Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development

CARD Project Progress Report

052/04VIE: Management of Phytophthora diseases
in Vietnamese horticulture
MS2: FIRST SIX-MONTHLY REPORT July 2005

1
1. Institute Information
Project Name
Management of Phytophthora Diseases in

Email:


In Australia: Administrative contact
Name:
Luda Kuchieva
Telephone:
02.93517903
Position:
Grants Officer
Fax:
02.93517903
Organisation
The University of
Sydney
Email:


In Vietnam
Name:
Dr Nguyen Van Tuat
Telephone:
+84 4838 5578
Position:
Director
Fax:
+84 4836 3563
Organisation
National Institute of Plant Protection
Email:

FTRDC-Hue and SOFRI-My Tho in Vietnam between May 31
st
and June 13
th
, 2005. An
initial survey was conducted to assess the competency of institutional staff and the
effectiveness of the workshop series. A Training Manual was developed and distributed to
participants providing an ongoing reference. Workshop participants were trained in
pathogen identification, disease diagnosis, farm management and disease control methods
and participatory research extension techniques. Participants will establish short research
projects to develop integrated disease management recommendations for implementation
by farmers in the next milestone of the project. Results from these projects will be
discussed at the next workshop. In completing these activities we have met the targets set
in the first milestone.
3. Executive Summary
This project aims to extend sustainable and effective disease control and management
recommendations developed in previous research, to a wide range of horticultural
crops throughout Vietnam, thereby improving smallholder outcomes by reducing crop
losses due to Phytophthora diseases. This report describes the first in a series of two
scientific training workshops held at the National Institute for Plant Protection
(NIPP)-Hanoi, Fruit Tree Research and Development Centre (FTRDC)-Hue and
Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI)-My Tho, Vietnam, between May 31 and
June 13, 2005. The workshops were attended by 77 scientists and extension workers
from universities, research institutes and extension agencies in the north, centre and
south of Vietnam. The gender balance of participants was tipped towards males with
41% of participants at all three workshops being female.
A survey was conducted at the beginning of each workshop to assess the competency
of institutional staff and the effectiveness of the workshop series using Bennett’s
Hierarchy. This information, along with the farmer surveys to be conducted in the
extension workshops, will enable us to assess the impact of the training workshops

next workshop.
The information presented in this report addresses the targets required to fulfil the first
milestone of the CARD project.
4. Introduction & Background
The geographic and climatic diversity in Vietnam allows a broad range of plant
species to be grown. Tropical fruit trees are concentrated in the northern and southern
parts of Vietnam and temperate crops in the northern and central highlands. The
diverse climatic regions also provide an ideal climate for Phytophthora spp to
flourish, and the genus Phytophthora is responsible for extensive economic damage in
a wide range of different horticultural crops throughout the country, resulting in large
reductions in yield and significant economical losses.
Information on the occurrence and distribution of Phytophthora species present in
Vietnam, disease transmission and progression, and suitable control methods is
lacking. Expertise in the diagnosis and management of Phytophthora diseases,
including appropriate quarantine procedures, is also poor. A strategic approach to the
future study and control of Phytophthora diseases is needed. This project aims to
improve smallholder productivity and alleviate poverty, especially in the Mekong and
Central Coast regions, by improving the skills of relevant scientific and extension
staff and their capacity to implement disease management recommendations with
smallholders.
This project focuses on local disease problems identified by informal surveys and
smallholder demand. In the south, the priority crops were identified as pineapple,
citrus, and black pepper, while citrus, black pepper and rubber will be the main focus
in the centre, and litchi, tomato and potato in the north. The Australian and
Vietnamese project team will run a series of workshops and supervise short on-farm
research projects. Our workshops aim to fill the current gaps in knowledge of
Phytophthora diseases at all levels in Vietnamese horticulture. Scientific workshops at

4
each site will include staff of the three collaborating institutes as well as relevant staff

activities.
Selected staff will also be given an opportunity to undertake a study tour to Australia
where they will learn about nursery best practice and orchard management, as well as
advanced techniques in pathogen identification and research training. Three scientists,
Mrs Nguyen Thi Ly (NIPP), Mr Doan Nhan Ai (FTRDC), Dr Nguyen Van Hoa
(SOFRI), will visit Australia in July 2005 to participate a training and study tour to
examine nursery best practice and horticultural production in southern Queensland,
and for further training in Phytophthora diagnostics. This will build institutional
capacity and aims to maximise the long-term benefits to each institution.
5. Progress to Date
5.1 Implementation Highlights
A detailed implementation of the project progress to date is provided in the attached
Progress Report Logframe.

