A new farmer-led light leaf spot research project is calling on oilseed rape growers to forward affected leaf samples.
The ‘Spore Scout’ study is investigating how light leaf spot is changing across regions and seasons and how the disease can be controlled more effectively. It will run until 30 April.
The study is part of the LLS-ERASED, a three-year £2.5m farmer-led project funded by Defra’s Farming Futures R&D fund. By sending in affected leaves from their oilseed rape crops over the next month, growers will contribute vital evidence of the spread of the disease, explained Yongju Huang, Professor of plant pathology at the University of Hertfordshire.
“We are keen to receive samples from growers across the UK to help us understand variations in pathogen virulence towards cultivar resistance. This will be important for the development of control strategies and deployment of cultivars in regions where the pathogen population is predominantly avirulent towards cultivar’s resistance.”
To register for a pack, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/SporeScout
