Protecting England's heritage plants

Pocket Diagnostic tests are helping the National Trust as it fights to protect valuable gardens and plant collections on behalf of the nation.

Managing over 200 historic gardens and the extensive heritage plant collection is a big challenge at any time.  But throw in the complication of new biosecurity threats and it gets a lot worse.  This is just the situation faced by the National Trust in the UK, who manage some of the nation’s best-loved gardens and plant collections.

The National Trust is taking biosecurity very seriously, and its staff are working with plant health experts from the Government to develop an action plan to protect valuable plants and landscapes.  Although the threats from a wide range of damaging pests and diseases are being assessed, it is Phytophthora ramorum this is of most immediate concern.  And Pocket Diagnostic tests are helping in this battle.

Co-ordinating the response to the plant pathogen for the National Trust is Ian Wright (pictured), a Garden Adviser for The National Trust in Devon and Cornwall in the south west of England.  The first case of Pyhtophthora ramorum in a National Trust garden was seen in 2002 notes Ian, but over time it has spread.  ‘With a growing number of gardens affected by Phytophthora ramorum and P. kernoviae (now 17 gardens with over 460 outbreaks) we made a decision not to sit back and wait any longer but to try to react proactively, identifying ways to ensure the safeguarding of our collections, as well as working with others to understand the disease and manage our gardens to lessen any risk.’

With so many gardens to survey, the National Trust recognised that the Government’s Plant Health and Seeds Inspectors could not provide resources for comprehensive monitoring.  The decision was taken to train Trust garden staff to identify the symptoms and carry out initial diagnosis.  And this is where the Pocket Diagnostic Phytophthora test comes into play.  Workshops were held with garden staff in high risk areas of England to train them in using the on-site test.  According to Ian, these workshops proved very useful, and use of the Pocket Diagnostic tests has become part of ‘good practice’ for garden staff across the country.  

‘The test is simple to use, and gives a rapid heads-up if something is wrong. We can then take action quickly while we wait for results from laboratory tests’, says Ian.  The Pocket Diagnostic test detects all species of Phytophthora, and additional laboratory testing is needed to confirm whether the damaging species are present.

Ian predicts that Phytophthora will pose a real threat to the UK’s trees and shrubs for many years.  Testing for the disease will go on, but what would be of real help is an on-site test to confirm the diagnosis of P. ramorum and P. kernoviae.  If Forsite’s plans are anything to go by, Mr Wright may not have to long to wait for this wish to be fulfilled.