Idea Transcript
Britain's favourite fresh produce magazine since 1895 By Michael Barker Friday 9th February 2018, 9:52 GMT
Barking up the right tree US trials indicate dogs could be a key weapon in preventing the spread of major plant diseases such as citrus greening
D
Tim Gottwald at the Future Lab at Fruit Logistica
ogs could hold the key to
Extensive trials in the US have shown
infected it, something that would have
defeating crop diseases thanks to
extraordinary levels of accuracy and speed
been impossible using traditional methods
a revolutionary programme in
when using dogs to detect citrus greening
of investigation. Dogs took less than two
(HLB), a devastating disease which is spread
seconds to investigate each tree and could
by insects and can cause major crop
examine a 10-acre block of trees in 53-103
damage for growers.
minutes, depending on the level of disease
the United States. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working with a canine training
present.
and detection company, Coast to Coast K9,
Large breeds with long snouts, such as
to train over 20 dogs to spot plant diseases
German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois,
Gottwald said that, in theory, canine
in fruit orchards. The development was
are being used to examine orchards, with
“investigators” could be deployed to hunt
detailed by Professor Dr Tim Gottwald,
the dog trained to sit down whenever it
down a wide range of plant diseases.
research leader at the USDA, during a
passes a tree infected with HLB. The dog is
Researchers are already trialling the
Future Lab session at Fruit Logistica in
rewarded with 45 seconds of play time with
method with liberibacter solanacearum in
Berlin, where he estimated the potential
its handler every time it makes a positive
tomatoes, and a feasibility project is taking
savings to the industry as in the “millions”.
identification.
place on plum pox. Future projects are
Dogs have a sensitivity threshold for
The trials showed an extraordinary 99.17
odours that ranges from 1,000 to 100
per cent accuracy rate when using dogs to
million times more sensitive than humans,
identify HLB, versus a detection rate of 50-
Gottwald estimated the cost of buying and
and they have been shown to be capable of
70 per cent when using molecular
training a dog as under US$20,000, with a
detecting a single drop of blood in 25
techniques. Results are also instant, rather
fully-trained dog then able to be sold to a
Olympic swimming pools worth of water.
than waiting hours or days for lab testing.
regulatory agency or deployed by canine
Already established as a vital tool in drug
Very few false positives or negatives have
handlers on a per-acre, per-day or per-week
and explosives detection, dogs are now
been recorded.
basis. “When you think about the cost of
expected to focus on Little Cherry Disease
being billed as a realistic answer to how to detect disease before they have the chance to wipe out whole orchards.
and Red Blotch on grapevines.
hiring surveyors to do this kind of work, Perhaps even more remarkably, in a 10,000 tree trial, the dogs were able to detect HLB
and their low accuracy rate, this is a very accurate and fast
as soon as the insect had
http://www.fruitnet.com/americafruit/article/1474/parts-of-san-diego-quarantined-as-psyllid-count-mounts © Copyright Market Intelligence Ltd - Fruitnet.com 2014. The copyright on this article and all content published on Market Intelligence Ltd Fruitnet.com is held by Market Intelligence Ltd - Fruitnet.com Limited, a joint venture between Market Intelligence Limited and Dr Rolf M Wolf Media GmbH. All rights reserved. Neither this article nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, including printouts, screen grabs and information retrieval systems, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.
alternative,” he concluded. “So it’s very cost effective.”
http://www.fruitnet.com/americafruit/article/1474/parts-of-san-diego-quarantined-as-psyllid-count-mounts © Copyright Market Intelligence Ltd - Fruitnet.com 2014. The copyright on this article and all content published on Market Intelligence Ltd Fruitnet.com is held by Market Intelligence Ltd - Fruitnet.com Limited, a joint venture between Market Intelligence Limited and Dr Rolf M Wolf Media GmbH. All rights reserved. Neither this article nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, including printouts, screen grabs and information retrieval systems, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.