Pest, disease and weed management
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://elibrary2.sugarresearch.com.au/handle/11079/13843
Research outcomes: A comprehensive RD&E program that addresses existing and emerging pests, diseases and weeds, allowing sugarcane growers to manage their crops efficiently with minimal environmental impacts. An enhanced industry capacity to deal with incursions of exotic pests, diseases and weeds.
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Item Australian Sugar Industry Training – Development of factory training modules – Phase 2(2022-05-04) Moller, DavidThe Australian Sugar Industry Training Learning Management System (ASIT LMS) provides a valuable training resource for the Australian Sugar Industry. As a single location for the milling training programs that have been developed for the last 30 years this provides a great reference resource for operators seeking to solve operating issues during the crushing season. New on-line operator training programs that have been mapped to the national competencies provide a minimum industry level of knowledge training and assessment for all the raw sugar making processes from juice to sugar storage. Included in the training programs are suitable skills competency assessment checklists that can be undertaken on site by a suitably qualified assessor. The ASIT LMS also provides a system whereby groups can develop their own internal training courses and use them for internal knowledge assessment activities. This feature is being used by several sugar milling companies to undertake knowledge competency training in areas other than sugar milling operations. The LMS has been designed to cover all training for the sugar industry. To date there has been limited adoption from the non-milling sector despite the Chief Investigator having made repeated attempts to interest the non-milling sector in using this training platform as the basis of the training for the Australian sugar industry. The on-line nature of the LMS and the ease of use, combined with its extensive learner tracking and assistance capabilities have provided the Australia Sugar Industry with a knowledge training platform to be used into the future.Item Keeping our chemicals in their place – In the field(2021-07-01) Fillols, EmilieThis project specifically examined whether off-site movement of pesticides could be managed through the use of a range of tools and techniques including adjuvants, product formulations, product placement and application methodology. Specifically, imidacloprid applied as controlled release (suSCon) proved to reduce imidacloprid losses via runoff and leachates when compared to imidacloprid liquid (Confidor Guard) applied yearly. To reduce imidacloprid runoff loss when imidacloprid liquid is applied in ratoon cane with coulters, a consistent depth of application of 100 mm across the field was essential, as shallow or surface applications proved to dramatically increase imidacloprid losses. Closing the application slot did not assist in reducing runoff losses of imidacloprid. Different types of soil binding adjuvants added to the spray tank were tested for their role in minimising herbicide runoff losses. The oil-based adjuvant Grounded® proved to significantly reduce herbicide losses via runoff in a freshly tilled plant cane scenario, yet not in bare soil or trash blanketed ratoons. The polyol-based adjuvant Watermaxx®2 slightly reduced runoff losses in plant cane and trash blanketed ratoons. All tested adjuvants generally tended to slightly improve herbicide efficacy (non-significantly). Controlled released formulations of imazapic, hexazinone and isoxaflutole were sourced from an overseas supplier for testing. Difficulties in applying the microbeads using standard spray application equipment prevented homogeneous application and jeopardised the experiments. In preliminary trials, mill by-products (mud and ash) incorporated in plant cane or banded in ratoon generally resulted in an increase in residual herbicide concentrations and loads and a reduction in their efficacy to control weeds. These conclusions need validating in paddock-scale experiments. A proof-of-concept experiment using sorbents based on biochar proved effective in removing PS II herbicides from the runoff water. This technology could be used in an end-of-row capture device to reduce pesticide loads in drainage water leaving sugarcane fields.Item Solving YCS : final report 2014/049(ASSCT, 2021) Scalia, G; Joyce, P; Powell, KYellow canopy syndrome (YCS) is a sporadic condition presenting as golden-yellowing of the mid canopy in sugarcane during the peak growing period of December to March. The key driver of YCS is growth rate and symptoms usually exhibit after rainfall. YCS can be induced or mitigated by altering sink strength and sugarcane can recover from a YCS event. Abiotic or biotic stress has a serious effect on the photosystems and the physiological fitness of the crop. There is a strong correlation between YCS expression, leaf sucrose and sink strength, independent of crop age. YCS symptomatic leaves always have high leaf sucrose and ?