February , 2003

Cereal breeders at the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia and throughout Australia have national support to develop new varieties with rust resistance.

The serious threat of rust diseases to cereal production is behind the establishment of an Australian Cereal Rust Control Program (ACRCP), based at the University of Sydney. This program builds on previous successes of the National Cereal Rust Control Program, which has operated since the mid 1970s.

The ACRCP is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation to assist all cereal breeders to source and incorporate adequate levels of rust resistance in new cultivars.

ACRCP coordinator and Acting Director of Rust Research at the Plant Breeding Institute, Cobbitty, Robert Park will meet local growers at a series of Regional Crop Updates in Esperance, Jerramungup and Katanning next month.

Dr Park said cereal rust diseases had an enormous capacity to spread and develop rapidly, causing 30-50 per cent yield losses, translating to millions of dollars on an industry scale if not contained.

Cereal rust diseases were regarded as ‘social’ diseases because aspects of their management had implications across farming regions rather than simply for individual farming businesses.

He said sustained protection across the entire grains industry would only be achieved by acceptance of Minimum Disease Standards, and by maintaining diverse types of resistance in cereal varieties.

"Genetic resistance is the most effective and economical way to control cereal rust diseases. Resistant cultivars reduce overall inoculum levels both during and between cropping cycles," Dr Park said.

Dr Park said the ACRCP monitored rust pathogen populations throughout Australia.

"The program searches for and characterises new sources of resistance, screens breeder’s material in the greenhouse and in field rust nurseries, and incorporates resistance into adapted germplasm as requested by breeders," he said.

"Genetic resistance can protect cultivars at all growth stages, at the seedling stage or at adult plant growth stages only."

Dr Park said the ACRCP advocated the judicious use of seedling resistances in conjunction with adult plant resistance.

He said seedling resistances had been successful when used in regions with low rust inoculum.

However, use of cultivars with seedling resistance in regions where levels were moderately high to high, often met with failure.