Using plants for better plant health

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 296, 25 July 1989, Page 9

Using plants for better plant health

Plant and insect derivatives are being tested on a wide range of common horticultural pests and diseases in research designed to find organic alternatives to synthetic chemical herbicides and pesticides.

The two-year MAFsponsored project is being undertaken at Massey University by plant masterate student Diana Robertson. Ms Robertson said environmental and human health concerns prompted her interest in organic production. Increasing pressure on conventional growers to switch to organic methods of production presented a special challenge, with organics no longer being seen as a "fringe" activity. "For organic growers, especially people converting, there are still a lot of problems in growing produce acceptable for the general market in terms of being low in pest and disease damage." Ms Robertson's research is looking at us-

ing plant and insect 4 derivatives to combat crop diseases such as late blight, seedling damping off, root rot fungi, powdery mildrew, and silver leaf. The same materials were also being evaluated to kill or deter caterpillars, mites and aphids. For commercial reasons, those derivatives must remain secret at this stage, she said. The project aimed to look at the general health of the plant, so growing media were also being studied. Organic composts and sterile potting mixes were being compared to soil, with the health of the plant under different plant or insect-derived treatments in each medium being evaluated.