Team:CKWA-China/Results
Content
Literature Review
As we all know, potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a globally important high-yield crop that produces nutrient-rich tubers. This non-grain crop is the third most important food crop, after wheat and rice (Patil et al.2017). One of the major threats to potato production is soft rot disease caused by Erwinia bacteria, which generally occur during cultivation, harvesting or transportation and storage of farm produce, resulting in considerable yield reduction, poor quality of produce, and economic loss. In Kenya, it causes up to 50% total crop loss (Onkendi and Moleleki 2014; Muturi et al.2018).
Different approaches to soft rot disease control have been developed and applied. The effectiveness of the phages in preventing infection of potato tubers by P. carotovorum was tested in laboratory experiments The management of potato diseases is based on a massive use of chemical pesticides, causing environmental pollution and ecological destruction. Although some researches about environmental-friendly pest management approaches have been reported, there are still many problems in effect and safety aspects.
Interview（Potato Center Asia-Pacific Headquarter）
We met with senior staffs of the potato center Asia-Pacific Headquarter to learn about the current detection and treatments of potato diseases. We then visited their workplace, which accounted for a large proportion of the current potato-agricultural development. We presented our initial concept to the experts (including the chairman of the potato center, Mr. Lu) and audited a group meeting on agricultural pharmacology. Through the discussions with them, we became more aware of the consequences of Soft Rot disease and the importance of creating an effective bio-control solution.