Ginger Production
Soil and Crop Management June 2004 SCM-8
Producing Bacterial Wilt–Free Ginger in Greenhouse Culture
Paul Hepperly1,4, Francis Zee1, Russell Kai1, Claire Arakawa1, Mark Meisner2 , Bernard Kratky2, Kert Hamamoto1, and Dwight Sato3
1
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Service (PBARC), Hilo; 2CTAHR Beaumont Agricultural Research Center, Hilo; 3CTAHR Cooperative Extensive Service, Hilo Extension Office; 4The Rodale Institute
inger wilt, caused by a bacterium known as Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi, is the most limiting factor in the production of culinary ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in Hawaii. The disease was responsible for a 45 percent statewide production loss of the ginger crop in 1993. It is a complex and difficult disease to control, infecting the ginger crop through all phases of a production cycle. It is present systemically in seed rhizomes as both an active and latent infection that contaminates seed-pieces when they are cut and prepared for field planting. In open-field production, even when disease-free starting materials are used in a clean field, it is difficult for a grower to prevent introduction of the disease from nearby diseased fields by means such as water runoff (as described by Trujillo, 1964) and human, equipment, and animal traffic. In fact, it is becoming more difficult for ginger farmers in the eastern part of the Island of Hawaii to find suitable planting areas that are not already contaminated by the ginger wilt bacteria. The availability of methyl bromide for use as a pre-planting soil fumigant against this pathogen is gradually being phased out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Alternative disease management approaches have to be sought for ginger production to remain viable in Hawaii. The greenhouse production system we describe in this publication was inspired by a “noncirculating hydroponic method” (Kratky 1998). Tissue-cultured ginger
Producing Bacterial Wilt–Free Ginger in Greenhouse Culture
Paul Hepperly1,4, Francis Zee1, Russell Kai1, Claire Arakawa1, Mark Meisner2 , Bernard Kratky2, Kert Hamamoto1, and Dwight Sato3
1
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Service (PBARC), Hilo; 2CTAHR Beaumont Agricultural Research Center, Hilo; 3CTAHR Cooperative Extensive Service, Hilo Extension Office; 4The Rodale Institute
inger wilt, caused by a bacterium known as Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi, is the most limiting factor in the production of culinary ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in Hawaii. The disease was responsible for a 45 percent statewide production loss of the ginger crop in 1993. It is a complex and difficult disease to control, infecting the ginger crop through all phases of a production cycle. It is present systemically in seed rhizomes as both an active and latent infection that contaminates seed-pieces when they are cut and prepared for field planting. In open-field production, even when disease-free starting materials are used in a clean field, it is difficult for a grower to prevent introduction of the disease from nearby diseased fields by means such as water runoff (as described by Trujillo, 1964) and human, equipment, and animal traffic. In fact, it is becoming more difficult for ginger farmers in the eastern part of the Island of Hawaii to find suitable planting areas that are not already contaminated by the ginger wilt bacteria. The availability of methyl bromide for use as a pre-planting soil fumigant against this pathogen is gradually being phased out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Alternative disease management approaches have to be sought for ginger production to remain viable in Hawaii. The greenhouse production system we describe in this publication was inspired by a “noncirculating hydroponic method” (Kratky 1998). Tissue-cultured ginger
References: Special Hawaii ginger root report—Preliminary results of 1993 ginger root loss survey. Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service. Hawaii ginger root—Annual summary. 1993. Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service. Kratky, B.A. 1998. Experimental non-circulating hydroponics methods for growing edible ginger. Proc. National Agricultural Plastic Congress 27:133–137. Nishina, M.S., D.M. Sato, W.T. Nishijima, and R.F.L. Mau. 1992. Ginger root production in Hawaii. University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Commodity Fact Sheet GIN-3(A). Trujillo, E.E. 1964. Diseases of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in Hawaii. University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station Circular 62. 13 pp. Trujillo, E.B. 2000. Selecting ginger rhizomes to avoid spreading bacterial wilt and bacterial soft rot. Unpublished manuscript, University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Mention of a trademark, company, or proprietary name does not constitute an endorsement, guarantee, or warranty by the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or their employees and does not imply recommendation to the exclusion of other suitable products or companies. 6