Plant Pathology

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

  •     To provide a sound disease diagnostic and advisory service to coffee farmers in collaboration with Research liaison & Advisory section.
  •     To strengthen the chemical control strategy of Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) & Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR).
  •     To make a thrust in the development of a bio-control strategy of CBD, CLR, Bacterial Blight of Coffee (BBC) as well as Fusarium Bark & Root diseases.
  •     To improve knowledge and understanding of the diversity and molecular activity of mycotoxigenic fungi.
  •     To advance to new horizons, the current understanding in genomics and molecular interaction between coffee pathogens and coffee germplasm in collaboration with Breeding Section.
  •     To maintain surveillance of changing weather patterns as affects distribution and severity of old coffee diseases and possible emergence of new ones eg. Coffee Wilt Disease, through frequent Disease Monitoring & Survey (DMS).