CropAlert — Pre-Season Newsletter March 2024


CropAlert — Pre-Season Newsletter March 2024

Dear CropAlert subscriber,

What’s on the cards for the 2024 season?

Although February and March have been dry, rainfall across eastern Australia in January led to the establishment of an early green bridge. The green bridge plays an important role in the lifecycle of diseases such as cereal rusts and powdery mildew and as a result, the risk of stripe rust/powdery mildew is again high this year. A green bridge also increases the threat of aphid-borne viruses such as turnip yellows virus (TuYV) in canola.

High stubble loads will also cause concern regarding the potential spread of Stubble borne diseases, including Septoria tritici blotch of wheat, net blotches of barley, botrytis (chocolate spot or botrytis grey mould) and Ascochyta blight of lentil, faba bean and vetch.

 

Cereal rusts:

Relatively early reports of stripe rust in wheat are expected given the widespread green bridge across eastern Australia this season. Early detection is key and proactive management will be required in susceptible varieties to avoid crop losses.

Stripe rust identification, management, and epidemiology can be found in ‘Identification & Management of Field Crop Diseases in Victoria’.

Growers and advisors are encouraged to adopt a three-step approach to assess stripe rust infection.

  1. Review variety ratings using a current cereal disease guide to ensure the ratings are current. Do not use last year’s ratings. The current Victorian guide can be found here.
  2. Monitor crops after sowing closely.
  3. Use the StripeRustWM app to support decision making for Stripe rust in wheat. The app can be downloaded from the Apple and Google Play stores.

Stubble borne diseases

Stubble is the primary source of inoculum for several important disease in cereals and pulses. Stubble borne diseases, including Septoria tritici blotch of wheat, net blotches of barley, botrytis (chocolate spot or botrytis grey mould) and Ascochyta blight of lentil, faba bean and vetch. The risk in 2024 will be high where crops are sown in close rotation, such as wheat sown into wheat stubble or close to wheat stubble (for Septoria tritici blotch), and respective for each crop. In pulses, it is important to remember botrytis affects across crop species, including faba bean, lentil and vetch. Review variety ratings using a current cereal or pulse disease guides, to ensure the ratings are current. Do not use last year’s ratings. The current Victorian guide can be found here. Environmental conditions over the coming months will be crucial in determining the amount of disease that develops.

Growers should:

  1. Avoid planting cereal or pulse crops into or adjacent to paddocks where there was disease during 2023
  2. Sow healthy vigorous seed.
  3. Use fungicidal seed dressings where applicable.
  4. Implement a fungicide management plan.
  5. Avoid susceptible varieties.
  6. once sown, monitor crops from early stages of development for early detection of important diseases

 

For further information on each disease and diagnostic details visit:  Septoria Leaf Blotch of Wheat – Field Crop Diseases Victoria

 

2024 Disease Guides

The 2024 Victorian Cereal and Pulse Disease Guides are now available on the Agriculture Victoria website via the links below, AppleBooks, These guides provide access to the latest disease ratings.

Cereal Disease Guide https://bit.ly/3lGxDqh (AppleBooks)

Pulse Disease Guide https://bit.ly/3lvUdSe (AppleBooks)

Canola blackleg ratings can be found in the blackleg management guide https://bit.ly/2NDLrFb or in the BlacklegCM app.

A current copy of the cereal and pulse disease guides are available from Apple Books (just search ‘Victorian disease guide’ in the Apple Book store) or the AgVic website, Pulse disease guide or Cereal disease guide to assist with disease management strategies during the season.

 

Blackspot in Field Peas

For growers or advisors with field peas, blackspot manager can assist with determining the risk of blackspot in your paddocks. This can inform a management plan. You can subscribe to the free SMS blackspot alert service. Text ‘Blackspot’ with your name and nearest weather station or location to 0475 959 932 or email [email protected].

 

2024 Field Days

The dates have been set for the team’s field days which will cover

  • Septoria disease management
  • Net blotch disease management
  • Botrytis and Ascochyta disease management in beans and lentil
  • Canola Blackleg disease management
  • Soil-borne diseases
  • Fungicide resistance
  • Chickpea Ascochyta disease management
  • Exotic diseases and support available for diagnostics through CropSafe

 

The dates are

July 10th, 2024

October 1st, 2024

 

More details will follow closer to the date. We look forward to seeing you there.

 

Kind regards,

The CropSafe and Horsham Field Crops Pathology team

Share this: