Horticulture

Scotland is renowned for the quality of its private and public horticultural collections, and its rich cultural history of plant collecting, allotments and gardening. Horticultural plantings are of significant economic value, as well as providing amenity, health and well-being, cultural and conservation resources. However, pest and pathogens represent a major threat to this highly diverse set of plantings.

Horticultural plantings provide amenity value in public spaces, form structural components of landscaping projects, represent a significant component of urban biodiversity and are central to private, public and heritage gardens. Given the diversity of plants involved in horticulture, there is a corresponding diversity of pests and pathogens of concern, and a particular challenge is the extensive network of plant movement at a range of scales from industrial supply to movement of individual plants between gardens. This results in a highly distributed network of pest and disease vectors. The role of the public is of particular importance for horticulture, in terms of both the ownership of plants in private gardens, and as being a major source of plant movement.

 

 

Knowledge Bank

Projects

Development of a Stakeholder Engagement Strategy for Scotland’s Plant Health Centre
Project Lead: Rehema White
We have commissioned a project to review and further develop the PHC’s Communications Strategy to help develop further networks and collaborations, while building on existing relationships to improve knowledge flows in relation to plant health across Scotland. This project will draw on and align with previous and ongoing PHC research projects and will address:

1. What is the overall goal and vision for PHC and how do we articulate this for different groups and sectors?
2. What do we want to communicate, when and to whom?
3. How do we want to communicate to different audiences and for these different purposes?
4. How do we optimise budget and human resource in communicating about plant health?

Impact: The outcome of this project will be a Communication Strategy outlining the goal of communication, roles and responsibilities and a process, including an annual cycle of reflection to permit update or modification on a regular basis and linking to the communication matrix.
Modelling the spread of PCN in Scotland to identify the key factors responsible and the most appropriate management options for future mitigation
Project Lead: Peter Skelsey
Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN) is a threat to the Scottish seed potato and bulb industries: SASA estimates that over 13% of the area regularly planted with potatoes in Scotland is now infested with PCN, with an estimated increase in spread of 5% per year. Recently, following a working group on PCN, a report entitled ‘Potato cyst nematode (PCN) and the future of potato production in Scotland’ was submitted to Scottish Government highlighting the PCN problem in detail and outlining practical recommendations for its reduction. However, in order to maximise and target resources for such a reduction, a better understand is needed of i) the main areas of infestation in Scotland and how this is changing over time, ii) what key factors are responsible for that spread (be it geographic, climatic, agronomic etc) and iii) which management options would allow us to make the biggest impact on reducing spread.

Impact: The outcomes of this project to provide guidance to both policy and industry on the most effective ways to reduce spread of PCN.
Enhancing the Plant Health Centre's communication with stakeholders
Project Lead:
To maximise the impact of the work of the Centre, we need to be effective at the production, exchange and implementation of plant health knowledge across the four plant sectors, forestry, horticulture, environment and agriculture. To this end we have had a Stakeholder Engagement Strategy developed (PHC2020/02). This project, that runs for a 12-month duration, will implement this strategy. The aims of the project are to conduct further research on plant health knowledge flows, develop the Centre’s relationship with plant health stakeholders, foster a more dominant social media narrative for the Centre and lead the translation and distribution of knowledge to plant health practitioners, liaising closely with SEFARI Gateway.

Impact: Keep plant health and biosecurity at the forefront of our stakeholders’ minds, and a high priority for them, raising stakeholder awareness about the risks from plant pests and pathogens and the solutions available for their management and control, and raising the profile of the Plant Health Centre and our online resources.
Improving knowledge of Xylella fastidiosa vector ecology: modelling vector occurrence and abundance in the wider landscape in Scotland
Project Lead: Daniel Chapman
Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterial plant pathogen that can cause disease in a broad range of hosts. There are currently major Xylella outbreaks in Southern France, including Corsica, Italy, mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. Although Xylella has so far not been detected in Scotland (or UK), an outbreak would have serious impacts on any host plant-related activities/businesses and the wider environment. To understand the risk posed to Scotland’s plants from Xylella, and to be adequately prepared if it is detected, there are important knowledge gaps that must be addressed. This project will build on the results of the previous PHC Xylella projects (PHC2018 / 04 /05 / 06) to further refine Scottish Government’s contingency and preparedness measures for the possible arrival of Xylella fastidiosa.

