Final Report Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4 – Biosecurity and Sustainable Solutions Project leader: Stewart Lindsay Delivery partner: Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Project code: BA14013 Hort Innovation – Final Report Project: Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4 – Biosecurity and Sustainable Solutions – BA14013 Disclaimer: Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (Hort Innovation) makes no representations and expressly disclaims all warranties (to the extent permitted by law) about the accuracy, completeness, or currency of information in this Final Report. Users of this Final Report should take independent action to confirm any information in this Final Report before relying on that information in any way. Reliance on any information provided by Hort Innovation is entirely at your own risk. Hort Innovation is not responsible for, and will not be liable for, any loss, damage, claim, expense, cost (including legal costs) or other liability arising in any way (including from Hort Innovation or any other person’s negligence or otherwise) from your use or non‐use of the Final Report or from reliance on information contained in the Final Report or that Hort Innovation provides to you by any other means. Funding statement: This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the banana research and development levy, co‐investment from Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower‐owned, not‐for‐profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture. Publishing details: ISBN 978 0 7341 4441 6 Published and distributed by: Hort Innovation Level 8 1 Chifley Square Sydney NSW 2000 Telephone: (02) 8295 2300 www.horticulture.com.au © Copyright 2018 Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited Content Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Keywords .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Methodology .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Outputs ................................................................................................................................................. 8 Outcomes ............................................................................................................................................ 22 Evaluation and discussion ..................................................................................................................... 25 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 27 Scientific refereed publications .............................................................................................................. 28 Intellectual property/commercialisation .................................................................................................. 28 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 28 Appendices .......................................................................................................................................... 29 Horticulture Innovation Australia Ltd 2 Summary An incursion of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (Foc TR4) was identified on a farm in the Tully region in March 2015. The wet tropical coast region, including Tully, produces 96% of Australia’s banana crop worth approximately $600 million annually and sustains regional communities in coastal north Queensland. Fusarium wilt of banana – also known as Panama disease – is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense and is regarded as one of the most destructive diseases of banana and has devastated banana production in many countries around the world. Very few varieties are resistant to the Foc TR4 strain of the pathogen and despite years of breeding no commercially acceptable varieties have proven to be fully resistant. This project has aimed to deliver new science, information and practices to address key areas of need for the banana industry to: Successfully contain the disease and prevent further spread of the pathogen through the adoption of robust, science‐based biosecurity practices and Identify and investigate options to facilitate the development of economically viable production systems, capable of minimising inoculum build up, that are suitable for use on infected or at risk farms. The adoption of effective biosecurity practices on north Queensland banana farms has been significantly supported by project activities identifying risk pathways for spread of the pathogen, research identifying the most effective disinfectant products, research activities outlining how to monitor and manage their use and replenishment and how to effectively destroy inoculum in infected plants to minimise build up in the soil. The project has also significantly progressed development of methods for assessment of plant stress and its influence on Foc infection, identified possible rotation crops that suppress Foc populations in the soil and the influence of ground cover and nitrogen management practices on the soil microbiome and its capacity to suppress Foc. Significant extension and communication efforts have been made to keep the banana industry informed of the latest results as they became available and a biosecurity Best Management Practice guide has been produced with input from banana producers and regulatory agency staff that can assist banana growers to benchmark their biosecurity practices and identify potential improvements. Evaluation activities have shown that the project has significantly influenced knowledge change and practice adoption in the banana industry. Horticulture Innovation Australia Ltd 3 Keywords Fusarium wilt; Banana; Biosecurity; Disinfectants; Varieties; Plant stress; Soil micro‐organisms Introduction An incursion of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (Foc TR4) was identified on a farm in the Tully region in March 2015. The wet tropical coast region, including Tully, produces 96% of Australia’s banana crop worth approximately $600 million annually and sustains regional communities in coastal north Queensland. There are few alternative cropping options and those available, such as sugar cane, provide significantly smaller economic returns and employment opportunities. Fusarium wilt of banana – also known as Panama disease – is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense and is regarded as one of the most destructive diseases of banana and has devastated banana production in many countries around the world. Very few varieties are resistant to the Foc TR4 strain of the pathogen and despite years of breeding no commercially acceptable varieties has proven to be resistant. This project has aimed to deliver new science, information and practices to address key areas of need for the banana industry to: Successfully contain the disease and prevent further spread of the pathogen through the adoption of robust, science‐based biosecurity practices and Identify and investigate options to facilitate the development of economically viable production systems, capable of minimising inoculum build up, that are suitable for use on infected or at risk farms. This project focused on achieving objectives 1 and 2 in the Australian Banana Strategic Investment Plan 2017‐21: New varieties introduced and improved pest and disease management that improve varietal diversity and biosecurity – Continue research to improve pest and disease management and biosecurity Increased adoption of the industry’s BMP plan that improves industry sustainability, biosecurity and environmental stewardship – Continue to drive adoption of BMP for on‐farm biosecurity to ensure biosecurity risks are minimised; Strategically communicate the industry’s biosecurity and environmental BMP’s to the community Horticulture Innovation Australia Ltd 4 Methodology The project aimed to deliver new science, information and practices to address key areas of need in the banana industry. The identified priority areas were distilled from a Fusarium wilt R&D gap analysis workshop held in 2009 and from questions recorded at industry meetings held in north Queensland at the beginning of the incursion. These identified knowledge gaps were then allocated into 3 different scenarios: • I don’t have the disease, what do I need to do to avoid getting it? • I have the disease on one part of the farm, how do I contain it and limit its spread? • I have the disease across the farm, how can I continue to farm safely and economically? These scenarios, which can also be perceived as a timeline progression, served to provide a structure with which to frame the RD&E response. In addressing the RD&E needs existing information and research work from Australia and overseas was accessed, particularly on disease epidemiology, but significant knowledge gaps were revealed that required research effort. This resulted in five activity areas for the project: 1. Conduct research to underpin improved biosecurity