New project aims to tackle growing risk of plant and tree diseases

A new project sees the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) collaborating with other UK scientists and industry partners to improve national biosecurity. The Fera-led project will help protect plants and trees by developing better methods for detecting the growing number of alien pests and diseases which threaten the UK. These are currently identified by trained inspectors carrying out visual inspections of imported plants and products. However, given the sheer volume of inspections required and the fact that symptoms are often not present, this is a very difficult task to perform effectively. The project aims to provide better methods for detecting tree pests and pathogens, both moving through trade and the wider environment. It will look at new technologies for detecting changes in infected plants using either ‘sniffer’ technology, to identify volatile chemicals emitted by pests or diseased plants. Or hyper-spectral imaging techniques that can detect changes in infected plants beyond the range of human vision. The researchers will also look at developing new traps for capturing insects and DNA-based detection approaches to detecting and identifying pathogens in the environment; both known ones and new threats. A key feature of the project is that it is interdisciplinary, with social researchers, modellers and economists working alongside scientists and engineers to deliver effective solutions to help a range of end-users in their hunt for plant health threats. Fera will be working alongside the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Forest Research, James Hutton Institute, Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, and the Universities of Aberdeen, Oxford, Exeter, Greenwich, Hertfordshire, St. Andrews and Worcester. Website: http://www.fera.defra.gov.uk

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