Impact: Deliver recommendations as to the suitability of vector trapping methods and eradication strategies, if deployed in Scotland.
Assessment of large-scale plant biosecurity risks to Scotland from large scale tree plantings for environmental benefits
Project Lead: Mariella Marzano
The UK and Scotland have ambitious tree planting targets, with a major driver being carbon sequestration. Scotland’s Forest Strategy outlines a target of 15,000 ha per year. In addition to carbon management, other major drivers for tree planting are commercial forestry, habitat restoration and the establishment of new woodlands for biodiversity and amenity value. Scotland’s Forest Strategy outlines a target of 3,000-5,000 ha of new native woodland per year, and restoration of an additional 10,000 ha of native woodland. This involves planting a large volume of trees. There is considerable uncertainty as to where and how this volume of trees will be sourced, and associated uncertainty as to the biosecurity threats posed. The aim of this project is to improve our understanding of current biosecurity awareness and practices within the arenas of woodland creation/ expansion and habitat restoration in Scotland.

Impact: Determine the main barriers to ensuring that future planting for environmental restoration and conservation will minimise plant health risks.
Assessment of large-scale plant biosecurity risks to Scotland from large scale plantings for landscaping and infra-structure projects
Project Lead: Mariella Marzano
Large scale infra-structure projects such as transport networks and major housing projects typically include extensive landscaping and planting programmes. These operate at a large scale, often require instant visual impacts (semi-mature shrubs and trees) and face significant cost pressures. The modest scale of domestic production creates challenges in obtaining material from local sources, which can favour low-cost large-scale plant imports with associated risks of pest and disease entry. This project will fill in key knowledge gaps with those responsible for selecting, procuring and planting plants and trees on a large-scale to provide an understanding of how/whether biosecurity features in their decision-making and make recommendations for any changes required to improve bio-secure practices.

Impact: Provide Scottish Government policy with an assessment of the major biosecurity pitfalls and opportunities arising from large-scale landscaping plantings.
Assessment of large-scale plant biosecurity risks to Scotland from non-specialist and online horticultural sales
Project Lead: Mariella Marzano
Retail horticulture is a large-scale industry in the UK, with ornamental horticulture and landscaping worth an estimated £24.2 billion national GDP in 2017. The industry is characterised by a large volume of individual transactions and the transport of a diverse range of plant materials (with accompanying soil and packaging) to a highly distributed set of final destinations (households). These horticultural sales represent a complex and pervasive vector network, which carries the risk of transportation of pests and pathogens to surrounding parks and gardens, agricultural systems, woodlands, forests and the wider environment. The diversity of the plant material in trade and the multitude of suppliers and recipients creates a major challenge for managing biosecurity. This project will identify decision-makers, their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours relating to plant health, and assess opportunities and barriers to better plant biosecurity and the potential role of a Plant Health Assurance Scheme.

Impact: This project will enable policy to identify and prioritise plant biosecurity vulnerabilities from non-specialist and online horticultural sales.
Metabarcoding analysis of Phytophthora diversity in spore traps and implications for disease forecasting in the P. ramorum management zone
Project Lead: Carolyn Riddell
The oomycete Phytophthora ramorum has caused substantial losses of Scottish forests in recent years due to widespread mortality of European larch trees (Larix decidua). Since 2009, legislation and policies have been implemented to control P. ramorum outbreaks on larch including the use of a 250 m larch ‘fire-break’, although it is unclear whether this distance is optimal for disease control. A project funded by Scottish Forestry is using a P. ramorum-specific qPCR assay to compare several spore trapping techniques for quantifying wind- and rain-borne inoculum and to better estimate inoculum dispersal distance. This project adds value to that of the Scottish Forestry-commissioned work, through evaluation of metabarcoding as an alternative method to both monitor P. ramorum inoculum dispersal and detect a broader range of aerially dispersed Phytophthora species. A second objective is to determine the lineage composition of P. ramorum inoculum throughout the observed peak sporulation period.

