Global collection of mushroom pathogens

In many places in the world, increasingly less chemical crop protection agents are available for use in mushroom cultivation. As a consequence, mushroom cultivation will loose the ability to use crop protection agents. As a consequence, good hygiene management, early detection and monitoring of pathogens (diagnostics), alternative crop protection agents and disease resistant mushroom varieties have to play an important role. The number of researchers in several mushroom producing countries is decreasing already for a number of years. For an effective use of research funds, international collaboration on topics of mutual interest is important. At the workshop of the Global Mushroom Disease Diagnostic Initiative, held in 2008 just before the ISMS conference in Cape Town, it was decided to try and build a collection of reference pathogen strains for the white button mushroom diseases present world wide. This collection will play a vital role in the development of diagnostic methods for mushroom diseases. This project was funded in part by the ISMS and in part by the Dutch Horticultural Board.