News
New database Dutch Names of Plant Diseases
The new database Dutch Names of Plant Diseases was launched this week during a symposium of the Royal Netherlands Phytopathological Society (KNPV) in celebration of 100 years of phytopathological research in Wageningen. The database facilitates the easy lookup of the Dutch names of plant diseases and is a collaborative effort involving scientists from Wageningen University & Research.
Piet Vlaming, the secretary of KNPV, is the initiator of the new database. In collaboration with experts in entomology, phytopathology, bacteriology, virology, nematology, and the company Agro4all, they have developed a reliable search system.
Database for plant disease names
The search system focuses on plant disease names, recognising that every pest (be it an insect, fungus, bacterium, nematode, or virus) in the Netherlands has a unique scientific name and often a unique Dutch name. However, the same does not hold true for names of plant diseases caused by these pests. Disease names are typically based on visible symptoms and are not unique to a particular pest.
A disease name may vary for the same pest in different crops, and different infestations may share the same disease name. For instance, there are numerous causal agents of 'leaf spot disease.' To bring clarity to the myriad names of plant diseases and their corresponding pests, the KNPV has established the Nederlandse Namen Plantenziekten database, currently containing information on over 1,700 infestations. The database is regularly updated to ensure its accuracy.