MJM Lapitan (L) with the participants during the laboratory activity (Photo by PMdeChavez)
The Pest Management Division of the National Crop Protection Center (NCPC) conducted training on the detection of Ralstonia solanacearum through serological and PCR-based methods. The training was held from September 25 to 29 and was conducted at the Phytobacteriology Laboratory and Plant Virology Laboratory of NCPC.
Two personnel from the Integrated Laboratory Division of the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office (DA-RFO) 8 participated in the training. The training aimed to enhance the capacity of regional crop protection centers in diagnosing and detecting diseases early on.
Before the laboratory work, John Julius P. Manuben, a university researcher from NCPC, provided the participants with laboratory guidelines and rules. Following this, Mary Joy M. Lapitan, a plant pathologist and university researcher from NCPC, shared insights on the principles of plant pathology, the diagnosis, and management of Ralstonia solanacearum. Lapitan and Nicole Angelee M. Perez, a university research associate from NCPC, led the laboratory work and trained the participants on serological-based detection of Ralstonia solanacearum using ELISA and molecular diagnostics using PCR-based detection techniques. (First published in the Aggie Green & Gold newsletter, October 2023 issue)
