Diseases of Cotton X
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INTERIM REPORT 2010 to 2012 Diseases of Cotton X Karen Kirkby Peter Lonergan Bethany Cooper Locked Bag 1000, Narrabri, NSW, 2390, Australia 1 Contents Contents .........................................................................................................................2 Contact Details ..............................................................................................................3 Intellectual Property developed within the projects. .....................................................4 Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................4 Background....................................................................................................................5 Objectives and extent to which they have been achieved ..............................................7 Chapter 1 - Disease Surveys..........................................................................................9 Introduction: ................................................................................................................9 Method and Materials:................................................................................................16 Results & Discussion:..................................................................................................17 Conclusions:...............................................................................................................32 Chapter 2 - Seed Treatments .......................................................................................34 Introduction: ..............................................................................................................34 Method and Materials:..............................................................................................34 Results:........................................................................................................................40 Conclusions:...............................................................................................................50 Chapter 3 – Long term biofumigation.........................................................................51 Results:........................................................................................................................57 Conclusions:...............................................................................................................59 Chapter 4 – Long term rotation ...................................................................................60 Introduction: ..............................................................................................................60 Method and Materials:..............................................................................................60 Results:........................................................................................................................63 Conclusions:...............................................................................................................67 Chapter 5 – Mycorrhizal colonisation.........................................................................68 Introduction: ..............................................................................................................68 Method and Materials:..............................................................................................68 Results & Discussion: ...............................................................................................74 Conclusions:...............................................................................................................75 Chapter 6 – Pathogen isolates .....................................................................................76 Introduction: ..............................................................................................................76 Method and Materials:..............................................................................................77 Results:........................................................................................................................77 Conclusions:...............................................................................................................79 Chapter 7 – Possible interaction between Verticillium wilt and black root rot..........80 Introduction: ..............................................................................................................80 Method and Materials:..............................................................................................81 Results:........................................................................................................................81 Chapter 8 – Seed rots...................................................................................................82 Chapter 9 – Bacterial blight screening........................................................................83 2 Cotton CRC Project Number: CRC 1.01.66 Project Title: Diseases of Cotton X Project Commencement Date: 1st July 2009 Project Completion Date: 30 June 2012 Cotton CRDC Program: Crop Protection Contact Details Administrator: Mr Graham Denney Organisation: NSW Department of Primary Industries Postal Address: Locked Bag 21, Orange, NSW, 2800 Ph: 02 6391 3219 Fax: 02 6391 3327 E-mail: [email protected] Principal Researcher: Dr Karen Kirkby Organisation: Industry and Investment NSW Postal Address: Locked Bag 1000, Narrabri, NSW, 2390 Ph: 02 6799 2454 Fax: 02 6799 1503 E-mail: [email protected] Supervisor: Dr Deb Hailstones Organisation: Industry and Investment NSW Postal Address: Private Bag 4008, Narellan, NSW, 2567 Ph: 02 4640 6442 Fax: 02 4640 6300 E-mail: [email protected] Signature of Research Provider Representative: 3 Intellectual Property developed within the projects. No new intellectual property was developed within this project. Acknowledgements The principal researcher extends sincere thanks to Mr Peter Lonergan and Miss Bethany Cooper who have both provided invaluable technical assistance across all aspects of the project. Your efforts made achieving the project milestones possible. The principle researcher thanks all of the grower co-operators whose assistance and collaboration made this project possible. The authors wish to thank CSIRO Plant Industry, Narrabri and QDAFF for planting the offsite trials. Dr Kirkby acknowledges the assistance of Mr. Clay Lewis, Miss Katie Rothlisberger, Dr Steve Hague, Dr Thomas Isakeit and Dr Terry Wheeler for their assistance in the development of the National Diagnostic Protocols. Training received whilst on the DAFF scholarship to Texas, USA assisted in the development of national standard protocols for two exotic diseases Hypervirulent bacterial blight and Texas root rot. Contacts made whilst overseas in Texas also enabled the importation of the 10 bacterial blight differential lines which have effectively increased Australia’s capacity to designate race to bacterial isolates in the event of an incursion. The principle researcher also extends gratitude to Cotton Catchment Communities CRC, Cotton Research and Development Corporation and Cotton Australia, who provided substantial investment in the professional development of the principle researcher, and in the project. 4 Background Australian cotton may be infected by a range of diseases that continue to threaten sustainability. Cotton production is also threatened by possible incursions of exotic diseases and potentially new diseases evolving from native population strains. The Diseases of Cotton projects have been conducted since 1984 playing an important role in indicating long term trends in disease incidence and severity. The result of this project adds to the existing long term data set and is improving the knowledge of diseases of cotton. Three of the most economically damaging and recalcitrant diseases affecting cotton in New South Wales are Fusarium Wilt, Verticillium Wilt and black root rot. Soil-borne diseases are difficult to treat with traditional methods and for practical purposes are impossible to eradicate. However by gaining a better understanding of the pathogens ecology or life cycle, management practices can be modified in an economically and environmentally sustainable way to reduce disease impact. Previous work has indicated that the soil type cotton is grown in has an impact on the disease expression of these three fungi. Soil borne fungal plant pathogens can overwinter as either saprophytes or is dormant structures such as chlamydospores and sclerotia. Having these mechanisms means the fungi are difficult to control and virtually impossible to eradicate. All three fungi are thought to be able to survive for long periods, for example Verticillium dahliae has been reported to survive for at least 10 years as micro-sclerotia. Survival however is mitigated by number of environmental factors such as soil type. There is little information available on the survival of these fungi in different soil types grown under cotton. The proposed research would look at the survival of these pathogens in different soil types. This fundamental information on the ecology of the pathogens is vital for making informed management decisions on crop rotation. The increase in the price of fertilisers as well as a growing understanding for the need of environmentally sustainable agriculture has meant a growing interest in the use of nitrogen fixing crop