Downy mildew causing heavy losses for organic spinach in California
But with demand for organic spinach continuing to grow and farmers planting more acreage, the pathogen is evolving much more rapidly and overcoming resistance. In recent years, the pathogen's rate of proliferation has begun to outpace researchers' ability to develop new resistant varieties.
"Hands down, our biggest challenge is downy mildew," said Nick Trebino, vice president of farming for Braga Fresh Family Farms, which grows organic and conventional spinach in the Salinas Valley, Imperial Valley and Yuma, Ariz.
At least 40 percent of the state's spinach acreage is organic, said Mary Zischke, CEO of the California Leafy Greens Research Board. But organic farmers are having to destroy 30 percent of their crop every season due to downy mildew, she added.
"It's not sustainable," she said. "People who aren't disking fields on a regular basis just don't understand what we're going through and what this could mean to a lot of other crops in the future."
source: agalert.com
