Clean Plant Program Pays Off for Berry Growers

blueberry mosaic disease

Blueberry mosaic disease as seen on a plant in Washington. (Photo: Yannis Tzanetakis)

There have been days when Deborah Golino and Bob Martin have been two of the most important people in the berry industry. Many of you say WHO and WHY? Dr. Golino is the Director of Foundation Plant Services at the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Martin is Research Leader and Research Plant Pathologist at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Horticultural Crops Unit at Corvallis, OR. They are leaders of their respective National Clean Plant Network for Berries (NCPN-B) units, and their units provide clean stock for use in the berry industries. If you are a berry grower, I want to make sure you know about the NCPN.

The Mission and the Berry Clean Plant Centers

The network’s website states: “The NCPN-B produces clean planting stock for berry crops. It is part of a network of clean plant centers in the United States that conducts diagnostics and pathogen elimination services and maintain pathogen-tested plant materials for nurseries so they can be included in state certification programs.” Crops include strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

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There are four locations with NCPN-B programs. Staff at the Corvallis, OR, program, led by Dr. Martin, works closely with breeders and nurseries to develop strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry plants free of known viruses. They use thermal and chemotherapy to eliminate pathogens and index plants using bioassays and laboratory-based assays. The staff in Corvallis also develops and implements new diagnostic assays for pathogens of these crops to improve the quality of the plants produced.

Program staff in Raleigh, NC, led by Dr. Christie Almeyda at NC State University, produces, maintains and supplies specific pathogen-tested berry crop plant material to scientists and industry. Crops include strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Program staff uses thermal therapy to eliminate viruses from plants and assesses plants for known viruses using laboratory tests and biological indexing.

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Dr. Golino and her staff at the UC Davis clean plant program carries out virus elimination, tests, maintains, and distributes virus-tested strawberry propagation stock from the University of California strawberry breeding program.

Finally, program staff in Fayetteville, AR, led by Dr. Yannis Tzanetakis at the University of Arkansas, places primary emphasis on the development of new diagnostic assays to provide laboratory-based tests for all the virus and virus-like agents that infect strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry. This program coordinates with the other centers to implement the new tests into pathogen elimination and diagnostic programs. Staff at the Arkansas center also develops next-generation diagnostics that will detect all pathogens affecting the crops using a single assay.

I also want to point out that there are spectacular staff members at each of these units who have tremendous commitment to their missions. I know this for a fact as I have had the opportunity to meet many and work with them.

blackberry yellow vein disease

Symptoms of blackberry yellow vein disease is seen on leaves of the plant in a field in Arkansas. (Photo: Yannis Tzanetakis)

First-Hand Experiences

Many of you are aware that one of my most important jobs is to develop new blackberry varieties at the University of Arkansas. In the early to mid-2000s, blackberries increased in planting in the East, particularly the Southeast. With increased planting came increased symptoms of viruses. This was a scary situation! Some excellent work was carried out by researchers, including Dr. Martin and then-graduate student Tzanetakis in Oregon, and Dr. Rose Gergerich and then-graduate student James Susaimuthu at the University of Arkansas. More and more viruses and virus combinations were identified that contribute to the range of symptoms.

Some of these discoveries included latent viruses, or the type that don’t show symptoms without another virus infection in the plant. At the time, there was no system in place to produce clean stock from Arkansas introductions. I became very concerned that new introductions could be introduced that had viruses, even though no symptoms could be seen. And, diagnostic tests were not fully developed for all the newly identified viruses.

It took a good bit of arm twisting, but good ol’ Bob Martin agreed to produce clean stock of ‘A-2241T,’ which later became the variety ‘Natchez’ released in 2007. Since then, all Arkansas introductions have been introduced from virus-tested stock from either the Corvallis or Raleigh units, and the key to this has been the NCPN funding. This has led to tremendous improvements in planting successes and longevity, and grower profits.

Fortunately, the success of the NCPN and NCPN-B has been well documented. Funding is proposed to continue in the 2018 Farm Bill, which is critical to keep the successes coming. However, one can never tell a positive and successful story too many times. I hope you will join in me in continued support of our NCPN-B. It is a very important part in keeping the berry good times rolling!

Berries ARE Specialty Crops
The Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 defined specialty crops as “fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture)”. So, is that a big deal? I think so.

Do you know what “our” crops were referred to before this specialty crop definition? One was “horticultural,” which is just fine for folks who know what horticulture is. But a survey done in the last few years by the American Society for Horticultural Science found that many folks in the U.S. don’t know what horticulture is. Even worse, our crops were considered “minor” crops.

I think one sure way to NOT impact national policy on public funding and other policy impacts is to be “minor” (which reads unimportant).

Along about 2005 to 2006, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns held many discussions across the country taking input on specialty crop interests. This culminated in a proposal for the 2007 Farm Bill for a billion dollars for specialty crops research and promotional support over a 10-year period.

Those of us in academia really took particular note of that as there was talk of research funding for specialty crops, an entirely new potential area of support. The funding did not end up to be quite what Secretary Johanns proposed, but it was far way more than specialty crops had attained in federal funding prior. This focus led to the Specialty Crops Research Initiative and the Specialty Crop Block Grants in the resulting 2008 Farm Bill. But, the story is even better for us berry folks.

In 2006, representatives from the nursery industry, a broad range of fruit growers — particularly tree fruits and grapes — the National Plant Board, state regulatory agencies, land-grant university representatives, and USDA began discussing the idea of “clean plant programs” A steering committee was established to review existing clean plant programs, prioritize a list of specialty crops for funding, and propose the first NCPN activity.

Language and funding for the NCPN was included in the 2008 Farm Bill along with the specialty crop initiatives. Although the initial program was for grapes and tree fruits, berries were added in 2010. That key legislation got to where we are today — an extremely valuable program that is paying off for all berry producers. NCPN is lead by two individuals: Erich S. Rudyj, who started with the program and continues serving in this capacity to date, and Dr. David Prokrym, who joined in 2014 as the program expanded to new crops.

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Avatar for Judy Mason Judy Mason says:

So do we have to “clean” our soil also?

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