S&G took part in an open day held at Fentongollan Farm, in Cornwall, a day organised to “celebrate the achievements of the Cornish vegetable growers”.
His Royal Highness Prince Charles attended the open day and reportedly showed a great interest in S&G’s Clubroot resistant varieties, when talking to Mike Molyneux, vegetable seeds sales specialist and trials officer from Syngenta Seeds Ltd.
Clubroot, or Plasmodiophora brassicae, is one of the most economically important diseases of cultivated crucifers. Affected roots swell into club shaped, tumor-like galls that interfere with water uptake resulting in severe stunted growth of the plant.
Cultural measures as regular attention to soil drainage and liming are often recommended but normally have only a partial effect. Fertilisation with nitrogen in the form of calcium nitrate or calcium cyanamide also helps through maintaining alkaline soil pH. Chemical control remains cumbersome and is not very effective and is not allowed in all countries.
With the new resistance definitions agreed by ISF, varieties are highly resistant to Clubroot.
The use of S&G Clubroot resistant varieties offers many advantages and benefits to growers, the company said.
•It gives the grower an additional agronomical security in the field.
•It makes planning more simple
•It allows growers to come back and re-crop infested areas
•High yielding varieties
•The quality traits (head, foliage…) of the variety can be expressed inducing a more qualitative and attractive product
•It limits losses through more efficient use of fertilisers, sprayed chemicals and water. Overall the production will be more profiatble due to increased yields and decreased losses.
"By choosing these innovative Clubroot resistant varieties, growers will get a high economical benefit and will make the best use of their production area and more specifically of their field’s potential (soil and climate),” said a spokesperson.
“This resistance has been tested under practical conditions in the main infested areas in Europe.
“Resistance against Clubroot is effective against the predominant strains but not against infrequent strains that may occur in some fields in Europe and that may break the resistance. At present very sparse information is available on the type of strains and their occurrence. Separation and identification of the different strains is also technically difficult. It is advised to first execute small trials before starting commercial production.
“In order to maximise the efficiency of a resistance, it is highly recommended to mix different ways of control such as growing conditions (for Clubroot culture measures as liming, drainage, Calcium fertilization), plant protection products and genetic resistance as part of an integrated crop management,” the spokesperson said.
“In case of doubt we recommend that a small scale trial production be carried out to determine how local conditions may affect the variety.”
