The Department of Agriculture, Western Australia has established a web-based forecasting resource for a range of crop diseases that allows risk assessments to be made in the lead up to the new cropping season.

Department research officer Ciara Beard said that by understanding the biology of key plant pathogenic fungi it was possible to estimate the risks associated with particular fungal diseases in key crops in Western Australia.

The disease forecasts available on the website include: canola blackleg, cereal rust, field pea blackspot and lupin anthracnose. Combining biological knowledge with historical and predicted weather forecasts has resulted in key tools for disease risk prediction. 

The forecasts have been developed from research undertaken by the Department with the support of grain growers through the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

“The ‘Blackleg Risk Appraisal Tool’ (BRAT) predicts the risk of blackleg disease in canola for 14 sites and eight times of sowing in 2005.  The risk is based on the estimated timing of the first major ascospore release of the blackleg fungus from old canola residues relative to developmental stages of this year’s crop,” Ms Beard said.

“The ‘Blackspot Manager’ predicts the risk for field pea from the estimated onset and progression of ascospores of the fungus from infected field pea stubble at eight sites for six times of sowing.

“Cereal rust risk provides a regional assessment of potential for early rust in wheat or barley.  The risk of early rust in 2005 is considerably lower than in 2004 based on low summer rain and limited ‘greenbridge’ regrowth required to harbour rust over summer.

“An important risk with lupin anthracnose is the level of seed infection at the start of the season.  A high level of positive anthracnose seed tests from 2004 harvest samples indicates a higher than normal risk of early anthracnose development in subsequent crops, dependent on seasonal rainfall.”

The information resource will be expanded in mid-April to include forecasts for risk of aphid outbreaks and the spread of barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) in cereal crops, and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) in lupin crops, developed in collaboration with the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA).

The forecasting tools help growers make decisions prior to seeding on which disease management strategies to employ for crops in their region. The website provides a one-stop shop enabling growers to gather information on disease risks for their major crops.

The website will be updated prior to the growing season if disease risks change so that growers can access the most current information in the lead up to planting.

This website was developed following joint research between crop modeling and plant disease research groups at the Department of Agriculture to help grain growers manage a range of disease constraints in Western Australia's farming systems. “Plant disease forecast 2005” predictions are now available to growers via a single location at www.agric.wa.gov.au including links to all relevant researchers for further information.