Disease threaten onion fields

A silent threat is creeping across onion fields in St Thomas, and agricultural officials are racing against time to contain it.

Known as foliar disease, the destructive agent attack the leaves of plants, disrupting photosynthesis, stunting growth, and weakening crops from the inside out.

In onions, the consequences can be severe. From active bulbing to near maturity, the disease scars leaves, causes uneven bulb sizing, and significantly reduces both quality and yield.

Outbreaks of purple blotch, downy mildew and Stemphylium blight have been detected primarily in Heartease, with cases also emerging in sections of St Elizabeth. Back-to-back rainfall has created ideal conditions for these pathogens to spread.

Acting Chief Post-Entry Quarantine Officer Patrice Pitter of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining's Research and Development Division at Bodles underscored just how high the stakes are.

"The leaf of the plant is where the food is made. Once the leaf is damaged, then you'll reduce the productivity of the plant. So the onion is grown for its bulb. If we don't have any leaves there to produce the food, then we will not have any bulb to get for the onion," she said.

Pitter warned that high moisture levels allow pathogens to break down plant cells, destroying leaves and potentially moving downward to damage the bulb itself.

Meanwhile, Senior RADA Plant Health and Food Safety Officer Francine Webb said officers are already on the ground, working directly with farmers and tailoring advice to the weather-driven conditions.

Importantly, she stressed that the outbreak is not the result of negligence.

"This is not about poor farming practices," Webb explained. "When it is wet, you have to switch and do your chemical rotation, including your systemics, which will be taken up by the plant to help with a more curative action rather than just protecting from the outside as well.""