Crop protection and diagnostics

The crop protection and diagnostics team at NPARU combine research into investigating the detection and control of plant pathogens within cropping systems together with the commercial element of providing forecasts for growers.

New research projects have recently been secured which represent a new and exciting area of research for NPARU; investigating the detection and control of plant pathogens within cropping systems. A Leverhulme Trust grant has also been funded investigating the fundamental aspects governing plant microbial interactions.

Both aspects will complement the existing work at NPARU on human, animal (and now plant health). The new research work will develop information on the molecular epidemiology and ecology of plant pathogen populations within horticultural cropping systems.

Detection systems will also be developed for the soil borne plant pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae. These studies will form the basis for understanding the interactions between cropping systems, spore populations and pathogenicity related genes.