PestFacts WA

Wheat powdery mildew fungicide resistance testing

Powdery mildew on wheat plants. Photo courtesy of Andrea Hills (DPIRD).

Growers and consultants in the Esperance port zone can submit wheat powdery mildew samples for free fungicide resistance testing.

Plant pathologist Andrea Hills (DPIRD), in collaboration with CCDM, is collecting wheat powdery mildew samples to test for fungicide resistance. The wheat powdery mildew pathogen is at high risk of evolving fungicide resistance and is already resistant to strobilurin fungicides and insensitive to some DMIs in certain eastern state districts.

Growers and consultants are welcome to drop off wheat plants with young (white, bright) pustules to Andrea Hills at the Esperance DPIRD office. It is better if the plant samples are submitted at the start of the week.

To read about previous powdery mildew activity this season refer to 2022 PestFacts WA Issue 11 article Wheat powdery mildew in the Geraldton port zone and Issue 7 article Powdery mildew in barley and wheat.

For more information on powdery mildew visit DPIRD’s Diagnosing powdery mildew in cereals page.

For more information, and to arrange for testing, contact:

• Plant pathologist Andrea Hills, Esperance on +61 (0)8 9083 1144
• Email CCDM’s fungicide resistance team at frg@curtin.edu.au 

Article authors: Andrea Hills (DPIRD Esperance) and Cindy Webster (DPIRD Narrogin).