Minimising the impact of major barley foliar pathogens on yield and profit: screening of elite breeder material transitioning to a fee for service model (Program 4)

Page last updated: Friday, 7 July 2023 - 9:28am

This project will work to establish new screening methods to enable Australian breeders to accelerate and expand efforts to deploy new and durable net form net blotch (NFNB), spot form net blotch (SFNB) and Scald resistance in barley varieties.

Start date: 01/03/2020
Finish date: 01/03/2023

Description:

Breeding resistance to foliar pathogens starts with identifying risky pathotypes and potential sources of resistance and one of the most effective methods of managing foliar diseases of barley is to plant resistant varieties. However, as disease pathogens evolve there is a constant need to screen for changes in pathotype and determine whether they can overcome the resistance genes in existing varieties.

Industry access to a reliable, high-throughput disease screening capacity is a critical component of an effective NFNB, SFNB and Scald improvement effort. This project will support the development of high throughput and accurate NFNB, SFNB and Scald screening methods and facilities using standardised techniques, isolates, controls and well characterised testing environments. The establishment of this infrastructure will enable Australian barley breeders to accelerate and expand efforts to deploy new and durable NFNB, SFNB and Scald resistance in barley varieties to Australian growers.

It is anticipated that by the end of the project, the breeders will have access to novel sources of durable resistance for NFNB, SFNB and Scald and screening of elite breeder material will transition to a fee for service model.

This project is funded by the GRDC and led by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), with contributions from DPIRD and Murdoch University in WA, as well as other research partners.

Funded by:

PA/GRDC

Project code:

DAQ2005-004RTX

Contact information

Manisha Shankar
+61 (0)8 9368 3533