Báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học " Management of Phytophthora diseases in Vietnamese horticulture - MS2 " potx

Project Abstract The effective management of Phytophthora diseases in Vietnam is currently limited by the lack of knowledge and understanding at the scientific, extension and farmer lev

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development

CARD Project Progress Report

052/04VIE: Management of Phytophthora diseases

in Vietnamese horticulture

MS2: FIRST SIX-MONTHLY REPORT

July 2005

1 Institute Information

Vietnamese Horticulture

Vietnamese Institution National Institute of Plant Protection, Hanoi

Vietnamese Project Team Leader Dr Nguyen Van Tuat

Contact Officer(s)

In Australia: Team Leader

In Australia: Administrative contact

Organisation The University of

Sydney

In Vietnam

Organisation National Institute of Plant Protection Email: tuat@hn.vnn.vn

2 Project Abstract

The effective management of Phytophthora diseases in Vietnam is currently limited by

the lack of knowledge and understanding at the scientific, extension and farmer levels This project aims to extend sustainable and effective disease control and management recommendations to a range of horticultural crops throughout Vietnam, thereby improving smallholder outcomes by reducing crop losses due to Phytophthora The first milestone of this CARD project has been completed and relevant activities are described The first in a series of two Scientific Training Workshops were held at NIPP-Hanoi, FTRDC-Hue and SOFRI-My Tho in Vietnam between May 31st and June 13th, 2005 An initial survey was conducted to assess the competency of institutional staff and the effectiveness of the workshop series A Training Manual was developed and distributed to participants providing an ongoing reference Workshop participants were trained in pathogen identification, disease diagnosis, farm management and disease control methods and participatory research extension techniques Participants will establish short research projects to develop integrated disease management recommendations for implementation

by farmers in the next milestone of the project Results from these projects will be discussed at the next workshop In completing these activities we have met the targets set

in the first milestone

3 Executive Summary

This project aims to extend sustainable and effective disease control and management recommendations developed in previous research, to a wide range of horticultural crops throughout Vietnam, thereby improving smallholder outcomes by reducing crop losses due to Phytophthora diseases This report describes the first in a series of two scientific training workshops held at the National Institute for Plant Protection (NIPP)-Hanoi, Fruit Tree Research and Development Centre (FTRDC)-Hue and Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI)-My Tho, Vietnam, between May 31 and June 13, 2005 The workshops were attended by 77 scientists and extension workers from universities, research institutes and extension agencies in the north, centre and south of Vietnam The gender balance of participants was tipped towards males with 41% of participants at all three workshops being female

A survey was conducted at the beginning of each workshop to assess the competency

of institutional staff and the effectiveness of the workshop series using Bennett’s Hierarchy This information, along with the farmer surveys to be conducted in the extension workshops, will enable us to assess the impact of the training workshops and the CARD project

A Training Manual was developed and distributed at each workshop, along with

copies of ACIAR Monographs 99 “Developing Agricultural Solutions with Smallholder Farmers” and 114 “Diversity and Management of Phytophthora in Southeast Asia” A hardcopy and an electronic copy of the training manual are

submitted as attachments with this report The training manual includes all presentations from the workshops and additional information about Phytophthora diseases and their management taken from ACIAR Monograph 114 It was well received and provides a comprehensive future reference point for participants

The three day scientific Training Workshops provided a hands-on approach to diagnosis and management of Phytophthora diseases in Vietnam Workshop participants were trained in pathogen identification, disease diagnosis, disease control methods and PAR Lecture sessions introduced participants to the a variety of

Phytophthora species and the diseases they can cause on a range of plants, the impact

of Phytophthora diseases in Southeast Asia, the concepts of disease diagnosis,

pathogen isolation and identification, disease epidemiology and disease cycles

This information was put into practice when participants went out into the field to identify diseased plants and collect material for laboratory analysis In the laboratory participants learnt several techniques to isolate Phytophthora from soil and plant

material and to identify Phytophthora as the causal organism of the disease

Group discussions were held to discuss current disease incidence and management strategies This was followed by a group discussion session to develop a selection of disease low-, medium- and high-input management options to present to farmers as part the extension recommendations and participatory research This information provides participants with the capacity to conduct extension workshops in the next phase of the project where participants will establish short research projects based on participatory research (PAR) to develop integrated disease management recommendations for farmers Results from these projects will be discussed at the next workshop

The information presented in this report addresses the targets required to fulfil the first milestone of the CARD project

4 Introduction & Background

The geographic and climatic diversity in Vietnam allows a broad range of plant

species to be grown Tropical fruit trees are concentrated in the northern and southern parts of Vietnam and temperate crops in the northern and central highlands The

diverse climatic regions also provide an ideal climate for Phytophthora spp to

flourish, and the genus Phytophthora is responsible for extensive economic damage in

a wide range of different horticultural crops throughout the country, resulting in large reductions in yield and significant economical losses

