Managing inevitable disease pressure

Dr Simpfendorfer, Senior Plant Pathologist for the NSW Department of Primary Industries, will be presenting on cereal disease risk and management at this year’s Northern Update Series during February and March, hosted by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

He said disease has been a major concern for growers coming out of last year’s extremely conducive conditions, which saw high levels of stripe rust pressure in wheat crops and the widespread occurrence of white grain disorder or

Fusarium Head Blight infection.

“We’re going into the season this year with a high potential for carry over of cereal pathogens,” he said.

“There’s a lot of grain on the ground, which unless it dries up dramatically, will support a significant green bridge for early stripe rust infections in 2023 wheat crops.

“We’re also potentially looking at a drier spring, which is conducive conditions for expression of Fusarium crown rot as white heads which can cause considerable yield loss.”

For early stripe rust intervention, Dr Simpfendorfer said growers should look at varietal selection, consider using Flutriafol on starter fertiliser in susceptible varieties and be prepared to apply an early fungicide application to support seedlings if another early epidemic occurs in 2023.

To help control Fusarium crown rot inoculum, which has been building up in soils over multiple seasons, growers need to be implementing multiple control measures like testing soils, stubble and seed for disease presence and making informed decisions based off results.

“Growers will need to be doing what they can to manage Fusarium crown rot now - they need to be considering their grain quality and what they retained in the way of seed,” Dr Simpfendorfer said.

“If they retained seed from any crop where they noted pink or white grain at harvest, they need to get it tested straight away.

“If tests show Fusarium grain infection levels between 1-5 per cent, then seed treatments could be used to reduce the risk of seedling death.

GRDC Northern Grower Relations Manager, Graeme Sandral, said this year’s Northern Update Series will be packed with information that will assist growers in making informed, timely decisions to get the most out of their crops.

The GRDC Update Series is taking place in five locations across New South Wales, with the only Queensland event taking place in Goondiwindi on Tuesday February 28 and Wednesday March 1, where Dr Simpfendorfer will be presenting.

To register, visit icanrural.com.au/updates.html