Work from the plant pathology research group, the Australian Research Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens (ACNFP), funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has made some big finds into the control of powdery mildew.

The fungal disease is a big cost to the Australian industry, with an official report estimating damage at $39 million annually.

It is of most concern to Western Australian growers, where it costs $33 million annually.

ACNFP director and deputy chairman of the GRDC western panel, Richard Oliver, at the Murdoch University, said it was primarily due to varietal choice.

“It’s true that WA growers probably don’t use seed treatments as comprehensively as on the east coast, but I would say the prevalence of powdery mildew is more due to the genetic susceptibility of the popular varieties in the west.”

He said that Baudin, one of the major malt varieties in Western Australia, was particularly susceptible to powdery mildew.

However, Prof Oliver said that the primary focus of barley producers in Western Australia was making malt specifications, with disease resistance a lower priority.

“The cultivars over here are focused more on malting quality, there is more of a struggle to get malting quality and that is the focus, rather than a suite of disease resistance.”

In spite of it being a lesser issue on the east coast, growers are being urged to remain vigilant against the threat of the disease, especially in light of the wet summer, which provides a ‘green bridge’ for volunteer plants to allow the disease to build up.

Prof Oliver said he thought given the main varieties grown had some form of resistance, it was less likely to be a big issue on the east coast, but qualified that by saying that it was important to monitor paddocks should the right conditions for powdery mildew emerge.