.
“We studied sugar beets by checking for powdery mildew before the plants showed symptoms,” says Woodhole. - We are also developing a test to detect fusarium on onions. Grapes are another potential crop to test for mold. Working with these crops was complicated by the trees that surrounded the plantings and served as a buffer for the wind, as opposed to the completely open to the wind potato fields.
“The potato industry in Idaho helped push the project forward, with growers and processors donating $ 80 to purchase samples. This is a significant investment for them, so naturally they preferred to place our devices in their fields. We also received $ 000 from the Northwest Potato Research Consortium, which represents potato growers in Idaho as well as Washington and Oregon. Thus, we can see the potential for project expansion in these states, and we are very pleased to cooperate, ”said Woodhall.
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