White rot remains the top concern for California’s garlic and onion industries. Producers received the latest research findings on the disease, including bioactive volatile compounds and white rot GPS mapping, at the 2017 California Garlic and Onion Symposium in Tulare.
The annual meeting is presented by the California Garlic and Onion Research Advisory Board (GORAB) in cooperation with University of California Cooperative Extension.
The garlic and onion industries continue to face challenges with white rot. GORAB CEO Robert Ehn told AgNet West last year that once the disease is in a field, growers have to move to new ground. A majority of the research funding GORAB allocates goes to trials looking at finding a way to control the disease. Oregon State researchers have been looking at using compounds in garlic juice to help manage white rot.
Symposium topics also included downy mildew research, nematode trials and a water update from the California Water Alliance (CWA). “As of last week, we are over 206 percent above our average rainfall,” CWA’s Aubrey Bettencourt said.
Stay with AgNet West for more information from the symposium.