Tag Archives: salad

Lettuce Fusarium wilt confirmed at new sites

Following its confirmation as a new disease in October last year, Lettuce Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporumf. sp. lactucae(FOL) has now been confirmed by laboratory analysis at two new sites in Lancashire, while a further outbreak is suspected at a site in Cambridgeshire.

All outbreaks confirmed to date have been caused by FOL race 4, which is also present in the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland. For protected cropping, Basamid (dazomet) is approved for de-infestation of soil before planting (one application in every third year) and is known to have activity against lettuce FOL, but in open field situations a long period between crops is advised as the disease can survive in the soil for several years.

Plants with suspect leaf symptoms should be cut in half from top to bottom to check for red/brown staining in the root which is a characteristic symptom of Fusarium wilt. Samples can be sent to Dr John Carkson at Warwick University for testing.

Photo Caption: Lettuce growers are warned to be vigilant for signs for Lettuce Fusarium wilt.

Photo Credit: pxhere

The post Lettuce Fusarium wilt confirmed at new sites appeared first on Hort News on 6 September 2018.

Waitrose launches UK salad bag

A new state-of-the-art 1.5 hectare greenhouse complex in Evesham is helping retailer Waitrose to stock British salad leaves all year round.

The new glass, which has been developed by Wingland Foods uses efficient LED lighting, heating and watering, reducing the environmental impact.  It takes 35-40 days to grow the salad in these conditions compared to up to 16 weeks in the field so the yield is almost three times higher over the course of a 12 month period.

The first salad to be produced is Waitrose’s British Chard & Salad Leaves bag, making the supermarket the first supermarket of the year to introduce a UK grown salad bag, available three months earlier than the usual May-October season.

Nicola Waller, Waitrose Head of Fresh Produce, said, “This launch is a result of our long term planning and it’s great to see the first of our British salad bags hitting the shelves so early in the season. Developing this innovative new way of growing salad leaves means that we can source from the UK all year round, going even further in our commitment to British farming.”

The salads are also grown to LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) Marque Standards.

The post Waitrose launches UK salad bag appeared first on Hort News.