Verification of farm hygiene efficacy by paint roller sampling
Whole-farm hygiene is a critical component in mitigating the costly impact of pests and diseases on mushroom quality and yield. Hygiene forms a critical core pillar of an effective farm Integrated Pest and Disease Management (IPDM) program, and enforcing strict preventative hygiene protocols is the most cost-effective disease management strategy available in the mushroom growers’ toolbox.
Using an innovative approach, Warwick and Judy adopted standard paint rollers as sampling tools and verified their applicability by direct plating to ‘up-sized’ culture dishes – replacing standard 9cm-diameter Petri dishes – that could accommodate the length of various paint rollers (Gill & Allan 2016). Paint rollers offer wide and rapid coverage, ease of use, good spore pickup from all surfaces, cost-effectiveness and compatibility with modern diagnostic tools—making them well-suited for mushroom farm pathogen detection.
