Trip Report (May 22 June 1, 2007) Naidu A Rayapati Washington State University

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1 Trip Report (May 22 June 1, 2007) Naidu A Rayapati Washington State University Background: The IPM CRSP Regional Project in Central Asia (PI: Dr. Karim Maredia, Michigan State University) has extended an invitation to other IPM CRSP-funded projects to participate in the IPM Stakeholders Forum for Central Asia meeting during May at Dushanbe, Tajikistan. As a PI of one of the two Global Theme Projects on insect-transmitted viruses, I took this opportunity to attend the forum meeting with the following objectives: i. To make a presentation on Insect-transmitted viruses with emphasis on thrips-borne tospoviruses in vegetables. ii. To explore opportunities for developing linkages with the IPM CRSP Regional Project in Central Asia and host country scientists in the region to pursue R&D activities related to virus diseases in vegetables. Itinerary: May 22-24: Travel from Prosser, WA, to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. May 24: Afternoon visit to a botanical garden near Dushanbe. May 25: Meetings with President of Tajik Academy of Agricultural Science; Head of Plant Protection, Ministry of Agriculture and Nature Protection; Oxfam Tajikistan and CARE Tajikistan; Director and members of the Institute of Zoology and Parasitology of Tajik Academy of Sciences. May 26: Meeting with the Director and members of Plant Protection and Quarantine Institute, Tajik Academy of Agricultural Science and a visit to local vegetable farms. May 27-28: Participation in the IPM Stakeholders Forum for Central Asia meeting and presentation on thrips-borne tospoviruses. May 29: Visit to a research site with Native plants at the Institute of Zoology and Parasitology of Tajik Academy of Sciences, Farmer Field School (FFS) site in the Plant Protection and Quarantine Research Institute of Тajik Academy of Agricultural Sciences (TАAS), and local vegetable and grape farms in Tursunzoda district May 30: Visit to local vegetables market in Dushanbe and discussions with Dr. Kadirova Zarifa (Institute of Genetics and Plant Experimental Biology, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan) about virus disease problems in vegetables in Uzbekistan. May 31-June 1: Travel from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to Prosser, WA.

2 A brief introduction to the Central Asia region Central Asia (CA) region (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) is currently in transition from centrally organized economies under the former Soviet Union toward market economies. Agriculture is of paramount importance in the region and is undergoing rapid transformation from centrally-managed agricultural systems under the former Soviet Union that were largely monoculture to a more diversified agriculture to serve the national needs for healthy diets and economic development and meet the export requirements of a demand-driven global economy. Although cotton still remains a major crop grown in many of these countries, other crops like wheat, potato, vegetables (tomato, onion, sweet peppers, leafy vegetables) and fruit crops are grown under diverse agro-ecological conditions for food security and environmental sustainability. Several types of vegetables constitute an integral part of dietary requirements of the people in the region. It is estimated that vegetables like tomato, watermelon, cabbage, onion, cucumber and carrot occupy more than four-fifths of the total vegetable area in these countries. With increased export-potential of diverse vegetables to many countries in European Union, West Asia, South Asia and North Africa, new opportunities are emerging for exporting quality and safe vegetables to different countries. Since men are migrating to Russia and other countries seeking employment opportunities, women (and children) largely manage vegetable production in the small farms. Thus, income from vegetables plays a vital role in rural livelihoods, economic well-being of women and children and ultimately food security. Outcomes of the meeting: Since the IPM CRSP Regional Project in Central Asia lead by Dr. Karim Maredia will provide details about various aspects of the forum deliberations, I present a brief summary of my observations (i) about the meeting deliberations, (ii) descriptions of a few virus disease symptoms that I observed in potato and onion during field visits and (iii) an assessment of the institutional capacity in Tajikistan national programs in addressing virus disease problems in the country. The IPM Stakeholders Forum for Central Asia brought together researchers, policymakers, research managers, representatives of international (ICARDA) and nongovernmental organizations (Oxfam, CARE, TES-Center Agricultural Training and Extension) from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In total, there were about 50 participants (about 8 were female) from different organizations in these countries. Dr. Robert Hedlund of USAID (EGAT/NRM/LRM) and eight researchers from three US universities representing two global and one regional IPM CRSP project attended the forum meetings. They are Drs. Karim Maredia, Doug Landis, George Bird, Walter Pett, Dieudonne Baributsa from Michigan State University(Central Asia Regional Project), Drs. Yulu Xia and Ron Stinner from North Carolina State University(Global theme project on Information Technology), and Dr. Naidu Rayapati, Washington State University. (Global theme project on Thrips-borne tospoviruses).

