Molecular diagnostic soil testing platform as a decision making tool for agronomists

This project will generate a rapid diagnostic instrument for the detection of soil-borne pathogens. The instrument will eventually be able to test for a range of economically important diseases of animal and plants but the initial proof of principle will be the detection of Verticillium longisporum. The disease verticillium wilt has spread to the UK and can cause yield losses of over 20% in ecomically important crops such as oilseed rape. This consortium brings a wide range of skills to solving this problem and will generate a diagnostic test and investigate intervention methods to manage the impact of the disease. The outcome will be increased agricultural output, management of this and other soil-borne diseases, and generation of UK employment, exports and revenues.