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2015 Western Australia Agribusiness Crop Updates: Research delivers opportunities to cut canola production costs


Western Australia
February 26, 2015


Department of Agriculture and Food research officer Ravjit Khangura has quantified the triggers required for sclerotinia stem rot in canola, which will assist growers to treat more effectively.

There has been a breakthrough for canola growers looking to minimise the cost of treating the potentially devastating fungal disease sclerotinia stem rot.

Sclerotinia stem rot cost Western Australian growers an estimated $23 million in lost yields last year – in what was only an average disease season.

Crucial information about the precise weather conditions required to encourage the development of spores and subsequent triggers for disease infection was presented yesterday (25 Feb) to the 2015 WA Agribusiness Crop Updates.

Department of Agriculture and Food canola pathologist Ravjit Khangura said the information could help reduce canola growers’ fungicide expenses.

Dr Khangura said knowing the likelihood and severity of disease epidemics would save growers from unnecessary spray treatments.

“Data from five seasons from 2010-14 has shown that 40 millimetres of rainfall or more in the lead up to flowering and a humidity level of more than 75 per cent is required to induce spore set,” she said.

“However, the disease will not manifest unless there is another 40 mm of rain in the following two to three weeks, with the same humidity level of 75 per cent or above.

“The disease could still develop if the conditions are less than ideal but will not be yield limiting.”

These newly quantified triggers of canola sclerotinia stem infection are the result of research combining disease biology with modelling to develop decision support tools to assist growers in more profitable canola production. This research is supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

Dr Khangura said spraying for sclerotinia was expensive, so growers could save money by refining their treatment program by applying this new information when making decisions about whether to spray or not and when.

“For example, if there is a wet start to the season and spore production occurs and if conditions become less favourable (drier) at the time of flowering then growers may not need to treat at all,” she said.

“However if wet and humid conditions prevail, especially at the time of flowering, the disease may be prevalent and spraying will be necessary. But if the forecast is for dry conditions at a particular bloom stage, growers may not have to do a second treatment.”

Dr Khangura said the development of a decision support tool could also incorporate other variables such as canopy density to enhance predictive capability.

The department, supported by the GRDC, has conducted extensive work on sclerotinia stem rot in recent years, to assist growers to minimise the impact of this sometimes devastating crop disease.

“We now have effective treatments, we know how to use them and now we have the information available to refine the time of application to ensure the investment is worth it,” Dr Khangura said.

“We also have a suite of tools to determine the risk, like knowing the paddock history, history of surrounding paddocks and weather conditions that must coincide with presence of sufficient inoculum for sclerotinia stem rot to become a problem in canola.”

The research will continue this season in the northern and southern regions.



More solutions from: Western Australia, Department of Primary Industries


Website: http://www.agric.wa.gov.au

Published: February 26, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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