Stop the Rot: Combating Onion Bacterial Diseases with Pathogenomic Tools and Enhanced

Mrs. Antonitte Machado Graduate Student Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Colorado State University Onion bulb crops are grown on approximately 140,000 acres/year in seven primary regions of the U.S., with a farm-gate value of $925M. Bacterial diseases of onion cause more than $60M in losses annually to this industry. Losses can be particularly severe for stored bulbs as bacterial rots typically develop in storage. This presentation will describe the objectives and activities of the “Stop the Rot Project”, a twelve-university collaborative research project on onion. The project will evaluate the complete system (host, pathogen, environment) of bacterial diseases of onion. The aim is to develop practical, economically sound strategies for pathogen detection and management that will improve profitability and sustainability of onion production. Data will present on commonly used copper-based bactericide products to alternative commercial products such as living microorganisms, hormone inducers and novel chemical products.