Quarantine Field

The Quarantine Field is a restricted access area where we work on soilborne diseases caused by fungal pathogens - it is a unique facility in the UK.

Many of these pathogens have spores or resting structures that can survive for several years or even decades; hence we must be careful to wash and disinfect all boots and equipment to prevent spread to our other field areas. Historically the entire field was inoculated with a fungal pathogen causing white rot disease in onions (root disease), but we have more recently introduced other pathogens in specific areas. This allows us to ensure that diseases develop in trials for instance to test new crop protection products / control approaches or assess new varieties for resistance.

These are:

Sclerotinia - which infects more than 400 plant species - causes white mould disease - the current trial is testing different crop protection products for control of the airborne spore phase.

Fusarium of onion - causes wilt and basal rot - current trial testing resistance of different onion breeding lines for a commercial company.

Clubroot of brassicas - causes deformed roots and stunted plants - trials have identified resistance in the Warwick brassica diversity sets.

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Cavity spot of carrot (concrete pipes set in ground) - causes lesions on carrot roots - these macrocosms are filled with sieved sandy soil to optimise carrot growth and provide a contained unit for infection studies.