Phytophthora
A pathogenic fungi responsible for Sudden Oak Death.
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Study Overview:
This study was undertaken to determine the possibility of training ecological scent detection dogs to discern Phytophthora species and discriminate Phytophthora odors from other scents in leaves, soil and root systems of infected plants. The U.C. Berkeley Forest Pathology and Mycology Lab teamed with H. T. Harvey & Associates and k9inSCENTive, LLC to develop a Phytophthora detection dog pilot study starting with a single dog, Bolt. A second dog, Banshee, was later added as the study developed and results were positive.
The dogs achieved 100% detection rate in double-blind testing the selected Phytophthora species and showed very promising results during the Pythium discrimination trial.
Results from the study suggest that ecological scent detection dogs may offer an innovative and reliable method to survey for Phytophthora in a variety of settings. Dogs could offer a rapid way to reliably detect the pathogen in a variety of controlled environments, such as nurseries; to prescreen plants before they are installed at habitat restoration sites; and possibly to identify infected naturally occurring plants and soil in the field.
Project Media
LAist article: How Dogs are Saving the Earth
By Fiona Ng Published Aug 17, 2024 9:00 PM HOW DOGS ARE SAVING THE EARTH Lauralea Oliver…
California Agriculture research article: Three new Phytophthora detection methods, including training dogs to sniff out the pathogen, prove reliable
Multiple species of Phytophthora have been identified in production facilities of plants used in reforestation and restoration…
SF Estuary Magazine: Man’s best friend is being enlisted in efforts to detect the soil-born pathogen responsible for sudden oak death and other rapidly spreading plant and tree diseases.
Phytophthora is difficult to detect in nurseries, plant materials, and planting sites until it has done…