ISCF WAVE 1 AGRI TECH Development of a diagnostic tool to assess risk levels of pea foot rot pathogens in soils

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Foot rot diseases in pea crops cause root and stem rots which result in substantial yield losses and reduction in the quality of the peas, decreasing their value by £12.5M per annum. The diseases are caused by several soilborne pathogens which cannot be controlled with fungicides, and severity of losses is determined by pathogen levels in soils, soil structure and weather conditions. Currently crop rotations whereby peas are not grown for several years are the only means of mitigating the problem. However, measuring pathogen levels in soil before planting peas holds the potential to identify fields where disease risk is low. This project will develop molecular tools to quantify foot rot pathogens in soils and link levels to potential yield loss. This will provide a risk assessment tool for pea growers helping them to choose fields with healthy soils for growing high quality peas. Efficiency of pea production in the UK will be increased and the use of land, water, energy and fertilisers will be reduced.