Strategies for Wheat Powdery Mildew Control in Southern New South Wales

Collaborating with FAR Australia, with funding from FAR Australia, Ag Grow Agronomy and GRDC.
Wheat powdery mildew (WPM) can cause up to 25% yield loss in Australia with commonly grown varieties possessing poor resistance, ranging from susceptible to very susceptible (SVS). In the Northern region WPM is particularly problematic in the western lower rainfall areas of NSW in years of higher-than-average rainfall and irrigated paddocks, though is found throughout the wheat growing regions of NSW. This project aims to expand the validation and extension of WPM management strategies to areas in the Northern region impacted by WPM.

With sites at Lowesdale NSW (managed by FAR Australia) and Griffith NSW (managed by Ag Grow Agronomy) a series of 2 trials will be conducted at each site in 2024. The first trial is a fungicide product trial aiming to demonstrate and validate cost effective fungicide resistance management strategies for wheat powdery mildew. The second trial is a germplasm by fungicide strategy trial, which is aimed at validating the effectiveness of varietal resistance, application timings and efficacy of pre and post emergent fungicides.