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
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Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development
CARD Project Progress Report
Management of Phytophthora diseases in
Vietnamese Horticulture CARD 052/04VIE
MS3: SECOND SIX-MONTHLY REPORT
January 2006
1
Trang 21 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
Position: Research Grants
Administration Officer
Organisation The University of Sydney Email: luda.kuchieva@usyd.edu.au
In Vietnam
Organisation National Institute of Plant Protection Email: tuat@hn.vnn.vn
Trang 32 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 farmer outcomes by reducing crop losses due to Phytophthora The second milestone of this CARD project has been completed and relevant activities are described Extension Training Workshops were held at NIPP-Hanoi, FTRDC-Hue and SOFRI-My Tho in Vietnam in August (NIPP, FRTDC) and October (SOFRI), 2005 Training manuals were distributed to all participants Farmer trials to develop integrated disease management recommendations, based on the PAR techniques learned during the Training Workshops, have been established in collaboration with staff from the various scientific research institutes Data from these trials are currently being collected and results from these projects will be discussed at the final workshop in November, 2006 In completing these activities we have met the targets set in the second milestone
3 Executive Summary
The objective of this project is to extend sustainable and effective disease control and management recommendations developed in previous research, to a wide range of horticultural crops throughout Vietnam, thereby reducing crop losses due to Phytophthora diseases and improving smallholder productivity
Following the scientific training workshops held in Vietnam and the subsequent scientific study tour of Australian horticulture sites by Vietnamese scientists, scientific staff in Vietnam were well equipped to transfer disease diagnosis skills and knowledge of management strategies to extension agencies and farmers This report describes three two-day extension training courses organised by staff at 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 August and October, 2005 The workshops were attended by 80 staff from extension agencies in 16 Provinces who were trained in integrated disease management strategies The gender balance of participants was tipped towards males with 32% of participants at all three workshops being female This pattern was similar to that seen in the first series of scientific training workshops held in June, 2005
Training Manuals, both hardcopies and CDs, were distributed at each workshop The training manuals were based on the manual developed for the first series of scientific training workshops held in June 2005 with some corrections to the Vietnamese translations of the earlier edition The manual was well received and provides a comprehensive future reference point for participants
The Extension Training Workshops provided a hands-on approach to diagnosis and management of Phytophthora diseases in Vietnam Extension staff were trained in pathogen identification, disease diagnosis, disease management and PAR Lecture
Trang 4sessions introduced participants to a variety of Phytophthora species and the diseases they can cause on a range of plants, the impact of Phytophthora diseases on horticultural
crops, the concepts of disease diagnosis, pathogen isolation and identification, disease epidemiology and disease cycles This knowledge was implemented during field trips to identify diseased plants and collect material for laboratory analysis In the laboratory participants learnt techniques to isolate Phytophthora from soil and plant material and to
identify Phytophthora as the causal organism of the disease A selection of disease
management options were developed to present to farmers as part the extension recommendations and participatory research On-going support to project staff has been provided by email
To promote awareness of improved farming and disease management practices amongst farmers, Vietnamese scientific and extension staff organised farmer training sessions and on-farm participatory research trials Over 220 farmers are involved in the PAR trials across the three regions The trials will be monitored and results discussed at the final project workshop in November 2006 A summary of the extension training workshops and the farmer trials can be found in Appendix I The information presented in this report addresses the targets required to fulfil the second milestone of CARD project number 052/04/VIE
4 Introduction & Background
The diverse geographic and climatic regions of Vietnam enable the cultivation of a broad range of plants Tropical fruit trees are concentrated in the northern and southern parts of Vietnam and temperate crops in the northern and central highlands The range of climatic
conditions also provides an ideal climate for Phytophthora species The genus
Phytophthora is responsible for extensive economic damage in a wide range of
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 limited 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 farmers
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 involve 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
Trang 5management practices Staff will be trained in diagnosis at the field and laboratory levels The 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 and
farmers 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 and were discussed
in the first six-monthly project progress report The final training Scientific Training Workshop to be organised by the Australian partners is scheduled for November 2006 The second level of workshop will focus on symptom recognition and the application of integrated management to smallholder farmers Between August and October, 2005
Vietnamese scientific staff from each of the three institutes ran 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 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 Results from the PAR trials will be presented at the final workshop in November 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 farm-trials have been established and Australian collaborators will visit a selection of the farms in February 2006 The farmers involved in the PAR will become a focus for future extension activities
Selected scientific 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 Two scientists (Mrs Nguyen Thi Ly (NIPP) and Dr Nguyen Van Hoa (SOFRI)) visited Australia in July 2005 to participate in a training and study tour to examine nursery best practice and horticultural production in southern Queensland, and for further training in Phytophthora diagnostics Mr Doan Nhan Ai (FTRDC) will visit Australia in July 2006 This aims to maximise long-term benefits to each institution by building institutional capacity by exposing Vietnamese scientists to Australian horticultural practices and build relations between Australian and Vietnamese scientists
