BCWGC September 19, 2024 R&D Committee Meeting

September 19, 2024 - Dr. Sudarsana Poojari, Brock University - Advancements in Diagnostics Supporting Clean Plant Program for Grapevines and an Introduction to Genome BC
Grapevine virus disease management has been identified as a top priority for long-term sector sustainability. Losses of over $23 million per year are currently incurred by grape growers due to reduced yield of infected grapes and increased fruit rejection by wineries. To replace the currently infected acreage and meet ongoing renewal of vineyards the industry needs access to 6.7 million domestically produced, virus free vines/year.
By implementing a high throughput sequencing method at the CFIA, the costs of analysis is reduced, and analysis time is reduced for commercially valuable varieties imported into Canada as well as audit testing from certified foreign sources destined for commercial planting. This single genomic test will speed up the release of virus-free grapevine material from about three years to one year or less, providing rapid access to valuable new varieties. Domestically, the Canadian Grape Certification Network (CGCN) is commercializing high throughput sequencing at the Clean Plant Program at Brock University for the certification of propagation material in nurseries and grapevines obtained through CPH, and for monitoring of production vineyards.
Genome BC will highlight the goals and objectives of the CLEANSED clean plant material project. Dr. Sudarsana Poojari will provide an overview on the importance and recent advancements of different virus detection methods with emphasis on the recent advancements in infrastructure supporting the Clean Plant Program at Brock University.