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September-October 2010
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Grant for stronger tomatoesA research grant (US$22,000 for two years) has been awarded to Dr. Jayaraj Jayaraman, of the Life Sciences Department of The UWI. The grant is offered by the Acadian SeaPlants, NS, Canada to study the elicitor value of brown seaweed (Ascophyllum) extracts for inducing disease resistance in tomato plants and to unravel the underlying molecular mechanisms of resistance and plant growth regulation. This study envisages developing organic and biologically safe plant protection methods for Trinidadian agriculture. In Trinidad, tomato is an important vegetable crop, but the total production, yield and quality are gradually declining now due to higher level of incidence of bacterial and fungal diseases. Though the diseases may be minimized by application of fungicides, a continuous protective spray schedule is essential which ultimately cause accumulation of toxic residue in the fruits that leads to health hazards, development of resistance to chemicals, higher production cost and contributes to environmental pollution. Therefore, non-chemical and biological alternatives are highly sought. The elicitor value of brown seaweed (Ascophyllum) extract was earlier studied by Jayaraj et al., (2008, 2010), which identified the presence of novel elicitors in brown seaweed that are capable of displaying induced resistance in plants. By analyzing the basic mechanisms of induced resistance at molecular level in vivo and evaluating seaweed products in the field level, the potential use of brown seaweed for organic agriculture in Trinidad and Caribbean region will be envisaged.
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