Published Friday, 01 June, 2007 at 11:08 AM
Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries
The Honourable Tim Mulherin
LATEST RESEARCH TACKLES MAJOR STONE FRUIT DISEASE
The latest research by Queensland scientists will better equip the stone fruit industry to fight one of its most devastating diseases.
Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries Tim Mulherin said a recently completed study by researchers from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries had successfully identified new ways of managing the most devastating bacterial disease of stone fruit crops in Australia, called bacterial spot.
Mr Mulherin said bacterial spot in stone fruit was a major concern for stone fruit growers and impacts on the profitability of an industry worth over $240 million a year in Australia.
“In a wet spring/summer season, bacterial spot can affect an estimated one third or more of all stone fruit growers in Australia, with fruit losses of up to 70 percent in highly susceptible varieties.
“The disease significantly reduces the amount of saleable fruit, and if left untreated can have a long term impact on affected trees.
“The problem is so severe that some varieties are unviable for commercial production without a method to control bacterial spot,” Mr Mulherin said.
DPI&F senior plant pathologist Christine Horlock said the four-year project used DNA multiplication technology to develop a more specific method of identifying the pathogen which causes this disease, gained an increased understanding of the disease cycle and refined current control methods to make managing bacterial spot more effective.
“By modifying a technique known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to suit the bacterium that causes bacterial spot, we now have an identification test that can be done quickly, allowing many samples to be processed simultaneously,’’ Ms Horlock said.
“The project has also shed new light on the pathogen’s behaviour. We have confirmed that the most important factors influencing the level of infection and disease spread in Queensland is wet, humid weather and susceptible varieties. Symptoms are randomly distributed over the fruit surface, emphasising the need for good fruit coverage during spraying,” Ms Horlock said.
“Possibly of most importance in the short term, particularly to growers is the targeted copper spray program developed in the project. This program has been thoroughly tested during four seasons of research station trials, and two seasons of field trials on commercial orchards in Queensland, and has proved successful in managing bacterial spot in plums.
“During the course of this project we have conducted some smaller scale trials on farms. We are now ready to register the spray program, and to undertake wide scale trialling throughout Australia,” she said.
This project has been facilitated by Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) in partnership with Summerfruit Australia Limited, DPI&F and DPI Victoria. It has been funded by the summerfruit levy and voluntary contributions from Dupont Australia Pty Ltd. The Australian Government provides matched funding for all HAL’s R&D activities.
Media:
Ministerial office: 323 96530
Department: Wade Milne 389 69778 or 0401 716 795
(Photos available on request)
Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries Tim Mulherin said a recently completed study by researchers from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries had successfully identified new ways of managing the most devastating bacterial disease of stone fruit crops in Australia, called bacterial spot.
Mr Mulherin said bacterial spot in stone fruit was a major concern for stone fruit growers and impacts on the profitability of an industry worth over $240 million a year in Australia.
“In a wet spring/summer season, bacterial spot can affect an estimated one third or more of all stone fruit growers in Australia, with fruit losses of up to 70 percent in highly susceptible varieties.
“The disease significantly reduces the amount of saleable fruit, and if left untreated can have a long term impact on affected trees.
“The problem is so severe that some varieties are unviable for commercial production without a method to control bacterial spot,” Mr Mulherin said.
DPI&F senior plant pathologist Christine Horlock said the four-year project used DNA multiplication technology to develop a more specific method of identifying the pathogen which causes this disease, gained an increased understanding of the disease cycle and refined current control methods to make managing bacterial spot more effective.
“By modifying a technique known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to suit the bacterium that causes bacterial spot, we now have an identification test that can be done quickly, allowing many samples to be processed simultaneously,’’ Ms Horlock said.
“The project has also shed new light on the pathogen’s behaviour. We have confirmed that the most important factors influencing the level of infection and disease spread in Queensland is wet, humid weather and susceptible varieties. Symptoms are randomly distributed over the fruit surface, emphasising the need for good fruit coverage during spraying,” Ms Horlock said.
“Possibly of most importance in the short term, particularly to growers is the targeted copper spray program developed in the project. This program has been thoroughly tested during four seasons of research station trials, and two seasons of field trials on commercial orchards in Queensland, and has proved successful in managing bacterial spot in plums.
“During the course of this project we have conducted some smaller scale trials on farms. We are now ready to register the spray program, and to undertake wide scale trialling throughout Australia,” she said.
This project has been facilitated by Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) in partnership with Summerfruit Australia Limited, DPI&F and DPI Victoria. It has been funded by the summerfruit levy and voluntary contributions from Dupont Australia Pty Ltd. The Australian Government provides matched funding for all HAL’s R&D activities.
Media:
Ministerial office: 323 96530
Department: Wade Milne 389 69778 or 0401 716 795
(Photos available on request)