An unusual meeting took place at Ashtown on 16 February. Unusual in that only one small group of growers were invited – lettuce producers – and also for that fact that only one topic was on the agenda – Fusarium wilt disease. The aim of this well-attended meeting was to bring growers up to speed with this deadly disease which has struck at the heart of the lettuce industry in Rush, Co Dublin. Fusarium, which is a soil-borne disease that causes a wilt in lettuce, has broken out in the past season on several nurseries in Rush. The problem with this pathogen is its persistence in the soil and difficulty of control.
One of the speakers, John Johnson of Enza Zaden, did hold out hope that resistant varieties will be developed to counter this intractable disease. But that’s some years away. More immediate results may come from soil sterilisation. Alan Horgan, technical manager with
Certis, outlined the benefits of sterilisation by treating the soil with Basimid. He emphasised to the growers present the importance of the correct application of the product to obtain the best effects from it. And Teagasc foliage specialist Andy Whelton posed the question “Is there life after lettuce?” He made the point that there are alternatives to lettuce and cut flower production was one of them. Based on trial work at Kildalton College, Andy recommended that stocks and ornamental brassicas might be possible replacements for a grower looking to produce something different. ✽