3 The forum meeting began with welcome remarks by Dr. Tolib Nabiev, President of Tajik Academy of Agricultural Science, and opening remarks by Dr. Robert Hedlund of USAID (EGAT/NRM/LRM). A total of about twenty presentations from the above mentioned countries (including one speaker from ICARDA) shared their perspectives on various aspects of IPM and related issues to enhance the well being of Central Asian countries and their peoples. I made a presentation titled Integrated management of thrips-borne tospovirus diseases in vegetables and provided a brief description of tospovirus project activities in South Asia. I also stressed the need for a partnership approach in establishing a network of institutions in the Central Asia region for addressing virus disease problems in vegetables and other crops. The global theme project on thrips-borne tospoviruses also sponsored Dr. Kadirova Zarifa of the Institute of Genetics and Plant Experimental Biology, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to participate in the forum deliberations. She made a presentation highlighting virus diseases in different crops grown in Uzbekistan. Her participation was valuable in learning virus disease constraints in the region and identifying priorities for addressing these constraints on a regional basis. Together, all presentations set the tone for the group on the second day to deliberate on various aspects related to IPM and identify priorities for collaborative efforts among the participants at the regional level. Proceedings of the IPM Stakeholders Forum, to be published by the IPM CRSP Regional Project in Central Asia, will provide details about different aspects of the meeting, presentations made by participants and a list of areas identified for collaborative R&D activities. During the forum meeting, I had an opportunity to interact with participants from the region in order to gain an understanding of virus disease constraints in vegetables. Although it was challenging many times to have one-on-one conversations due to language barrier, I was able to gather as much information as possible through interpreters to capture the essence of various issues related to virus diseases in the region. I also took the opportunity during field visits to monitor vegetable fields for the presence of virus diseases. Due to time constraints, I was able to visit only a few fields, mainly potato, tomato, and onion. Thus, my assessment is not a comprehensive analysis of virus diseases in vegetables in Tajikistan. Nevertheless, it provided a snap shot of the situation with regard to virus diseases in the country. In three potato fields, several plants showing different types of disease symptoms indicative of virus infections were observed. During discussions with farmers and an NGO representative, it became apparent that farmers are not aware of virus disease symptoms in potato. The NGO representative mentioned that farmers in Tajikistan (and perhaps in the region) select small size potatoes for propagation and use for planting during the next season. Since virus-infected potatoes produce small size tubers, farmers are indeed selecting (rather unknowingly) virusinfected potatoes thereby ensuing continuous perpetuation of virus diseases in their fields. This is resulting in poor sanitary status of potato crops. Consequently, infected potato fields would serve as a source for secondary spread by resident insect vectors (like aphids, leaf hoppers and thrips depending on the type of virus) to neighboring fields causing greater yield losses and affecting the quality of potatoes produced. It also became clear during discussions that there are no accredited plant quarantine and certification programs in Tajikistan (and in the CA region) to supply certified potato seed materials

4 and enforce regulations for preventing the introduction of exotic viruses and the spread of debilitating viruses through importation and distribution of potatoes. Thus, there is a critical need for farmer-participatory approaches (perhaps through Farmer Field Schools organized by the IPM CRSP Regional Project in Central Asia) to bring awareness about virus diseases and the value of selecting virus-free potato tubers for new plantings. Observations of an onion field showed symptoms characteristic of Iris yellow spot virus (IYSV), a tospovirus transmitted by Thrips tabaci. Several plants in this field showed spindle-shaped lesions on the flower stocks. In some plants these lesions coalesced to form necrotic blotches on the flower stocks. Visual observations by Dr. Walter Pett, an entomologist from Michigan State University, indicated the presence of thrips, possibly Thrips tabaci. This observation (although need further confirmatory diagnostic tests) clearly indicates the occurrence of IYSV in Tajikistan (and perhaps in different countries of the region wherever onions are grown). Given the recent outbreaks of IYSV in both seed and bulb onions in different countries around the world and the recent introduction of IYSV and a more efficient biotype of T. tabaci into the state of Georgia, USA, through imported onions from Peru in South America, it is critical to bring awareness about IYSV and its thrips vector to researchers, farmers and other stakeholders in the region for containing the virus spread through the distribution of infected onions. This also has implications in exporting quality onion to other countries, thus impacting trade and commerce between the countries in the region and with countries outside the region. It is proposed that developing a leaflet describing the symptoms in English and Russian languages in collaboration with Dr. Walter Pett of the IPM CRSP Regional Project in Central Asia will benefit various stakeholders in the region. In addition, collection of thrips from different onion fields and their accurate identification would also help to determine the thrips species composition and their ability to spread IYSV. This knowledge will be valuable in developing crop improvement strategies for sustainable production of onion. The forum meeting clearly indicated the lack of virology expertise in the participating countries in the region. Only one participant, Dr. Kadirova Zarifa of the Institute of Genetics and Plant Experimental Biology, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, has training and back ground knowledge in virology. However, she lacks expertise in advanced technologies for accurate diagnosis of virus diseases. Thus, there is a critical need in Central Asian countries for developing specialized scientific expertise in addressing virus disease problems. Realizing the need for capacity building in this area, the Tajik Academy of Agricultural Science has recently established Plant Protection and Quarantine Research Institute to address plant protection and quarantine needs of the country. During a meeting with the Director and members of the institute, it was obvious that no expertise and facilities are available for the implementation of scientific and technological advances in plant virology available in developed countries. This situation seems to be pervasive in almost all countries of Central Asia. The IPM CRSP Regional Project in Central Asia in partnership with global theme projects on insect-transmitted viruses and international centers like ICARDA, AVRDC

5 should expedite joint R&D efforts to build capacity for addressing virus diseases and programs for effective transfer of technologies to farming communities and other stakeholders. This would perhaps involve organizing group-based short-term training courses in one of the countries in the region, training of young scientists in advanced laboratories and improvement of facilities in the national programs to conduct virus research. IPM CRSP has a comparative advantage in taking a leading role for developing scientific cooperation and networking among neighboring countries to address virus disease constraints impacting vegetable crops across the region. Such a collaborative effort will bring opportunities to establish synergistic interactions among cooperating institutions in terms of sharing human and technical expertise to maximize the research outputs from the limited resources. The IPM CRSP projects have an excellent opportunity to bring various institutions into a cohesive and singularly effective group to identify priorities in various IPM issues and develop mechanisms for collaborative R&D efforts that will have mutual benefits for all countries in the region. I am very impressed with the hospitality shown by the Forum participants from the region and the people of Tajikistan.