| Popis: |
Potato and barley are crops of major economic importance, being respectively the fourth and fifth most produced crops worldwide. Each year infection of these crops by pathogens, such as fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses and oomycetes, results in yield losses of as much as 40%. This poses a risk to both food and economic security for countries which are reliant on the food supply or income from these crops. Currently, crop pests are mainly managed by chemical spraying of pesticides, insecticides, fungicides or bactericides; however, the global push for a reduction of chemical usage in agriculture has led to a demand for new pest-control measures. The introduction of routine testing using antibody-based assays, or immunoassays, could be part of the solution to such demands. Such assays allow for the rapid and accurate diagnostic testing of a wide range of pathogens, making them extremely appealing for use in on-site crop testing. This, alongside progress in the miniaturisation of sensing platforms, could provide a means for farmers to routinely test their crops, thus allowing disease management through selective treatment and quarantine, rather than blanket treatment by chemical spraying, which is typically based on the growth stage of the crop as opposed to the presence, absence or severity of disease. |
