Ginger farmers rejoice! A
solution for Rhizome Rot is finally being developed for Jamaican farmers!
The
SRC (Scientific Research Council) in partnership with the IAEA (International
Atomic Energy Agency) has begun the process of developing Ginger resistant to Rhizome Rot
as reported in the article “SRC
Begins Project to Eliminate Rhizome Rot”, published December 31, 2015 By
Tomeico Gunn, The Jamaica Information Service.
This
is economically important to Jamaica, as we are on the cusp of achieving 5% of
global demand for Ginger if this works as explained in my blog article
entitled “Ministry
of Agriculture say Ginger can achieve 5% of Global demand by 2019 - Boost to
Ginger Farming Coming as it’s easy to Grow”.
In
fact, the shortfall in Ginger (Zingiber ofticinale Rose.) production
in Jamaica is so great, some Americans have been coming to Jamaica to farm Ginger (Zingiber ofticinale Rose.) specifically for their purposes
since January 2015 as reported in my blog article
entitled “doTERRA
and FarmupJamaica – Jamaican Ginger shortfall as Red Stripe Project Grow could
boost acreage for Ginger Wine and Beer”.
So what exactly is this Rhizome Rot Disease?
What is Rhizome Rot -
Panama disease for Ginger
Rhizome
Rot condition is cause by the presence of the following pathogens on the Ginger
(Zingiber ofticinale Rose.)
tuber, also called a rhizome:
1.
Fungus Fusarium spp.
2.
Root knot nematode Meloidogyne sp..
3.
Fungi Rhizoctonia solani,
4.
Fungi Pythium sp.
5.
Bacterium Pseudomonas sp.
Ginger
plants affected by these pathogens will exhibit the following symptoms of
Rhizome Rot:
1.
Stunted and yellow plants
2.
Lower leaves dry out, turn brown
3.
All aboveground leaves and stems dry out
completely
The
Ginger (Zingiber ofticinale Rose.)
plant collapses slowly over several weeks, with the Ginger Rhizome showing a
brown discoloration. Shriveled in appearance, the Ginger (Zingiber ofticinale Rose.) rhizome will eventually decay
appearing shriveled on the outside with most of the internal structure becoming
knotted and fibrous in appearance when cut open.
Given
the fact it takes nine (9) months to grow Ginger (Zingiber ofticinale Rose.) and the variety of pathogens that
cause Rhizome Rot, methods of controlling the disease aren't partiality
effective.
Immersing
the Rhizome seeds in hot water at 50C for 10 minutes, after detecting Rhizome
Rot, basically pasteurization does not help. Neither does using pesticides like
Ridomil MZ (0.2%) nor Topsin M (0.2%) by dipping the rhizomes seeds for 20
minutes and allowing them to air dry before planting.
The
disease pathogens spread from contact with soil. The mere act of going into the
field to inspect the plants allows the spores of the bacterium or fungi to
travel on your clothing, water boots and on infected Ginger plants being
transferred, infecting other infected parts of your field, to quote Executive
Director of the SRC, Dr. Cliff Riley: “Once an infected plant is moved from one
area and planted in another, the fungus can be transferred”.
This
is very similar to the Panama Disease which affects bananas and is cause by a
similarly infectious pathogen the Fusarium Oxysporum fungi as explained in my blog article entitled “How
the Panama Disease can destroy Caribbean Banana Farming by 2020”.
Like
Banana farmers, most Ginger farmers have to destroy their crops by burning as
well as abandon field.
They'll
also have to sterilize their farm equipment, as the spores can live for years
on their clothing, tractors and other field implements e.g. cutlass, hoes,
shovels. The field infected with the bacterial spores and fungi will have to be
abandoned or used for other crops unaffected by the Rhizome Rot.
So
a solution was needed to make the Ginger
(Zingiber ofticinale Rose.)
plants resistant to the Rhizome Rot pathogens, reviving old abandoned fields to
cultivation.
Ginger and Irradiation –
Rolling the Genetic Mutation Dice to create Rhizome Rot resistant plants
The
Research conducted jointly by the SRC and the IAEA involved using irradiation
of the Ginger (Zingiber ofticinale Rose.) plants.
This is very similar to heating the Ginger Rhizome seeds in hot water.
The
difference, however, is that the heat is transferred using a radioactive
source, most likely Cobalt-60 that emits Gamma rays.
Also,
it make another case as to why Jamaica had Nuclear Safety and Radiation Act in
July 2015 as reported in my blog article
entitled “Jamaica
passes Nuclear Safety and Radiation Act - Why ICENS Slowpoke is being upgraded
and How Nuclear Power may mean Cheaper 4G LTE”; they’d been experimenting
with irradiating plants and animals for the past three (3) years!
Irradiation is used
in the US of A to kill microorganisms such as E. coli O157:H7,
Campylobacter, and Salmonella. This ionizing radiation destroys the bonds in
DNA, making the pathogens die and any remaining pathogens unable to reproduce
correctly.
The
smaller the pathogens, the less DNA they have and thus the higher the dosage of
Gamma radiation that will be needed to irradiate them. The exposure to
radiation also affects the plant itself, killing any living cells inside of the
Ginger Rhizome seeds.
In
so doing, it delays ripening of the Ginger Rhizome seeds and may alter the
Genetic code of the Ginger (Zingiber ofticinale Rose.).
Fortunately the Rhizome Rot pathogens are nematoda, fungi and bacterium and the
Ginger Rhizome seeds are not being eaten, meaning the researchers at the SRC
and IAEA can irradiate it at levels above those used for food for consumption.
The
Researchers at the SRC and the IAEA realized that this alteration seemed to be
creating disease resistance in the Ginger (Zingiber ofticinale Rose.), as it seemed to resist exposure to
the pathogens that normally cause the Rhizome Rot. The process is very tedious,
as after each dose of radiation, you have to plant the Ginger Rhizome seeds and
wait another nine (9) months to see if was effective.
After
three (3) years of trial and error, it seems they’re close to hitting paydirt!
Rhizome Rot Resistant
Ginger in 2017 – Jamaica may be doing Food Radiation Experiments
But
the challenges are obviously great.
The
researchers won’t be able to know if they’re gotten lucky until 2017, to quote
Executive Director of the SRC, Dr. Cliff Riley: “The challenge that the SRC
has, is the length of time that the plant takes to grow, with a nine-month
waiting period, and then three to four months for it to re-sprout”.
This
shortcut form of GM (Genetic Modification) changes the Genome of the plants,
which then can be passed on to the next generation via breeding once the
resistance profile of the new Ginger Rhizome plants is known, as Executive
Director of the SRC, Dr. Cliff Riley asserts, quote: “Once the plant is
resistant to the virus, you can then start using the rhizomes again to
cultivate the plant”.
The
SRC and the IAEA are basically rolling a genetic engineering dice; irradiating
the Ginger Rhizome seeds and then inoculating it with Rhizome Rot pathogens
until it a genetically altered version of the Ginger rhizome spontaneously
occurs that’s resistant to Rhizome Rot.
One
wonders if this can also work with other plants as well, such as bananas
suffering from the Fusarium Oxysporum, the fungus that causes Panama disease.
But more intriguing; what other Jamaican Government experiments are being
conducted using Radioisotopes with IAEA’s assistance?
Here’s
the link
No comments:
Post a Comment