Bacterial Blight In Peas

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30977, 5 February 1966, Page 9

Bacterial Blight In Peas

hi; Procedure for eliminating bacterial ignt from partridge or field pea crops and requirements covering the export ot neld and garden peas grown in Canterbury dunng the 1965-66 season are described in a statement issued for the guidance of farmers merchants after a meeting of officials of the Departments of Agriculture and Scientific and Industrial Research this week.

The quarantine requirements for field and garden peas grown in Canterbury during the 1965-66 season are as follows:

(1) All types of field peas being exported to:

South Africa: (a) For processing—health certificate only, (b) For seed—health certificate plus an endorsement to the effect that “the

seed peas were harvested from crops from which bacterial blight has not been recorded.” Only crops which have been Inspected and found free would qualify for this endorsement. Such crops are very few in number. United Kingdom: (a) For processing—health certificate only, (b) For seed —health certificate plus an endorsement to the effect that “the crops from which the seed was taken have been examined during the growing season by an authorised officer of the Plant Protection Service of the country in which they were grown and found by him to be free from bacterial blight”

(2) Garden Peas: A thorough inspection of garden pea crops in Canterbury has not revealed the presence of bacterial blight, consequently consignments of garden peas as seed for South Africa and the United Kingdom can be accompanied by health certificates with the required endorsement with respect to freedom from bacterial blight.

The identification and use of disease-free seed of partridge or field peas is essential for the complete elimination of this disease from Canterbury. Therefore, as seed from all infected autumn-sown crops is likely to be carrying the disease, the produce from these crops should be sold for processing,, and not used i for sowing.

Disease-free seed can be obtained from two sources. First, and preferably, from autumn-sown crops which were found and certified to be completely free of the disease during the inspections made in the SeptemberNovember period of last year. The second source of diseasefree seed is spring-sown crops in which the disease was not detectable during the inspections last year. In future years, it is essential that all seed should come from crops which remain dis-ease-free. As the disease can overwinter on plant residues, it is important that all the pea vines from diseased crops be destroyed by burning or deep ploughing; that there be a rotation of at least two crops in between every pea crop; and that some attempt be made to eliminate self-sown peas in subsequent crops.

Spring-sown field peas seem to be less affected by the disease, probably because they escape the damaging effects of frosts, and cold, wet weather. Autumn-sown crops are growing during the winter when conditions are most conducive to the development of this disease, and hence it is more important to plant these crops with disease-free seed.