-glucan content. Under experimental conditions the pyrethroid bifenthrin supresses insect stress, promotes increased sink growth and maintains low leaf sucrose and ?-glucan levels. Induced senescence causes YCS plants to have a lower number of attached leaves. Yield loss precedes YCS expression and there is no correlation between YCS severity and cane yield or CCS. Lamina starch staining is a useful tool to assist in YCS identification. There is no strong evidence of genetic predisposition for YCS susceptibility. Industry-wide incidence and severity of YCS is too difficult to accurately assess due to its episodic nature, no single causal agent and the link to climate change and severe weather events. The data does not support the cause of YCS being a pathogen, specific insect or mite, soil borne agent, poor root health, nutrient deficiency, or heavy metal toxicity. YCS is a physiological disorder visualised as the terminal expression of metabolic perturbances caused by growth disruption.Item Giving it our best shot in the war against soldier flies - future research directions : ASSCT peer-reviewed paper(ASSCT, 2021) Lenancker, P; Powell, KSoldier flies are economically damaging pests of sugarcane, particularly in central and southern Queensland. Despite decades of research on soldier fly control, the search for an effective management approach, except for cultural control, remains elusive. Trials were conducted from 2015 to 2017 to identify potential management solutions for soldier flies by assessing insecticide efficacy and varietal tolerance in field conditions. Five field trials were established to determine whether applying insecticide at plant cane would reduce the build-up in soldier fly larvae in subsequent ratoons. Ten products, comprising seven active ingredients, were field tested at high application rates. Overall, as in most previous studies, none of the insecticides tested reduced the number of larvae in field-trial conditions. The inefficacy of insecticide treatments could be due to products failing to come into contact with soldier fly larvae or simply lack of an effective active. In addition, three field trials, using up to 14 varieties, were conducted, to assess varietal tolerance. Some varieties tended to host fewer larvae than others, suggesting some resistance, in two trials established in southern Queensland. Any future insecticide and varietal screening trials will need to be conducted in both controlled laboratory and field conditions. However, before such trials can be undertaken, a standardised laboratory rearing method and improved field sampling strategy for soldier flies needs to be developed. Soldier fly outbreaks are also unpredictable and developing methods to forecast them (e.g. using climatic data or identifying preferential soil properties) will also be highly beneficial to inform growers of the potential risk of soldier fly establishment in their paddocks and for selecting field-trial sites. Additionally, recent DNA barcoding and morphological studies have revealed that at least six species of soldier flies are found in sugarcane, not two as previously identified. That finding highlights that the distribution of soldier fly species in Australia and the relative damage to sugarcane varieties needs to be resolved to enable the development of targeted species-specific management approaches.Item The bacterial biocontrol agent pasteuria penetrans can help control root-knot nematode on sugarcane(ASSCT, 2018) Bhuiyan, SA; Stirling, GR; Garlick, K; Anderson, J; Wickramasinghe, P; Wong, EROOT-KNOT NEMATODE (Meloidogyne javanica) is one of the most damaging pests of sugarcane, often causing heavy losses in coarse-textured sandy soils. The bacterial parasite Pasteuria penetrans is a potentially useful biocontrol agent and in a 2015–16 survey it was found at relatively high levels in three of the 126 sugarcane fields surveyed. Soil was collected from one of the heavily-infested fields and a pot experiment established to compare root-knot nematode multiplication in naturally infested soil and in soil where the endospores of P. penetrans had been killed by autoclaving. After 37 weeks, the root-knot nematode population was very high in the autoclaved soil but numbers of root-knot nematode eggs and second-stage juveniles were 99% lower in the soil that was naturally-infested with P. penetrans. A subsequent pot experiment with mass-produced endospores showed that when soil contained more than 6 000 endospores/g soil, root galling was not as severe as in non-infested soil and the number of root-knot nematode eggs was reduced by 71–82%. These results indicate that when high endospore concentrations are continually maintained in the root zone, P. penetrans will markedly reduce populations of one of the most important nematode pests of sugarcane.Item Pachymetra root rot surveys of the Tully district update 2018 : ASSCT peer-reviewed paper(ASSCT, 2019) Shannon, GJ; Magarey, RC; Macgillycuddy, L; Stringer, JK; Lewis, MPachymetra root rot is a soil-borne disease that impacts all