Plant Disease Diagnostic Training for Agricultural Professionals in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands

Plant Disease Diagnostic Training for Agricultural Professionals in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands

Summary

     A list of plant diseases and their hosts in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands was compiled from local, regional, and national resources. Sources include the Guam Agricultural Experiment Station Reports, Guam Cooperative Extension fact sheets and production guides, the University of Guam Journal Micronesica, Beltsville records, and literature searches from various sources including the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), and the South Pacific Commission (SPC). This listed will be updated throughout the course of this grant before publishing.

Objectives/Performance Targets

     1) Improve the ability of agricultural professionals to conduct education programs on diagnostics and to respond to inquiries about ‘sick’ plants from commercial farmers, gardeners, and the public.

     2) Bring awareness to agricultural professionals of the importance of surveying and monitoring for diseases as parts of an integrated plant disease control program.

The following activities and timeline are from the grant proposal.

 September 2014-March 2016:

     Activity (1) Centralize plant disease information and publish a list of plant diseases for Guam and the CNMI: “Plant Diseases in Guam and Northern Mariana Islands.”

     Activity (2) Develop a working draft diagnostics manual for Guam and CNMI: “Diagnostic Manual for Plant Diseases in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.”

Accomplishments/Milestones

September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015:

     An Extension Associate collected all known publications of plant diseases reported on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands from University of Guam sources including: University of Guam Agriculture Experiment Station annual reports dating back to 1972; University of Guam research publication Micronesica dating back to 1969; and from USDA Beltsville, Maryland. A list of all plant diseases and there hosts were compiled on a spread sheet and sent to the contractor of this grant, Dr. Susan Cohen. Copies were made of all publications and both hard copies and electronic copies were sent to Dr. Cohen.  Dr. Cohen edited the plant disease spread sheet and reviewed all materials. She did additional library and literature searches including the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), the South Pacific Commission (SPC), and other sources. A list of all plant diseases and hosts was then compiled by Dr. Cohen from all of the above sources. This list will be continually updated throughout the course of this grant and then published under the title “Plant Diseases in Guam and Northern Mariana Islands.” Also, Dr. Cohen began work to develop a draft diagnostics manual for Guam and CNMI: “Diagnostic Manual for Plant Diseases in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.”

• Literature Search
• Guam Disease and Host list

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The list of plant diseases and their hosts in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands that was compiled during the first year of this grant is already making an impact. Drafts of this document are currently being used as a diagnostic reference by Dr. Robert Schlub in the Cooperative Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab and by UOG Research Plant Pathologist Dr. Andrea Blas. When finished the list will provide agricultural professionals, diagnosticians and Home Land Security personnel a new tool to identify the pathogens and diseases that currently exist and to identify possible new entries into the islands. This document also lists the identifiers, whereby providing insight into the authenticity of a particular entry.

Collaborators: