THE Era Sustainable Farming biological fungicide program is set to expand this year after field trials in Moora and Ongerup showed improved results when using the company's biological product in conjunction with Prosaro fungicide to control sclerotinia.
Era Protect is a biological control treatment which contains both a fungal and bacterial inoculant and worked by boosting the soil's microbial activity and improving the crop's immune system, while creating a hostile environment in the soil for sclerotinia.
Sclerotinia disease pressure was high last year and as growers consider shortening rotations to take advantage of strong canola pricing, disease pressure is expected to remain an issue.
Last year field results at Moora showed a seven per cent reduction in stem infection, 15pc lower flower infection and up to a 11pc reduction in pod infection when full rates of Prosaro at 450 millilitres per hectare and 300ml/ha of Era Protect were applied together up at to 30 per cent flowering in Bonito and Hyola 559 canola.
At the Ongerup site, the same treatment had the lowest rate of stem infection at 1pc, compared to the control which had 23pc.
The same site also recorded a yield increase with the 450ml/ha Prosaro and 300l/ha Era Protect treatment yielding 2.5t/ha, compared to the full rate of Prosaro only yielding 2.25t/ha and the control treatment plot yielding 1.8t/ha.
Era Sustainable Farming research agronomist Shane McCulloch said while the yield increase more than covered the $12/ha cost of applying Era Protect with Prosaro, the biological treatment would have long-term financial agronomic benefits due to lower levels of inoculum in the soil.
"The only in-crop strategy we have to control sclerotinia outside the normal integrated pest management is Prosaro and using the same chemical over a period of time will eventually catch up with you," he said.
Mr McCulloch said following these results, the company would be expanding on its trial program this year by rolling out a seeding treatment option.
"We want to see if there is another way of reducing the pathogen in the soil and looking at pathogenic and nonpathogenic responses from microbes as a seed dressing," he said.
"It is a two-pronged attack theory - one is that the microbes in the seed inoculant will directly antagonise the sclerotinia in the soil and attack it while testing the theory that if you have a healthy system in the soil and plenty of certain microbes in the soil they will compete for the space and create a hostile environment for the sclerotinia."
Mr McCulloch said the biological seeding treatment had a high concentration of bacteria to boost soil microbial activity and a small component of predatory fungi species to attack sclerotinia.
"The treatment can be applied to canola seed that had been pre treated with a fungicide, put down as a liquid during seeding or as a last resort applied as a spray over the soil," he said.
"This will be the first time we have tried it in the paddock which try and stop sclerotinia from developing in the soil while improving the efficacy of the fungicide itself and boost the immune response of the plant to resist infection."
While growers will need to maintain fungicide rates, the use of the biological product could see a reduction in long-term chemical use as soil health improves.
Mr McCulloch said Era Sustainable Farming was keen to "close the knowledge gap" in soil biology.
The company is working with exclusively with Elders and is holding workshops for growers interested in trialling the seed treatment in Moora today (Thursday), Borden on March 2 and Jerramungup on March 3.
Mr McCulloch said the company worked with The University of Western Australia and Murdoch University to ensure its products were scientifically backed, as there was still a negative perception in the industry when it came to soil biology products.
"Era Sustainable Farming is about working with farmers in the management of their soil with a particular focusing on biology and what management strategies are going to create better biology to give us a better bottom line for the farmer," he said.
"We are trying to build a relationship and understanding of what is working in the soil - for me as an agronomist this is the new frontier for us and understanding how soil biology can improve profitability for farmers is the Holy Grail."
