Bulletin 25 2010 - BSES

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A widely used saying in the industry is
‘disease control by using resistant varieties’
– but what is the difference between a
resistant variety and a susceptible one?
Resistance screening is the answer, and
Woodford pathology farm is home to
many disease resistance screening trials.
Participants saw trials taking place, and
had the opportunity to find and examine
diseases in a field situation as they walked
around the property.
Since the sugarcane smut incursion in 2006,
we have been posed the question: ‘What
is the next big disease threat?’ Research
by BSES suggests that this could be Ramu
stunt from PNG, phytoplasma diseases
from South-East Asia, mosaic viruses from
Asia or downy mildew from PNG.
‘This list isn’t exhaustive, and we should
all be on the lookout for anything unusual,’
said tutor Dr Nicole Thompson.
Ongoing research was discussed with the
participants, and some of these disease
threats presented in detail.
feedback received from participants in
the workshop was extremely positive.
‘I found the Pathology Workshop to be
very rewarding in providing a hands-on
approach to disease identification, with
experienced Pathologists on hand to help
with those extra tips not always obtained
from the field guide,’ said participant
Elizabeth Wilson. Ongoing pathology
training for front-line sugarcane staff is
important for sugarcane Biosecurity, and
further training is planned for the future.
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‘In 2006 the disease workshop was held
only a few months before sugarcane smut
was found in Queensland. When we were
planning this workshop, we realised that
many things had changed. Sugarcane smut
was not the ‘next big threat’ – it was here.
And there were many new staff in the
industry,’ said Dr Thompson.
‘We believe that staff who attended
the workshop have developed skills to
recognise and diagnose some of the major
diseases in Australia. We hope that they
get out and look at unusual symptoms
and use the resources – including the
knowledge of the Biosecurity staff – to
recognise problems in their areas,’ Dr
Thompson concluded.
further information about Biosecurity
can be found at bses.org.au. unusual
symptoms on sugarcane should be
reported to your local BSES extension
officer or productivity services staff.
TABlE 1 | Sugarcane industry sectors
represented at the workshop.
PHOTO 1 | Recognition of disease
symptoms in the field: participants
spot the fiji leaf gall infected cane
in a leaf scald trial.
PHOTO 2 | Participants learning
about RSD from tutor Janet Green
(top left).
PHOTO 3 | formal presentation
covering resources used in pathology,
given by Dr Rob Magarey.
PHOTO 4 | Barry Croft explaining
fiji leaf gall screening methods used
by BSES.
PHOTO 5 | using the BSES Sugarcane
Diseases field Guide during the quiz.
TABlE 2 | Major diseases of
sugarcane in Australia covered in the
tutorial sessions.
Brown rust
Chlorotic streak
fiji leaf gall (fiji disease virus, fDV)
leaf scald
Mosaic (sugarcane mosaic virus - SCMV)
Orange rust
Pachymetra root rot
Pineapple disease
Ratoon stunting disease (RSD)
Red rot
Sugarcane smut
Organisation Number of Participants
BSES limited 27
Productivity Services 10
Extension Services 7
AQIS 2
QlD Government (DEEDI) 2
Sugar Research Institute of fiji 2
CSIRO 1
Total 51
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