Vietnam aid also benefits Australian stonefruit growers

Plant pathologists Dr Thanh (at right) and Ms Thuy, from Vietnam, spent three weeks learning curatorial skills at the Orange Agricultural Institute.

Australia and Vietnam will both benefit from a research project which seeks to improve the quality of stone fruit grown by some of Vietnam’s poorest communities, NSW Department of Primary Industries Director-General, Mr Barry Buffier, said in Orange today.

Speaking at the end of a three week visit to Australia by two senior plant pathologists from Vietnam, Mr Buffier said the value of the exchange for both countries was immense and went well beyond just providing training to fellow scientists.

The two scientists, Dr Dang Vu Thi Thanh and Ms Le Thi Thanh Thuy, from the National Institute of Plant Protection (NIPP) in Hanoi, today received certificates recognising training undertaken at the Department of Primary Industries’ Orange Agricultural Institute in all aspects of plant disease identification and specimen collection.

“Growing peaches, plums and nectarines is a way forward for many of the poor ethnic people of north-west Vietnam, who have a subsistence lifestyle”, Mr Buffier said.

“The aim of this project is to provide the ‘tools’ that Vietnamese researchers and farmers need to establish a viable industry.

“This includes helping Vietnamese scientists such as Dr Thanh and Ms Thuy to upgrade their skills in identifying, storing and curating plant pathogens.”

Dr Thanh and Ms Thuy are curators of the Vietnamese National Collection of Plant Disease Specimens. Their visit to Australia was paid for by the ATSE Crawford Fund, which supports Australian training for scientists from developing countries.

Mr Buffier said their training in Orange will help Vietnam to maintain and improve its plant disease collection, thereby providing a better service to farmers.

“Most south-east Asian countries have plant disease herbaria, and this network records which plant pathogens exist in countries that we trade with and helps in guiding the need for quarantine measures.”

”Well-maintained regional collections benefit Australian trade and the biosecurity of our stonefruit industries”, he said.

The scientists’ visit is part of a wider project, jointly funded by NSW DPI and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, which seeks to improve crop husbandry, transporting and storage of fruit, and marketing of stone fruit in both countries.

Mr Buffier said research of common interest included a study of the efficacy of fungicides used to control the disease Monilinia fructicola, known as brown rot.

“This disease can destroy whole consignments of fruit and is a major concern to the Vietnamese and Australian stone fruit industries”, he said.

The project also involves finding new ways to maintain stone fruit quality in storage, and the results of this research will be shared with industry in both countries near the end of the three-year project. 

Media inquiries: Joanne Finlay, Science Communication Specialist, NSW DPI, on 6391 3171 or 0428 491 813.