Australia - Growers, agronomists urged to send in samples of chickpeas with ascochyta blight

Agronomists and growers who find chickpea crops affected by ascochyta blight are urged to send samples to Agri-Science Queensland in Toowoomba as part of this season’s diseases survey.

The samples will then be prepared and forwarded to the University of Melbourne for analysis through a program part-funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) which looks at the resistance of chickpea varieties to ascochyta blight.

Dr Malcolm Ryley, Principal Plant Pathologist with Agri-Science Queensland, said as chickpea growers rely more on ascochyta blight-resistant varieties, the disease must be monitored with increased vigilance to ensure prevalent strains are recognised and any new strains or changes to known ones are identified.

To ensure samples arrive in the best possible quality, collect them on Monday or Tuesday and dispatch them as soon as possible.

A Queensland Government Pulse Disease Sample Enquiry form, which includes instructions about sample collection and despatch, must be completed and sent with each chickpea sample and is available at www.grdc.com.au/pulseplantdiseaseenquiry

Minimum details to be included with the samples are: chickpea variety; nearest town, and name and phone number of the person who collected the sample.