The first milestone has been reached with the following targets already implemented:

5
1. Contract signing in April 2005.
2. Signing of an MOU between Australian and Vietnamese project leaders.
3. Development and distribution of Training Manual.
4. Initial assessment of competency of Vietnamese institutional staff by conducting
questionnaires at the beginning of the first workshop. A similar questionnaire will
be distributed in the final workshop to assess the effectiveness of the scientific
training activities using Bennett’s Hierarchy.
5. Completion of first scientific training workshops at NIPP-Hanoi, FTRDC-Hue and
SOFRI-My Tho. A Scientific Training Workshop program can be found in
Appendix I.
6. Training of 77 Vietnamese scientists in disease diagnosis and the identification of
Phytophthora.
7. Planning of Vietnamese scientific visit to Australia in July, 2005.

copies of all presentations, some of which were translated into Vietnamese and
translations of selected relevant chapters of ACIAR Monograph No 14 (Drenth A &
Guest DI, 2004. Diversity and Management of Phytophthora in Southeast Asia). The
distribution of the manual primarily in English was preferred at SOFRI to encourage
participants to learn English.

6
Participants were also provided with a copy of the ACIAR Monograph in English.
The Monograph provides a comprehensive background, practical information and
advice for the development and implementation of effective integrated management
strategies for Phytophthora diseases occurring on a variety of crops under different
environmental conditions. Participants were also provided with copies of the
Vietnamese translation of ACIAR Monograph 99 “Developing Agricultural Solutions
with Smallholder Farmers”. This monographs outlines PAR approaches designed to
encourage farmer adoption of new technologies.
The development and distribution of a comprehensive training manual and the
ACIAR Monographs Nos 99 and 114 provide participants with guides to which they
can refer as the need arises.
3. Scientific study tour of Australia
An advanced training tour of Australia is scheduled for July 2005. Three Vietnamese
scientists were selected by the Vietnamese project leaders to participate in a training
and study tour to examine nursery best practice and horticultural production and for
further training in Phytophthora diagnostics. This will build institutional capacity and
aims to maximise the long-term benefits to each institution.

6. Report on Cross-Cutting Issues
6.1 Environment
The current lack of disease management information in many areas of Vietnam may
lead to inappropriate use of pesticides. Application of chemicals for pest and disease
control can lead to high residues in food and environmental pollution. Many

Minor issues have been dealt with as they occurred:
• Delay in signing research agreement and transfer of funds
• Delays in transfer of money to Vietnam
• Communication confusion and indecision for purchase of airfares and
allocation of allowances for scientific visit
7.2 Options
Tasks to meet the first milestone have been completed. The project is running well
and no changes need to be made.

8. Next Critical Steps
The activities that will be undertaken in the next six months are:
1. Scientific training tours of Australia for three Vietnamese scientists
2. Organise extension training workshops an identify participants in each region
3. Conduct extension training workshops in each region
4. Establish experiments to develop integrated disease management techniques
5. Organise farmer training and PAR and identify locations
a. Promote awareness amongst farmers and recruit participants
b. Run PAR and GP activities in 15 provinces
6. Review farmer training and extension activities
7. Finalise purchase and delivery of microscopes, projectors and laptop computers

Mr Doan Nhan Ai did not get his visa in time to join the scientific tour in July 2005
and will instead visit Australia for scientific training in 2006.
9. Conclusion
This project aims to improve smallholder outcomes by reducing crop losses due to
Phytophthora diseases through extension of sustainable and effective disease control
and management recommendations for a wide range of horticultural crops throughout
Vietnam. The first of a series of workshops were held at NIPP, FTRDC and SOFRI in
June 2005 and were attended by 77 scientists and extension workers from universities,
research institutes and extension agencies. The hands-on approach to teaching and