A Decision Support tool for Potato Blackleg Disease (DeS-BL)
Lead Research Organisation:
National Institute of Agricultural Botany
Department Name: Centre for Research
Abstract
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Technical Summary
We have used soil microcosms to show that the causal agent of blackleg disease (Pba) can infect potato plants and cause disease directly from the soil, not only tubers. This is exacerbated by the presence of free-living nematodes (FLN) and excess water, providing new possibilities for research and disease control. Our multidisciplinary team of science and stakeholder experts will investigate the role of vectors, irrigation and crop rotation on Pba infection working from field and mesocosm scales to rhizosphere microbial communities. We wish to see how large-scale changes in the field impact on root architecture and exudate production and what influence this has on rhizosphere microbial communities and competition. The latest bacterial genomics, bioinformatics, imaging and GC-MS tools will be used, with potentially far reaching consequences beyond the present study.
Our key questions are: Do FLN act as vectors of Pba, how does infection occur and can blackleg be reduced by managing FLN in the soil though irrigation and /or nematicide? Do Pba-carrying insects transmit the pathogen between plants? Does irrigation and the use of cover crops change the microbiome in favour of or away from Pba and relatives, and what role do changes in root architecture and exudates play? Can we identify bacteriocins and their producing strains amongst these microbial communities and patent them for use in disease control?
We have unprecedented access to national datasets that have not previously been linked with blackleg disease research. These include over 10,000 national soil samples with FLN data, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) soil moisture data, the National Soil Archive and several other data sets. With these, and data from the project, we will use machine learning, game theory and other modelling approaches to find relationships between these data and blackleg and bring the information together in a decision support tool for the potato industry.
Our key questions are: Do FLN act as vectors of Pba, how does infection occur and can blackleg be reduced by managing FLN in the soil though irrigation and /or nematicide? Do Pba-carrying insects transmit the pathogen between plants? Does irrigation and the use of cover crops change the microbiome in favour of or away from Pba and relatives, and what role do changes in root architecture and exudates play? Can we identify bacteriocins and their producing strains amongst these microbial communities and patent them for use in disease control?
We have unprecedented access to national datasets that have not previously been linked with blackleg disease research. These include over 10,000 national soil samples with FLN data, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) soil moisture data, the National Soil Archive and several other data sets. With these, and data from the project, we will use machine learning, game theory and other modelling approaches to find relationships between these data and blackleg and bring the information together in a decision support tool for the potato industry.
Planned Impact
Impact Summary
Research outlined in this proposal is focused on strategic science aimed at improving control of the bacterial pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum (Pba); the causal agent of blackleg disease, which costs the UK potato industry £50M annually. Blackleg can occur at any time and in any stock across the whole supply chain.
Who might benefit from this research? Blackleg affects both seed and ware producers across all sectors of the potato industry, e.g. fresh, processed, and salad in an industry of c. 3000 growers producing > 6 M tonnes of potatoes from 120,000 ha of land p.a. The UK's seed potato industry is world renowned and the basis of a highly respected global export market. For the seed industry, blackleg, and therefore the outcomes of this project, affect the whole supply chain from those producing high grade seed, mainly in the north of Scotland, to distributors across the UK and exporters worldwide. Most ware growers in the UK, based mainly in England and Wales, have a direct interest in seed being free from Pba to limit blackleg and its associated economic and reputational loss. All parts of the industry will therefore benefit from this research. Defra and Scottish Government, agriculture industries (including agrochemical, cover crop and precision agriculture), and the public will also benefit. Many of the issues with blackleg seen in the UK also occur across Europe and in many other regions of the world. Globally, a third of potatoes are grown in China and India, and increasingly in sub-Saharan Africa. This project therefore also offers potential improvements in potato production in developing nations. The academic community in the UK and internationally will also benefit by research advances across a range of scientific areas and their multidisciplinary nature brought together to benefit plant health.
How might they benefit from this research? Blackleg continues to be the main cause of seed downgrading and failure by a factor of 10 in most years, with knock-on effects on ware growers, who mostly identify seed as being the cause of blackleg in their ware crops. Blackleg has become more common in the UK over the last 8-10 years, with no clear reason why. Control options have remained relatively unchanged for over 50 years. A new approach to control is therefore desperately needed by the industry. This project achieves this on many levels, offering not one but multiple possible improvements in control by moving away from traditional research (often on seed contamination) to focus more on soil and the wider environment. Potential improvements for the control of blackleg from the project include changes to irrigation regimes, monitoring and management of free-living nematode (putative Pba vectors), changes in crop rotations and the use of cover crops, and the use of physical protection to reduce aerial transmission, all brought together and supported by environmental data subjected to novel machine learning methods to develop a series of integrated decision support tools for industry use. To ensure that the industry benefits from our findings, an economic and social appraisal of the project outcomes will be undertaken to ensure no barriers to adoption exist for industry uptake. In addition, we have our industry collaborators available throughout the project to discuss practical aspects of our findings, and to co-construct a wide range of stakeholder engagement activities during the life of the project and beyond. Defra and Scottish Government will benefit through a resilient potato industry and its economic output and export potential. There will be benefits to industry through a potential new application of an existing product (nematicide to treat blackleg), marketing and sale of cover crops and new uses for precision agriculture and associated decision tools. The public will benefit through cheaper retail potato prices.
Research outlined in this proposal is focused on strategic science aimed at improving control of the bacterial pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum (Pba); the causal agent of blackleg disease, which costs the UK potato industry £50M annually. Blackleg can occur at any time and in any stock across the whole supply chain.
