Protecting vital crops in China
Evidence of disease in oilseed rape crops across China and how it may spread has been mapped by researchers led by the University of Hertfordshire - providing new strategic information on crop protection to the Chinese government.Oilseed rape is prone to phoma stem canker, also known as blackleg disease, caused by two Leptosphaeria species. The more damaging pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans (L. maculans) has been spreading globally in oilseed rape crops over the last thirty years causing widespread losses with serious economic consequences. In China, phoma stem canker on oilseed rape has not