House Bill Includes Funding to Combat Agricultural Diseases
Washington,
Jul 9, 2009 -
The House today passed an annual agricultural appropriations bill that contains $346,000 for research on combating Phytophthora capsici, a non-native fungal-like pathogen that lives in soil and causes plants to rot, and $346,000 on research to combat the Apple Fire Blight pathogen.
"Phytophthora and Apple Fire Blight pose a major threat to Michigan’s agricultural economy," said U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland. "Researching how to combat and control their spread remains a top priority for Michigan’s farmers."
The funding was included in H.R. 2997, the Agricultural, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
Vegetables such as cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, eggplants and lima beans are particularly susceptible to Phytophthora. Crop rotation is mostly ineffective because it can survive for 10 or more years in the soil.
"Phytophthora has been a major stumbling block for vegetable growers in Michigan," said Roger Victory, an Ottawa County grower. "We haven’t found the silver bullet yet, but with the federal assistance toward research we have made considerable progress toward stopping the spread of the disease."
Fire Blight is a devastating bacterial disease of apples. It often enters the plant during bloom and also infects trees that have suffered wounds from hail, wind and insects. Since crop year 2000, Michigan apple growers have lost more than $50 million to the dreaded disease.
"Great strides have been made but more research is needed to eradicate this devastating disease for Michigan apple growers," said Dawn Drake, manager of Michigan Processing Apple Growers.
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