GROWERS and advisers in Western Australia have explored the cutting edge of cereal and canola disease and fungicide resistance management in a series of two-day workshops from the Australian Fungicide Resistance Extension Network.
Supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation and held in Northam, Katanning, Esperance and Perth, the workshops gave growers and advisers the latest advice on foliar disease and fungicide resistance from leading researchers, pathologists and agronomists.
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Workshop facilitator John Cameron said in addition to providing the latest research, each workshop ran through a series of in-paddock scenarios that were raised by advisers or growers based on their own experiences.
"This opportunity for peer-review and feedback on local issues is invaluable, as is the opportunity for younger growers and agronomists to gain exposure to the thinking of senior agronomists, pathologists and fungicide resistance experts," Mr Cameron said.
"It's a great mix, and all who attended - no matter how experienced - picked up new and valued understandings."
The workshops focused on cereal growth stages, fungicide application decisions and integrated disease management strategies in cereal and canola that consider the underlying risk of fungicide resistance.
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) plant pathologist Geoff Thomas said a dry start to the year meant the main diseases were likely to be stubble borne, rather than biotrophic diseases such as rusts that develop earlier when there is a green bridge in a wet summer.
Stubble borne diseases include crown rot, yellow spot, net blotches and leaf scalds, and for canola, blackleg.
"Growers that had a good harvest last season are likely to have a lot of stubble left in their paddocks," Mr Thomas said.
"Many stubble-borne necrotrophic diseases do not need a living host to survive between seasons and our common stubble retention practices provide an optimal environment for these diseases to survive and proliferate."
While the dry summer had been good for the lack of summer weeds and green bridge, it also reduced the potential for stubble breakdown or the early release of disease spores before seeding.
Ultimately that can minimise the disease load before sowing but the inoculum level of some diseases does not decline as much as one might expect.
"Management options for stubble borne diseases are based on crop rotation with non-hosts, growing less susceptible varieties and timely application of fungicides," Mr Thomas said.
"If possible, to balance soil water retention and stubble cover, growers may consider stubble management tactics, such as burning, baling or slashing if they're worried about disease carry-over."
Other presentations during the workshops were given by FAR Australia's Nick Poole, the Centre for Crop Disease Management's Fran Lopez-Ruiz and Noel Knight, DPIRD's Andrea Hills and Kith Jayasena.
Combined with the field expertise of up to 20 leading agronomists, the discussion was lively and targeted issues of regional importance.
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