|
Abstract: The perfect disease control measure is one which costs nothing and is 100% effective, but the reality falls far short of this ideal. Controlling diseases in practice means making the best use of the admittedly imperfect techniques available, being aware of their limitations when they are used and realising the likely outcome if they are ignored. Compared with the producer of green plant crops, the mushroom grower faces special disease control problems which arise from the fact that the crop is a fungus and that some of the most econcmically important mushroom pathogens are also fungi. Production of crops of Agaricus bisporus and A. bitorquis in many countries is a continuous process, in which crops of different ages are growing in close proximity, a situation which is ideal for spreading and perpetuating pests and diseases. The mushroom grower however, has one advantage over the producer of most other protected crops in that it is often possible to destroy pests and diseases by 'cooking out' the cropping house and its contents at the end of the crop. When this is done, the next crop filled into the building should start off disease-free, so the main task of the grower is then to keep it clean. The comparatively short duration of crops of A. bisporus and A. bitorquis means that time, money and effort are more effectively invested in disease prevention rather than in disease eradication after outbreaks have occurred. When planning a new mushroom growing facility, it is realistic to assume that sooner or later disease organisms will contaminate the area and therefore money spent on disease prevention equipment is a sound investment. It is not possible to quantify the benefits which will derive from this because no one can be sure how much disease would have occurred if the equipment had not been installed. If, despite all precautions, disease outbreaks occur, buildings should be of a standard which permits an efficient 'cook out' to be done to kill off the disease. Money saved by erecting substandard buildings has so often proved a false econany when outbreaks of virus diseases, Mycogone perniciosa, Verticillium fungicola and Diehliomyces microsporus have occurred. On such occasions, growers often show a regrettable reluctance to face the reality of the situation, which is, that if they can only apply second-class control measures, they cannot expect anything better than second-class results.
Full text download: ISMS subscribers
ISHS members & pay-per-view
Translate:
   |