5 Progress to Date
5.1 Implementation Highlights
A detailed implementation of the project progress to date is provided in the attached Progress Report Logframe
Trang 6The second milestone has been reached with the following targets implemented:
1 Visit by two Vietnamese scientists (Mrs Nguyen Thi Ly from NIPP, Hanoi, and Dr Nguyen Van Hoa from SOFRI, My Tho) to Australia in July, 2005 Mr Doan Nhan
Ai from FTRDC did not receive his visa in time to travel and will visit Australia in July 2006
2 Completion of extension training workshops by Vietnamese institutional staff at NIPP-Hanoi, FTRDC-Hue and SOFRI-My Tho A total of 80 extension personnel participated in the workshops The actual target 75 participants
3 Distribution of training manuals to participants of the Extension Training Workshops
4 Establishment of farmer trials and PAR in each of the three regions (north, central, south) Over 220 farmers from 16 provinces are involved in the farmer training and PAR Details of the participating farmers and research projects from SOFRI were not received in time to be included in this report
5 Promotion of awareness of pathogens, disease and disease management strategies amongst farmers through establishment of PAR trials and extension activities
5.2 Capacity Building
1 Scientific study tour of Australia
The study tour conducted in July 2005 exposed the Vietnamese scientists to nursery and horticultural production best practice techniques as well as 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 Study tour reports from Mrs Nguyen Thi Ly and Dr Nguyen Van Hoa are attached in Appendix II
2 Extension Training Workshops
The Extension Training Workshops in this project aim to fill the current gaps in
knowledge of Phytophthora diseases at all levels in Vietnamese horticulture Hands-on Extension Training Workshops were held at NIPP, FTRDC and SOFRI between August and October, 2005 and included a total of 80 staff from Provincial Plant Protection Sub-Division (PPSD) (Appendix III) The Extension Training Workshops focused on the recognition of disease symptoms and the application of sustainable and effective
integrated management strategies A comprehensive training manual based on that
developed for the first Scientific Training Workshop was provided to workshop
participants as both a hard copy and an electronic copy (CD) The development and
distribution of the training manual provide participants with a guide to which they can refer as the need arises
Staff who participated in these training workshops will now supervise participatory
research and conduct other extension activities involving smallholder farmers The crops identified above will form the basis of the research extension activities The Australian partners will visit PAR sites in February 2006 to support research and extension staff in the design, implementation and monitoring 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 in November 2006
3 Farmer Participatory Action Research Trials
Trang 7Farmer Participatory Action Research Trials have been established in each of the three regions (Appendix IV) and involves over 220 farmers from 16 provinces The target set during project conception was 375 participating farmers While farmer training by SOFRI staff in the south has begun, details of participating farmers and the PAR trials were not available in time to be included in this report It is anticipated that the number of farmers participating in the trials will be closer to the target of 375 when the participating farmers from the SOFRI trials are included The trials will be monitored over the final 12 months
of the project Inclusion of on-farm trials and the expansion of extension activities will enable dissemination of knowledge acquired during the workshops to promote awareness
of the pathogen, skills in disease diagnosis and improved farm hygiene and disease
management strategies The farmers involved in the PAR will provide a valuable contact for future extension activities
5.3 Publicity
A summary of this CARD project, along with some photos, will shortly be available on the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources website (http://www.agric.usyd.edu.au)
6 Report on Cross-Cutting Issues
6.1 Gender and Social Issues
A greater proportion of participants at the extension workshops were male (67.5%) than female (32.5%) This was primarily due to the larger number of males (80% and 73%) attending the workshops in Hue and My Tho The balance of males and females was more evenly distributed at NIPP in Hanoi
7 Implementation & Sustainability Issues
7.1 Issues and Constraints
Mr Doan Nhan Ai did not receive his visa in time to participate in the scientific tour of Australian horticulture in July 2005 He will participate in a similar tour in July 2006
No other issues were encountered
7.2 Options
The targets of the second milestone have been met The project is running well and no changes are required
8 Next Critical Steps
The activities that will be undertaken in the next six months are:
1 Scientific training tours of Australia for Mr Ai from FTRDC who did not receive his visa in time to participate in the tour in July 2005
Trang 82 Australian partners to visit Vietnamese farm trial sites in February 2006, meet with Vietnamese team and discuss progress and activities for 2006
3 Review farmer training and extension activities
4 Final workshop in November 2006 to discuss outcomes of PAR and farmer trials
9 Conclusion
The objective of this CARD project is to reduce crop losses due to Phytophthora diseases through extension of sustainable and effective disease management recommendations and thereby improve smallholder farmer productivity Extension training workshops were held at NIPP-Hanoi, FTRDC-Hue and SOFRI-My Tho for 80 staff from provincial extension agencies The hands-on approach to teaching and learning in the workshops will contribute to capacity building in the extension institutes involved Extension staff are equipped to transfer Phytophthora disease management strategies to farmers Knowledge gained from these workshops will also enhance the capacity of extension workers to address future disease risks To promote awareness of improved farm and disease management practices amongst farmers, a selection of disease management options were developed to present to farmers as part of the extension recommendations Farmers have been selected to participate in on-farm trials and PAR to actively disseminate the extension information The results of the farmer trials will be discussed in the final project workshop to be held in November, 2006 In completing these activities
we have successfully addressed the second milestone