Australia to invest to deliver new fungicides to growers

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has called for tenders for a $1.35 million project aimed at broadening the range of fungicides available to cereal and pulse growers.

GRDC western panel chairman Peter Roberts said the three-year investment would reduce the threat of future fungicide shortages, and help farmers manage fungicide resistance and potential regulatory changes.

"The project will deliver fungicides with new modes of action, or ‘actives’, to help growers control diseases such as barley powdery mildew, which has reduced the yield potential of many Western Australian barley crops in 2011,” he said.

"The high disease levels – particularly in the very susceptible variety Baudin – were partly caused by powdery mildew developing resistance to triazole fungicides, also known as demethylation inhibitors (DMIs).

"The Australian grains industry is currently heavily dependent on the ‘group three’ DMIs for cereal foliar disease control, and needs to broaden the range of fungicide actives available.”

Mr Roberts said that following the severe shortages of pulse fungicides in Australia in 2010, it was also clear that a broader range of pulse actives were required to address pulse growers’ current dependence on carbendazim and chlorthalonil.

"The new GRDC investment will deliver two new pulse and two new cereal fungicide registration packages of new modes of action, to help the Australian grains industry manage current and future fungicide resistance threats,” he said.

Mr Roberts stressed that although the GRDC and its industry stakeholders were working hard to make new fungicides available, growers should seriously consider replacing the popular barley variety Baudin with less susceptible varieties in 2012.

"Powdery mildew pathogens are very, very aggressive on Baudin barley, and there is a risk of fungicide resistance developing even to the fungicides which remain effective including Prosaro®, Opus®, Opera® and Amistrar Xtra®," he said.

Mr Roberts said all new projects outlined in the investment plan now required results to be extended to growers and other stakeholders – a result of recommendations in the new National Grains Industry Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) Strategy.

"Although a research project may be nationally targeted, delivery of the results will occur regionally and locally to growers at ground level.”