Empowering growers with tools to assist with disease management options
Project name
Disease epidemiology, modelling and delivery of management decision support tools
GRDC Code
DAW2112-002RTX
Harnessing technology for crop health
Stable grains production requires management of major diseases in cost effective ways, reduce the overuse of fungicides, and help prevent fungicide resistance from occurring.
With increasing disease pressure due to changing pathogen virulence, climatic conditions, and farming systems, a need to develop robust decision support tools to enable growers to make informed, timely disease management decisions that are economically viable was identified.
To tackle this, researchers from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), with support from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), in collaboration with national experts have developed a suite of decision support tool applications.
This national project conducts detailed epidemiology, disease management and validation experiments targeting yellow leaf spot, stripe rust and Septoria tritici of wheat, net blotches of barley, Sclerotinia and blackleg crown canker and upper canopy infections of canola in all relevant grain growing regions across Australia.
After careful analysis and modelling, a decision support tool is created.
Each tool has been developed to effectively capture best management practices for foliar fungal diseases while ensuring fungicide spray decisions are economically viable and within the fungicide resistance management guidelines.
The accuracy of these tools and information is ensured through detailed epidemiology and collaborative testing performed across Australia.
The apps are designed with accessibility in mind and are compatible with both Android and Apple devices, with most tools being available on both phone and tablet devices.
Users can email reports directly from the app to consultants, growers and experts, ensuring timely and informed decision-making.
In addition to the pathogens, above a tool for powdery mildew of mungbean is now available and prototypes for ascochyta blight in chickpea and sclerotinia in lupin are in development.
A blackspot of field pea risk forecast is delivered during April-June each year.
What's included?
Within the suite of digital foliar disease management tools, several features are provided, these include:
BlacklegCM: Specialising in blackleg crown canker management in canola, this tool offers up-to-date crown canker resistance ratings for all canola varieties, while facilitating comparisons between different fungicide options.
This tool is currently only available for use on tablet devices and is used for fungicide management decisions made pre-sowing through to the vegetative stage of the crop.
UCI BlacklegCM: Tailored to manage blackleg upper canopy infection in canola, this app takes into account a myriad of factors, including location, costs, yield benefits, grain prices, and seasonal conditions, to provide estimates of financial returns for fungicide decisions made at the early bloom stage of the crop.
SclerotiniaCM: Focusing on the management of sclerotinia stem rot in canola, this tool empowers users to input specific paddock data and recent weather conditions, thus facilitating informed decisions regarding fungicide application up to the 50% bloom stage of the crop.
PowderyMildewMBM: Dedicated to managing powdery mildew in mungbeans, this app acknowledges the influence of seasonal conditions and aids in decision-making regarding fungicide spraying.
This tool is designed for use in the Qld and northern NSW production areas.
StripeRustWM: Targeting stripe rust management in wheat crops, this app assesses occurrence of the disease in the area, disease severity, yield loss, and economic return across a range of fungicide strategies, factoring in costs, grain prices, and prevailing seasonal conditions.
It is mostly used in the eastern states but can be used in Western Australia to manage our sporadic outbreaks of stripe rust.
YellowSpotWM: Geared towards the management of yellow spot (tan spot) in wheat, this app considers a plethora of factors, including paddock selection, variety, seasonal conditions, prices, and management options, to provide outputs tailored to individual cropping circumstances.
The development and rigorous field testing of these apps have been undertaken by DPIRD in collaboration with plant pathology experts from various institutions, including Agriculture Victoria, Marcroft Grains Pathology, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, the South Australian Research and Development Institute, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, University of Southern Queensland, University of Queensland, University of Melbourne, and CSIRO.
Through this collaborative effort, these tools have been refined to serve as an asset for growers, navigating the complex landscape of disease management in modern agriculture.
Funding partners / project collaborators
Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)
More information
Click here for more about this project
Click here to read GRDC GroundCover article on this project
Contact
Janette Pratt
DPIRD Research Scientist
E: Janette.Pratt@dpird.wa.gov.au
P: (08) 9651 0531
Jean Galloway
DPIRD Principal Research Scientist
E: Jean.Galloway@dpird.wa.gov.au
P: (08) 9690 2172