Plant Biosecurity CRC

From the 2016 Plant Biosecurity CRC Science Exchange: New controls are urgently needed to manage Queensland fruit fly (Q-fly) as the long-used cover-sprays for fruit fly control are being withdrawn for regulatory reasons. Q-fly is the most serious insect pest of summer fruits, crops which have a combined value of approximately $260 million per annum. Effective lures/ traps for mature, egg-laying female flies are especially needed as currently available controls which target the egg-laying females are weak. This research will assist in the development of synthetic fruit fly attractant odours and a commercially viable device that traps female Q-fly in the field. Commercialisation of an effective Q-fly lure will deliver significant benefit for Australian growers through improving crop productivity, reducing barriers to export, and assisting in lowering within and between-season fruit fly populations.

Speakers: Andrew Finlay; Paul Cunningham

From the 2016 Plant Biosecurity CRC Science Exchange: Invasive pests and pathogens can have devastating and unpredicted impacts on native ecosystems. The threat that Puccinia psidii (myrtle/eucalyptus/guava rust) posed to Australian industries was well recognised, but until its introduction in 2010, there was scant consideration of the impacts this disease may have on endemic Myrtaceous plant species and associated communities in native environments. Since its detection in Australia, the distribution and host range of P. psidii has rapidly expanded and entire species and plant communities are now under threat. The risk myrtle rust poses to threatened Myrtaceae species is becoming more apparent with significant dieback and tree death recorded as a result of repeated infection. The impact of myrtle rust has also significantly affected industries reliant on Myrtaceae including nursery and garden and the developing lemon myrtle industry. The research being undertaken into myrtle rust has enabled improved species selection for production and retail nurseries, and for urban tree planting. It has provided disease screening and assessment methodologies for determining species and plant community impacts and selection of resistant material for industry and environmental benefit. Data collected has identified species at risk of extinction and plant communities in decline as well as identified individuals or populations showing levels of resistance that could be used for future conservation or regeneration programs. The data are also being used for legislative listing of species and as support evidence for declaring myrtle rust a Threatening Process. More broadly it has highlighted the vulnerability of Australian native ecosystems to the threat of invasive pests and pathogens.

Speakers: Geoff Pegg and Bob Makinson

From the 2016 Plant Biosecurity CRC Science Exchange: This talk explores the importance of incursion response tools from an end-user perspective, highlighted through a tomato potato psyllid and Candidatus Liberibacter case study. The tomato potato psyllid (TPP) is a tiny sap-sucking insect that feeds on tomato, potato, capsicum, chilli and nightshade plants and can transmit the devastating bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso). CLso wreaks havoc on crops causing stunting, distorted and discoloured leaves and stem death. In 2010, TPP/CLso cost New Zealand NZ$50 M per annum in crop losses and NZ$12 M in agrichemicals. TPP has recently been found in Australia.

Authors: Jessica Lye; Gabrielle Vivian-Smith; Jessica Dohmen-Vereijssen

From the 2016 Plant Biosecurity CRC Science Exchange: Around the world, grain industries are looking for solutions to the increasing problem of insect resistance to the key fumigant phosphine, a fumigant that underpins the Australian exports of grains. PBCRC has developed and implemented a national phosphine resistance management program that involves: implementation of new and effective national treatment protocols; communication of resistance trends to industry based on substantial sampling across grain production regions; rapid diagnostic results that inform timely management decisions; the development and implementation of phosphine resistance management tactics such as site hygiene practices and ‘break fumigants’ such as sulfuryl fluoride. The PBCRC team is a global leader in the monitoring and management of phosphine resistance in stored grain pests and the national monitoring program has played a key role in assisting the grains industries maintain market access.

Speakers: Phil Clamp; Manoj Nayak

Mark Schutze discusses how fruit fly threatens global agriculture and why being able to identify different species is so important. Mark leads a Plant Biosecurity CRC project developing a suite of tailor-made molecular diagnostic tools and a major revision of the Australian Handbook for the Identification of Fruit Flies (3:33).

Mark is a Postdoctoral Fellow from the Queensland University of Technology; partners on his project are QUT, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Plant Health Australia and the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia.

Read more about Mark's work at www.pbcrc.com.au/research/project/2147

Jacqui Morris discusses how her research into tiny insects called psyllids will help keep Australia's potato industry safe from Zebra Chip disease. Jacqui is a PBCRC PhD student studying at AgriBio - Centre for AgriBioscience, a partnership between the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport & Resources and La Trobe University (3:57).

Read more on Jacqui's work at http://www.pbcrc.com.au/research/project/62116

Dr Linda Semeraro discusses studying for her PhD with PBCRC and how she identifies insects for biosecurity purposes at AgriBio, Centre for AgriBioscience, a La Trobe University/Victorian Government partnership. 4:39