Information on the occurrence and distribution of Phytophthora species present in Vietnam, disease transmission and progression, and suitable control methods is

lacking Expertise in the diagnosis and management of Phytophthora diseases,

including appropriate quarantine procedures, is also poor A strategic approach to the future study and control of Phytophthora diseases is needed This project aims to

improve smallholder productivity and alleviate poverty, especially in the Mekong and Central Coast regions, by improving the skills of relevant scientific and extension

staff and their capacity to implement disease management recommendations with

smallholders

This project focuses on local disease problems identified by informal surveys and

smallholder demand In the south, the priority crops were identified as pineapple,

citrus, and black pepper, while citrus, black pepper and rubber will be the main focus

in the centre, and litchi, tomato and potato in the north The Australian and

Vietnamese project team will run a series of workshops and supervise short on-farm research projects Our workshops aim to fill the current gaps in knowledge of

Phytophthora diseases at all levels in Vietnamese horticulture Scientific workshops at

each site will include staff of the three collaborating institutes as well as relevant staff from universities These workshops will focus on the biology of Phytophthora, the diseases it causes, and potential management practices Staff will be trained in

diagnosis at the field and laboratory levels In this way knowledge gained from these workshops will be incorporated into undergraduate and postgraduate training

programs The first Scientific Training workshops were held at the National Institute for Plant Protection (NIPP)-Hanoi, Fruit Tree Research Development Centre

(FTRDC)-Hue and Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI)-My Tho in June 2005 The final training Scientific Training Workshop to be organised by the Australian partners is scheduled for October 2006 These hands-on training workshops will

contribute to capacity building in the research and extension institutes involved

Scientific staff will then be equipped to transfer diagnostic skills and Phytophthora disease management strategies to extension agencies

The second level of workshop will focus on symptom recognition and the application

of integrated management to smallholders Vietnamese scientific staff will run

workshops for Provincial Plant Protection Sub-Division (PPSD) staff, who will then supervise participatory research and other extension activities involving smallholder farmers The crops identified above will form the basis of the research extension activities The Australian partners will visit field sites in February 2006, to support research and extension staff in the development of integrated disease management strategies for each crop in each region, the design and implementation of

Phytophthora training workshops for provincial PPSD extension workers in each region and the design and implementation of PAR and other extension activities

involving PPSD staff and smallholders Workshop participants will present the results

of their participatory research trials at the final workshop scheduled for October 2006 The third level of training in Vietnam will disseminate the results to smallholders in 5 provinces in each region through Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodologies learned during this and previous projects Farmers will be offered a range of farm management strategies and will be supported in their implementation of the chosen strategy These farmers will become a focus for future extension activities Farmer competitions, field days and GP exercises will supplement these participatory

activities

Selected staff will also be given an opportunity to undertake a study tour to Australia where they will learn about nursery best practice and orchard management, as well as advanced techniques in pathogen identification and research training Three scientists, Mrs Nguyen Thi Ly (NIPP), Mr Doan Nhan Ai (FTRDC), Dr Nguyen Van Hoa (SOFRI), will visit Australia in July 2005 to participate a training and study tour to examine nursery best practice and horticultural production in southern Queensland, and for further training in Phytophthora diagnostics This will build institutional capacity and aims to maximise the long-term benefits to each institution

5 Progress to Date

A detailed implementation of the project progress to date is provided in the attached Progress Report Logframe

The first milestone has been reached with the following targets already implemented:

1 Contract signing in April 2005

2 Signing of an MOU between Australian and Vietnamese project leaders

3 Development and distribution of Training Manual

4 Initial assessment of competency of Vietnamese institutional staff by conducting questionnaires at the beginning of the first workshop A similar questionnaire will

be distributed in the final workshop to assess the effectiveness of the scientific training activities using Bennett’s Hierarchy

5 Completion of first scientific training workshops at NIPP-Hanoi, FTRDC-Hue and SOFRI-My Tho A Scientific Training Workshop program can be found in Appendix I

6 Training of 77 Vietnamese scientists in disease diagnosis and the identification of Phytophthora

7 Planning of Vietnamese scientific visit to Australia in July, 2005

5.2 Capacity Building

1 Scientific training workshops

The Training Workshops in this project aim to fill the current gaps in knowledge of Phytophthora diseases at all levels in Vietnamese horticulture Hands-on Scientific Training Workshops held at NIPP, FTRDC and SOFRI included a total of 77 staff from these collaborating institutes, universities, provincial Plant Protection Departments and Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute (VASI) The inclusion of university staff will further promote the incorporation of knowledge gained from these workshops into undergraduate and postgraduate training programs

The Scientific Training Workshops focused on the biology of Phytophthora, the diseases it causes and a range of management practices (Appendix I) Scientists who participated in the first Training Workshop were trained in symptom diagnosis at the field and laboratory levels resulting in improved institutional capacity for disease symptom diagnosis, pathogen identification, research and recommendations Scientists were also introduced to the technique of Participatory Action Research (PAR) for farmer training and dissemination of disease control methods This will improve the capacity for conducting extension training and the diffusion of management strategies into farming communities The Scientific Training Workshop also introduced participants to potential quarantine and future disease risks in Vietnamese horticulture providing participants with the ability to not only address current problems but also to develop a capacity to respond to new disease problems as they arise