sectors of the Australian sugar industry. The disease attacks the root system of sugarcane crops, affecting yields and leading to stool loss and shortened crop cycles, thus impacting the farming, harvesting and milling sectors. Monitoring the disease is, therefore, important so that optimised management practices are adopted, so bringing benefits to the entire value chain. A survey of the Tully district conducted in 2004 showed that pachymetra root rot was widely distributed across the Tully mill area; a second survey undertaken in 2013 sought to determine trends in disease incidence after some significant changes occurred in the cultivar mix. Crop resistance had shifted significantly with a change in cultivar resistance and there was a consequent increase in disease severity. Financial losses from reduced yield were estimated at $5.5 million in 2013; this compares to just under $1.0 million in 2004. This paper reports on a third survey in 2018 that is a five-year update to provide snapshot of the status of this disease in the Tully sugar industry. While the disease is still widespread, its severity has decreased with financial losses estimated to be $3.5 million.Item Plant-parasitic and free-living nematodes associated with sugarcane in North Queensland(ASSCT, 2018) Bull, J; Stirling, GR; Magarey, RSURVEYS OF NORTH Queensland sugarcane soils indicated that root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus zeae) was the most important nematode pest because it occurred in most fields and was often present at high population densities. However, the presence of root knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) in sandy soils and the relatively widespread distribution of moderately pathogenic nematodes such as stunt nematode (Tylenchorhynchus annulatus), stubby root nematode (Paratrichodorus minor), ring nematode (various Criconematidae) and dagger nematode (Xiphinema elongatum) suggested that in most fields, several nematode species were feeding on roots and contributing to root health problems. With regard to the free-living nematode community, survey results showed that bacterial-feeding nematodes were much more common than fungal-feeding nematodes and numbers of omnivorous and predatory nematodes were relatively low. Collectively, these findings suggest that the biological status of many north Queensland sugarcane soils is relatively poor. In addition to having high numbers of plant-parasitic nematodes they have low numbers of fungal-feeding nematodes. This indicates that fungi are not an important component of the detritus food web and this has implications for the ecosystem services they provide: decomposition of recalcitrant forms of organic matter; aggregation of soil particles; enhancement of plant nutrient uptake; improvement of disease resistance in plants; and suppression of pests and pathogens. The lack of omnivorous and predatory nematodes also has implications for pest suppression, as these nematodes help regulate populations of plant-parasitic nematodes.Item Sugarcane streak mosaic; researching a relatively new disease in Indonesia(ASSCT, 2018) Magarey, RC; Kristini, A; Achadian, E; Thompson, N; Wilson, E; Reynolds, M; Sallam, N; Goebel, R; Putra, LSUGARCANE STREAK MOSAIC occurs in the south and south-east Asia regions and was first identified in Indonesia in 2005. Its relatively recent recognition means that much remains to be learnt about this viral disease. ACIAR-funded research has been investigating molecular and serological assays for the virus, yield losses, important modes of transmission, and an integrated disease management strategy to manage and minimise losses. So far our findings include: molecular variation in the virus around its geographic range; yield losses amount to approximately 20% in a susceptible variety; transmission may occur via application of infested sap to leaves; mechanical transmission (as on infested machinery surfaces) is unlikely to be significant. Surveys have shown the disease to be present in various parts of Indonesia (Java, Sumatera, Sulawesi and probably West Papua). Much remains to be learnt about its epidemiology.Item Soldier fly management; insecticide efficacy and varietal tolerance in field trials : ASSCT poster paper(ASSCT, 2020) Lenancker, P; Lindsay, K; Khudhir, M; Jennings, J; Ward, A; Powell, KSoldier flies (Inopus flavus and I. rubriceps) are an economically damaging pest of sugarcane that can periodically cause major yield losses for some growers in central and southern Queensland. Larvae alter plant growth by feeding on roots. There is currently no insecticide registered for soldier flies.Item Genetic diversity among populations of soldier flies : ASSCT poster paper(ASSCT, 2019) Braithwaite, K; Lindsay, K; Jennings, JSoldier flies are a serious pest in several regions of the industry. Because they were often considered a localised problem, their impact has largely gone unrecognised. However, in recent years there has been a concerted research effort to gain more understanding of the biology of the pest and to develop better management solutions.