Impact: Timely management and prioritisation of policy to manage P. ramorum and facilitate early forecasting of other Phytophthora outbreaks.
Expansion of PHC online Plant Health Resource
Project Lead: Katy Hayden
A previous PHC project (PHC2018/11) created an online Resource Bank for plant health threats to the Natural Environment sector in Scotland, which includes an assembly of, or signposting to, available existing resources. The PHC recognised that for the remaining three sectors (Forestry, Agriculture and Horticulture) information on plant health is more available but the quality and relevance to Scotland is often not clear. The aim of this project is to expand PHC’s online resource to signpost users and practitioners to relevant and reliable information and to address a broad spectrum of plant health topics, from diagnostics and control to outreach and education for agriculture, forestry and horticulture sectors.

Impact: Expand the PHC online resource to create a comprehensive and unique signposting resource for plant health information for all sectors.
Assessing spread of phytophthoras in Scottish forests by recreational and harvesting activities using comparative qPCR and metabarcoding techniques
Project Lead: April Armstrong
The oomycete Phytophthora ramorum has caused substantial losses of Scottish forests in recent years due to widespread mortality of European larch trees (Larix decidua). Infected trees are subject to statutory felling notices in an effort to reduce sporulation potential. Nevertheless, there are concerns about the multiple pathways by which spores might be transferred to new sites. There have been assessments of soil moved by mountain biking and walking/running resulting in evidence to support the Forestry Commission’s Keep-it-Clean campaign. This study will assess soil/plant material collected from commercial harvesting equipment (tyres, treads, mud guards etc.). PHC support will enable a wider range of diagnostic tests to be carried out, testing the robustness of the methods and examining the potential for multiple Phytophthora species to be transferred.

Impact: Add to the evidence base underpinning public and sector-facing biosecurity campaigns and improve disease management and restrict spread of the disease.

Publications

Forestry, Horticulture, Environment | Final Report and Policy Document

Metabarcoding analysis of Phytophthora diversity in spore traps and implications for disease forecasting in the P. ramorum management zone

Authors: Carolyn Riddell , Sarah Green, Peter Cock, Toni Clarke
May 2021

Surveillance and monitoring of airborne pathogens is a key tool in the management of healthy forests and controlling disease outbreaks. A Scottish Forestry-funded project was carried out in autumn 2019 to validate different spore-trapping techniques for monitoring airborne P. ramorum inoculum using a species-specific qPCR assay. This project aimed to add further value to the Scottish Forestry project by investigating the suitability of DNA metabarcoding for screening spore trap samples for P. ramorum and other Phytophthora species, seeking early data for aerially dispersed Phytophthora species that may become problematic in UK forests. The study highlighted the value of both monitoring P. ramorum dispersal and detecting other Phytophthora species, to predict and understand changes in disease severity in UK tree host species. Recommendations included that the use of both rain and wind-borne inoculum capture methods might be advantageous due to the variety of weather conditions under which inoculum can disperse.  Lineage testing in Southwest Scotland should be carried out to look at the prevalence of lineage EU1 in the EU2 area and to monitor for presence of North American lineages. Development of a new DNA barcode more specific to Phytophthora would be beneficial.

Horticulture, Agriculture | Final Report and Policy Document

Monitoring for BMSB in Scotland - Final Report and Policy Summary

Authors: Gaynor Malloch, Alison Dolan, Carolyn Mitchell, Ailsa Smith, Fiona Highet, Yvonne Arnsdorf, Helen Payne, Alistair Hamilton, Andy Evans
March 2021

The increase in global trade brings with it the risk of spread of new pests and diseases into Scotland. Halyomorpha halys, Brown Marmorated Stinkbug (BMSB) is an invasive pest that has already become established in North America and several European countries. The insect aggregates inside houses over winter and can cause problems as an urban nuisance pest in homes as well as being a pest of agriculture. In this project, co-ordinated monitoring for the presence of BMSB was undertaken by teams at SASA and the James Hutton Institute. A reference collection of voucher specimens of common UK stinkbug species was established, including DNA barcoding. A process-oriented climate-based niche model was used by a team at SRUC to determine the areas in Scotland that are suitable for the establishment of BMSB under current and future climates.

Recommendations and suggested 'next steps', including encouraging further surveillance, are detailed in the report and policy summary documents.

Forestry, Horticulture, Agriculture, Environment | Final Report and Policy Document

PHC2020/09: Economic Impact of Pesticide Withdrawals to Scotland, with Case Studies

Authors: Fiona Burnett, Mark Bowsher-Gibbs, Donald Dunbar
March 2021

Chemical forms of plant protection are widely used in Scottish agricultural, horticultural and forestry production plus for amenity and natural environment management purposes.  The availability and use of active substances in pesticides are closely regulated and increasing concern over human health and environmental impacts has led to a greater likelihood that some existing approvals will be withdrawn and/or that approvals for new products will not be granted.  Potential impacts from withdrawal of these pesticides are of policy interest and this summary report builds on the data and results from project PHC2018/15 (Potential impacts arising from pesticide withdrawals to Scotland’s plant health) and uses case studies to understand the likely magnitude and distribution of potential impacts and how they may be mitigated. 

Forestry, Horticulture, Agriculture, Environment | Final Report

PHC2018/15: Potential Impacts Arising from Pesticide Withdrawals to Scotland’s Plant Health

Authors: Andy Evans, Fiona Burnett
November 2020

The use of pesticides to manage plant pests and diseases is a key management intervention across plant health sectors, particularly in agriculture, horticulture and commercial forestry production. Pesticide withdrawals through legislation, coupled with resistance development and their impact on plant health, have emerged as key concerns for Scottish plant health stakeholders.  This project quantifies the impacts on Scottish plant health that will arise from pesticide withdrawal scenarios and sets this in the context and time frame of alternative management tools. 

Forestry, Horticulture, Agriculture, Environment | Final Report

Impact of climate change on the spread of pests and diseases in Scotland

Authors: Adam Kleczkowski, Matt Castle, Glyn Jones, Vincent Keenan, Crawford Revie , Oleg Sheremet
June 2020

This project constructed a modelling framework which combined epidemiological and economic modelling.  The modelling framework was used to study predictions of spread and economic impact of pests which are not currently in the UK, including Xylella fastidiosa, Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (Zebra chip) and Ips typographus (Eight toothed Spruce Bark Beetle). 

Impact:  A web/desktop application is available to the PHC and Scottish Government to analyse the effects of climate change on the spread and economic impact of new threats. 

Forestry, Horticulture, Agriculture, Environment | Final Report

Expansion of PHC Online Plant Health Resources

Authors: Joanne Taylor, Katherine Hayden
May 2020

This project has expanded the PHC online Resource Bank for plant health threats to the Natural Environment sector in Scotland to include information sources for the remaining three sectors (Forestry, Agriculture and Horticulture). Information sources for Forestry, Agriculture and Horticulture were compiled and evaluated, and a Knowledge Bank relevant to each sector is now online at the PHC website, creating a comprehensive and unique signposting resource for plant health information with relevance to Scotland.

 

Forestry, Horticulture, Agriculture, Environment | Final Report and Policy Document

The use of mobile technology to enhance plant health monitoring and awareness in Scotland

Authors: Sebastian Raubach, Jennie Brierley
August 2019

The aim of the project was to review existing websites and smartphone apps currently available and applied in the plant health sector and to assemble a detailed overview covering the following points:

  • What options are available in terms of mobile software applications for plant health?
  • What is their primary purpose?
  • Who is the target audience (growers, plant health professionals, citizen science, …)?
  • Which plant health sectors do they cover?
  • Are they reliable and accurate?
  • Is information submitted to a central database? If so, how is this information used?
  • Could they be used globally, or are they limited to certain geographic regions?
Horticulture, Agriculture | Policy Document

Impact on Scottish crops if the molluscicide metaldehyde is withdrawn

Authors: Fiona Burnett, Andy Evans
December 2018

This report sets out estimates for the crop loss and value to Scottish crop production should the molluscicide metaldehyde be withdrawn. This would leave ferric phosphate as the only available chemical control option. Short term losses are negligible as the substitution of ferric phosphate carries no additional treatment costs and has equivalent efficacy. Longer term there is some risk should resistance arise to this single site mode of action active, and ferric phosphate (although of lower mammalian toxicity to metaldehyde) has some environmental impacts of its own.

Forestry, Horticulture, Environment | Blog

Difficult choices to protect gardens and the environment

Authors: Katy Hayden
September 2018

Heritage gardens play an important role in plant conservation. They house collections gathered over decades or even hundreds of years, including varieties of plants that may be overlooked elsewhere, fostering heirloom varieties and preserving biological diversity that is the raw material of adaptation. As well as being beautiful and tranquil sites of cultural heritage, these ex-situ resources are treasure troves of biological diversity. Arduaine Gardens shows us that tough choices can be necessary and important to preserve these collections and the surrounding environment.