Home Grown: Field trials give farmers disease resistance data
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - In today's Home Grown, a field trial put on by the Yuma County Cooperative extension gives valuable information to local farmers.
The lettuce has been growing and tended to since November.
The purpose of these field trials is to give growers an idea of which varieties can withstand certain diseases, according to director Russell Engel.
This trial tested three varieties against downy mildew, a type of pathogen that can affect lettuce.
"We do research that directly applies to the agricultural problems that we're seeing in Yuma County," Engel explained. "So, this field day as a part of that, is to highlight, you know, some of the results that will help the local farmers."
Plant pathologist Dr. Bindu Poudel-Ward shares some of the results from the trial.
"There are three varieties," Dr. Poudel-Ward stated. "They'll find it that the middle one, 180, is doing pretty good. Better than the other two varieties in here."
Downy mildew is mostly a cosmetic disease, but can cause farmers an economic loss because much of the lettuce becomes unmarketable once it is infected due to its color.