Who might benefit from this research? Blackleg affects both seed and ware producers across all sectors of the potato industry, e.g. fresh, processed, and salad in an industry of c. 3000 growers producing > 6 M tonnes of potatoes from 120,000 ha of land p.a. The UK's seed potato industry is world renowned and the basis of a highly respected global export market. For the seed industry, blackleg, and therefore the outcomes of this project, affect the whole supply chain from those producing high grade seed, mainly in the north of Scotland, to distributors across the UK and exporters worldwide. Most ware growers in the UK, based mainly in England and Wales, have a direct interest in seed being free from Pba to limit blackleg and its associated economic and reputational loss. All parts of the industry will therefore benefit from this research. Defra and Scottish Government, agriculture industries (including agrochemical, cover crop and precision agriculture), and the public will also benefit. Many of the issues with blackleg seen in the UK also occur across Europe and in many other regions of the world. Globally, a third of potatoes are grown in China and India, and increasingly in sub-Saharan Africa. This project therefore also offers potential improvements in potato production in developing nations. The academic community in the UK and internationally will also benefit by research advances across a range of scientific areas and their multidisciplinary nature brought together to benefit plant health.
How might they benefit from this research? Blackleg continues to be the main cause of seed downgrading and failure by a factor of 10 in most years, with knock-on effects on ware growers, who mostly identify seed as being the cause of blackleg in their ware crops. Blackleg has become more common in the UK over the last 8-10 years, with no clear reason why. Control options have remained relatively unchanged for over 50 years. A new approach to control is therefore desperately needed by the industry. This project achieves this on many levels, offering not one but multiple possible improvements in control by moving away from traditional research (often on seed contamination) to focus more on soil and the wider environment. Potential improvements for the control of blackleg from the project include changes to irrigation regimes, monitoring and management of free-living nematode (putative Pba vectors), changes in crop rotations and the use of cover crops, and the use of physical protection to reduce aerial transmission, all brought together and supported by environmental data subjected to novel machine learning methods to develop a series of integrated decision support tools for industry use. To ensure that the industry benefits from our findings, an economic and social appraisal of the project outcomes will be undertaken to ensure no barriers to adoption exist for industry uptake. In addition, we have our industry collaborators available throughout the project to discuss practical aspects of our findings, and to co-construct a wide range of stakeholder engagement activities during the life of the project and beyond. Defra and Scottish Government will benefit through a resilient potato industry and its economic output and export potential. There will be benefits to industry through a potential new application of an existing product (nematicide to treat blackleg), marketing and sale of cover crops and new uses for precision agriculture and associated decision tools. The public will benefit through cheaper retail potato prices.
Description | There are several key findings of the work that all contribute to a better understandding of blackleg disease in potatoes and that support the development of new / improved control methods. Work on bacteriocins to develop a biocontrol method for blackleg disease is going through commercialisation and a business case has been developed together with additional funding to support the commercialisation. We also have identified a potential new method of screening for resistance to blackleg disease in potato through examining root exudate products, which will make this work significantly easier for the potato breeding industries. New discoveries using microscopy are providing new insights into how Pectobacterium infects potato, offering new routes for disease control. Changes in microbiome associated with blackleg disease may offer new diagnostics for disease-inducing conditions or for the use of suppressive microbes as biocontrol agents. A number of datasets and methodologies have also been made available to others within the Bacterial Plant Diseases Programme and beyond to help build on modelling and bioinformatics research. Evidence of insect transmission of Pectobacterium suggests that the covering of high-grade potato seed stocks will allow a reduction in contamination and so reduce blackleg disease throughout the supply chain. |
Exploitation Route | Commercialisatino of work on bacteriocins to develop a biocontrol method Development and use of new screening methods to identify resistant potatoes Increased understanding of the disease and its vectors contributes to development of new integrated management strategies |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink |
Description | Grower information - more complete grower information on disease management collated and shared |
First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | A technical report for potato industry stakeholders |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Contribution of a detailed technical article to the Cambridge University Potato Growers Research Association (CUPGRA) Annual Report for 2020. This article described the field work done in 2020 and provided some context and interpretation. The report is sent to c. 150 members who are stakeholders in the UK/International potato supply chain and includes growers, agronomists, researchers, ag-chem industry and potato processors and packers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Field visit annd grower discussion |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | CUPGRA members open day - field visit by growers which included an in-field presentation of work in this project Discussion of soil conditions in this hot dry season highlgihted issues that the research team will consider in more detail as part of data interpretation |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Grower Meeting (Virtual) June 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Discussion of project progress with potato supply chain professionals. Discussion of results to date and implications for changes in production practises. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Grower Meeting (socially distanced) July 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Socially-distanced visit to field experiments at Cambridge UK. Opportunities to demonstrate on-going work and engage in dialogue with industry professionals |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Grower workshop - CUPGRA conference December 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The workshop ran on 4 consecutive occasions at the CUPGRA conference with 30-40 attendees on each occasion. The early results of the project were presented and consequent management issues discussed with growers. This helped shape the framework for presentation of the final report. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Presentation at CUPGRA Annual Research Review February 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation of project work to Cambridge University Potato Growers Research Association (CUPGRA) members in a hybrid (virtual & face-to-face) meeting. Opportunity for dialogue between researcher and end-users to help improve impact of project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Presentation at CUPGRA Annual Research Review March 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The findings from the 2020 field experiments were discussed in an online webinar with members of the Cambridge University Potato Growers Research Association |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Technical Report for Potato Industry Stakeholders February 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A technical report (20 pages) summarising project work done by NIAB staff in 2021. This report is sent to all Cambridge University Potato Growers Research Association (CUPGRA) members. This membership includes growers, agronomist and potato supply chain professionals.. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |