Researchers on our BAC-STOP project have recently published a long-overdue update to the Disease Decline Spiral Model. It draws from their research on tree decline diseases like Acute Oak Decline (AOD) which don’t have one single cause. Rather they are …
Ever wondered what plant pathologists actually do all day? What kinds of experiments they do and the kinds of equipment they use? The BAC-STOP project have made some great films to document their research into the causes of Acute Oak …
The BAC-STOP project is about stopping the spread of pathogenic bacteria that are damaging and causing the death of many native British oak trees. The project aims to save threatened oak and protect them for future generations by investigating the …
In the last few months of the Bacterial Plant Diseases Programme our communications lead Sarah McLusky has been working with the projects and graphic designer Thomas Pawley to create summaries of their research and findings. Each summary give some background …
By Joana Vicente and Andrew Aspin As we are approaching the final stages of most of our BPD projects, we are turning our attention to impact, publications, stakeholders’ engagement, and dissemination. Other important aspects of these final stages also involve …
How BPD projects are using and contributing to culture collections Read More »
The precise pathology of acute oak decline is still unclear, but the disease correlates with the presence of the bacterium Brenneria goodwinii and larvae of the Agrilus biguttatus beetle. This new research preprint from Bac-Stop and Future Oak explores the …
In this blog Joana Vicente reports from the 12th International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP2023) in Lyon, France. From 19 to 25 August 2023 more than 2400 participants from 88 countries (including 550 PhD students) gathered in Lyon, France, for …
Many of our projects spend the summer running and collecting data from field trials. Here are some behind the scenes photos of our BAC-STOP team in action. They are collecting information about acute oak decline and the impact of drought …
Crown condition is used to score how healthy trees are. Essentially, the more leaves a tree has, the more energy it can produce and use for growth. We are running training courses this summer, so that you can assess visually …
At the beginning of March our BAC-STOP and Future Oak projects welcomed stakeholders to Shropshire for a joint meeting to share their research into Acute Oak Decline (AOD) and other tree diseases. AOD is a complex multi-factor disease. Bacterial species …
Talking about trees: Oak stakeholder meeting 2023 Read More »
Following on from the popularity of their Brennaria tree diseases factsheets, the BAC-STOP project have created a sister resource focusing on diseases caused by Lonsdalea bacterial species. It covers the oak tree diseases drippy blight, drippy nut and bark canker, …
We’ve made it to the end of 2022! For most of us this has been the first full year since 2019 that has felt kind of ‘normal’. For the Bacterial Plant Disease Programme this return to normality made for a …
Gareth Thomas (BAC-STOP) reports from the 2023 International Plant Health Conference in London. From 21-23 September 2023, I attended the first International Plant Health Conference (IPHC) in the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, London. The conference was coordinated by Defra and …
Huge congratulations to BAC-STOP researcher Gareth Thomas who scooped Best Poster at the recent International Plant Health Conference. Gareth’s poster entitled ‘Using the odour of bacteria to tackle acute oak decline’ beat off competition from across the globe to be …
In the first of our Fighting Bac workshops our researchers will share promising new strategies for controlling bacterial plant diseases using microbes and microbial products. The workshop will focus particularly on the next steps for translating these findings into real …
Fighting Bac: Making microbes our allies (Stakeholder Workshop) Read More »
In the wonderfully named village of Little Snoring in Norfolk is a unique and pioneering experiment. It is home to the Bac-Stop field site which includes 144 intensively monitored trees. This makes it the largest ever tree-focused drought field trial …
Joanna Vicente reports from the 14th International Conference on Plant Pathogenic Bacteria (ICPPB) which took place 3-8 July in Assisi, Italy. Surrounded by sunflower fields and olive trees, 196 delegates gathered in the idyllic setting of the Hotel Valle di …
ICPPB 2022 – Discussing diseases and dancing in the rain Read More »
Sandra Denman (Forest Research and project lead for the BAC-STOP project) recently wrote a summary of her team’s research activities for the annual Woodland Heritage Journal. Normally only available to Woodland Heritage members, we are delighted to have permission to …
As part of Plant Health Week 2022 we are launching a new ‘Resources’ section on our website. This section is aimed at stakeholders and non-specialists who might be looking for information about identifying or managing bacterial plant diseases. It includes …
Acute Oak Decline (AOD) is caused by a number of factors with bacteria playing an important role. It mainly affects mature oak trees and can kill a tree within a few years of first symptoms. The trees are initially weakened …