The study tour planned for July 2005 will expose Vietnamese scientists to nursery and horticultural production best practice techniques as well as advanced techniques in pathogen identification and research training Scientific staff will then be equipped to transfer diagnostic skills and Phytophthora disease management strategies to extension agencies through extension workshops and farmer training programs

2 Training Manual

A comprehensive training manual was developed and provided to workshop participants as both a hard copy and an electronic copy (CD) The manual included copies of all presentations, some of which were translated into Vietnamese and translations of selected relevant chapters of ACIAR Monograph No 14 (Drenth A &

Guest DI, 2004 Diversity and Management of Phytophthora in Southeast Asia) The

distribution of the manual primarily in English was preferred at SOFRI to encourage participants to learn English

Participants were also provided with a copy of the ACIAR Monograph in English The Monograph provides a comprehensive background, practical information and advice for the development and implementation of effective integrated management strategies for Phytophthora diseases occurring on a variety of crops under different environmental conditions Participants were also provided with copies of the

Vietnamese translation of ACIAR Monograph 99 “Developing Agricultural Solutions with Smallholder Farmers” This monographs outlines PAR approaches designed to

encourage farmer adoption of new technologies

The development and distribution of a comprehensive training manual and the ACIAR Monographs Nos 99 and 114 provide participants with guides to which they can refer as the need arises

3 Scientific study tour of Australia

An advanced training tour of Australia is scheduled for July 2005 Three Vietnamese scientists were selected by the Vietnamese project leaders to participate in a training and study tour to examine nursery best practice and horticultural production and for further training in Phytophthora diagnostics This will build institutional capacity and aims to maximise the long-term benefits to each institution

6 Report on Cross-Cutting Issues

6.1 Environment

The current lack of disease management information in many areas of Vietnam may lead to inappropriate use of pesticides Application of chemicals for pest and disease control can lead to high residues in food and environmental pollution Many participants at the workshop in My Tho raised environmental issues as a major concern of farmers For example in Hanoi, Hatay and Vinh Phuc Provinces, farmers have been reported to apply 2-3 times the recommended rate of fungicides to potato and tomato crops every 3-5 days during the cool season

Our approach to integrated disease management of Phytophthora diseases has minimal chemical inputs and is generally beneficial to the environment The approach

is based on accurate disease diagnosis, improved nursery practice to ensure farmers are supplied with high-quality, disease-free planting material, adequate farm preparation to improve soil drainage and increase soil organic matter and the activity

of beneficial soil microbes, quarantine and farm hygiene to minimise pathogen dissemination, the use of organic composts and manures to maintain soil fertility and increase water-use efficiency, improved drainage and canopy aeration to reduce humidity and pathogen sporulation In some cases strategic application of phosphonate fungicides may be appropriate The tailoring of specific recommendations for particular crops enables precise treatment of diseases preventing environmental spillage It also promotes capacity building and the ability of Vietnamese scientists and extension staff to respond to new problems as they arise The technologies in our approach are not dissimilar to traditional farming systems and have beneficial rather than negative environmental impacts for example, by improving soil organic matter, reducing unnecessary or inappropriate pesticide and fertiliser application

6.2 Gender and Social Issues

A greater proportion of participants at the three workshops were male (59%) This was largely due to the large number of males (82%) attending the workshop at

FTRDC A greater proportion of participants at the NIPP were female, while at SOFRI the balance was more evenly distributed

7 Implementation & Sustainability Issues

7.1 Issues and Constraints

Minor issues have been dealt with as they occurred:

• Delay in signing research agreement and transfer of funds

• Delays in transfer of money to Vietnam

• Communication confusion and indecision for purchase of airfares and allocation of allowances for scientific visit

7.2 Options

Tasks to meet the first milestone have been completed The project is running well and no changes need to be made

8 Next Critical Steps

The activities that will be undertaken in the next six months are:

1 Scientific training tours of Australia for three Vietnamese scientists

2 Organise extension training workshops an identify participants in each region

3 Conduct extension training workshops in each region

4 Establish experiments to develop integrated disease management techniques

5 Organise farmer training and PAR and identify locations

a Promote awareness amongst farmers and recruit participants

b Run PAR and GP activities in 15 provinces

6 Review farmer training and extension activities

7 Finalise purchase and delivery of microscopes, projectors and laptop computers

Mr Doan Nhan Ai did not get his visa in time to join the scientific tour in July 2005 and will instead visit Australia for scientific training in 2006

9 Conclusion

This project aims to improve smallholder outcomes by reducing crop losses due to Phytophthora diseases through extension of sustainable and effective disease control and management recommendations for a wide range of horticultural crops throughout Vietnam The first of a series of workshops were held at NIPP, FTRDC and SOFRI in June 2005 and were attended by 77 scientists and extension workers from universities, research institutes and extension agencies The hands-on approach to teaching and learning in the workshops will contribute to capacity building in the research and extension institutes involved Scientific staff are equipped to transfer diagnostic skills and Phytophthora disease management strategies to extension agencies Incorporation

of the knowledge gained from these workshops into undergraduate and postgraduate training programs will enhance the capacity of future scientists and extension works

to address current future disease risks

In completing these activities we have successfully addressed the first milestone