SCIENTISTS FROM SEVERAL COUNTRIES STUDY STRATEGIES TO FIGHT NEW PATHOGENS.

European specialists in the study of new pathogens that affect horticultural productions, have met in Tenerife to present the results of a program that analyzes diseases of international impact in carrot and celery crops, which also constitute a threat to other subsectors.

The group of experts, who are supported by researchers from other centers in Brazil and the United States, has analyzed the results of the PHYLIB project (Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Potato Phytoplasmas and “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” and their Contribution to Risk Management in Potato and other Crops), which is part of the European research network EUPHRESCO (Coordination of Phytosanitary Research in Europe).

This program has the direct support of a group of Canarian horticulturists whose crops have been directly affected by these diseases.. At the Spanish level and by designation of the National Institute of Agrarian Research (INDIA) The project is coordinated by the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (Hev).

The studies that are being developed since 2008 with the participation of this team, They try to respond to the alarm that has been generated by the advance of damage caused by a set of microorganisms, which requires greater knowledge both from the epidemiological point of view and in the identification and detection of the agents that act as transmitters of diseases..

Canarian researchers have detected the incidence of a series of psyllids - small arthropods - in the crops of the Islands.- that can be potential transmitters of these evils, Therefore, it is considered necessary to deepen the knowledge of their reproduction mechanisms and determine their role in their possible expansion..

The work carried out constitutes a worldwide reference., since these diseases represent a serious problem for the sector in crops such as carrots and celery while they are a threat to others such as potatoes and citrus fruits..

At the reception that the Canary Islands Institute of Agricultural Research gave to the experts who attended the work sessions, the scientific director of the aforementioned organization, Manuel Caballero, recalled the important role played by the Canary Islands in the introduction of the potato in Europe, citing in this regard the crisis that was generated on the continent with the appearance of mildew in the crop, which caused one of the greatest famines in memory in the first half of the 19th century.

Throughout the week, the experts had the opportunity to tour several horticultural and fruit farms in the Archipelago., learning directly from farmers about the problems that are occurring in carrot and celery crops, also visiting citrus and potato crops, although at the moment no symptoms of illness are observed in the latter, researchers considering that in any case we must be alert to these diseases.