IPDN

Plant diseases must be correctly identified to allow farmers to put in place effective integrated management strategies. However, plant disease diagnosis is a knowledge-driven process and often requires specialized training. Further, symptoms of the disease may not be adequate for accurate diagnosis, and laboratory testing may be needed.

As farmers in developing regions seek to enter export markets to increase family income, additional pressures are placed upon them to meet quality standards and phytosanitary (plant health) requirements. Both pre- and post-harvest diseases can pre-empt these attempts to market produce internationally. In addition, importing countries are concerned about the introduction of new pathogens that may greatly harm domestic agriculture.

In many developing regions, plant disease diagnostic capacity is poorly developed to nonexistent. Building capacity for plant disease diagnostics not only directly benefits farmers, but it also helps to reduce the risk of accidental introduction of new pathogens into the United States and other countries.

In order to address both local needs for timely and accurate plant disease diagnosis and international phytosanitary requirements, capacity for plant pathogen diagnostics in developing regions must be significantly improved. Currently, neither infrastructure nor human capital is adequate to meet the needs. This project addresses these issues in three critical regions: West Africa, East Africa and Central America/Caribbean. Our project is closely linked to IPM CRSP regional programs and other Global Theme programs in selected countries by sharing resources and scientists and by developing joint research programs.