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Three Victorian field trials have begun to compare ways of controlling Pythium diseases in Parsnip and Parsley crops. Pythiums have been described as the “common colds” of plants. They are ubiquitous in vegetable crops and the damage they cause often goes unnoticed except in extreme cases. Identifying disease control strategies, is the final task undertaken by the research team from DPI-Victoria. The team includes Dr Liz Minchinton, Dr Joanna Petkowski, Dr Dolf de Boer and Dr Fiona Thomson. The project team have already confirmed the role of Pythium in causing root rot and canker and identified the factors predisposing crops to disease. The first trial is located at Devon Meadows and will compare conventional fungicide treatments for Pythium with :
In previous trials, these treatments reduced the incidence and severity of root rot on Parsnip and Coriander.
A second trial at Cranbourne is evaluating the relative susceptibility of 13 different Parsnip varieties to Parsnip Canker disease. Seed for the variety trial was sourced from Europe and the United States as well as from across Australia. A standard grower variety is compared against the varieties Albion, Berlinger, Hollow Crown, Javelin, Lancer, Lightning, Melbourne White, Moonshine, Peace, Thunder, 300-9 and 302-9.
The third trial, at Clyde, will investigate the effect of various treatments on the incidence and severity of Parsley root rots and foliage diseases. The Parsley trial includes :
This research is funded by DPI-Victoria, the Vegetable Growers R&D levy. The Australian Government provides matched funding for R&D activities through Horticulture Australia. For more information on these trials contact : Joanna Petkowski : 9210 9222 See Also : For more information contact your Industry Development Officers :
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