Biosecurity research protecting our future
Transcript of Biosecurity research protecting our future
Strategy
Endemic pests and diseases
– Long history of BSES / SRA research
• Identifying threats and developing management options
Ongoing and largely successful
Exotic threats
– Constant presence
• Whenever a mill area grows 60% + area to one variety
– An epidemic usually occurs
– Some of these are exotics
Strategy
SRA has taken a proactive stance
• Don’t wait for the ‘horse to boltbefore shutting the gate’
• Do the research off-shore
– Collaborate with overseas scientists
» Draw on their expertise
» Work together to undertake needed research
Strategy
Since the 1980s
• BSES (SRA) worked with the PNG sugarcane industry / other countries
• Major consultancy agreements with PNG from the early 1980s
• More recent times, collaborated with Indonesia
– ACIAR-funded projects
Strategy
Aims
• Detection / identification
• Management strategies
• Resistance of our varieties
• Experience in working with threats
Recent Indonesian research
– ACIAR-funded
Focus
• Stem-borers
– IPM strategies (parasitoids)
• Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV)
– Epidemiology (transmission / spread)
– Identification
ACIAR project - Indonesia
– 5 year project: 2008-2012
Staff
• 4 ‘Australian’ entomologists
• 1 extension / business officer
• 1 publications person
• 2 pathologists
Indonesian scientists
• Pathologists / entomologists / extension
– Total budget: $530,200 – Federal Government funding
Trichogramma – egg
parasitoid
ACIAR project - Indonesia
Main targets
Moth borers:
» Chilo sacchariphagus
» Chilo auricilius
» Scirpophaga excerptalis
Sugarcane streak mosaic virus
Indonesia research
Main outcomes
Moth borers:
– Defined their distribution across Java • (931 crops surveyed)
– Showed that the current IPM strategy
is ineffective• But would be effective if Increased the dose of
Trichogramma
– Learnt more about life cycle / yield
loss
– Developed extension materials
Trichogramma on borer egg mass
1.5 cm
Indonesia research
Main outcomes
SCSMV:
– Important in Indonesia• perhaps our greatest threat
– Possibly spread by cane knives
– Rapid spread
– Not eliminated by HWT
Conclusions
Main outputs
• SRA staff gained experience with exotic pests and diseases
• Most important exotic threats identified
• Control measures researched / refined
• Extension materials produced
New Indonesian ACIAR project
• Sugarcane streak mosaic virus
– project 2
– Worth close to $1 m
– 2015-2019
Sugarcane streak mosaic virus
In SE Asia
• Different strains and viruses
cause mosaic
– Some have greater yield
effects
• and have different transmission
properties
• Emerging disease: sugarcane
streak mosaic virus
• Distribution of SCSMV around Indonesia
• SCSMV epidemiology – speed of spread /
build up
• Resistance testing
• Methods
• Australian variety ratings
• Define yield losses
• Rapid cheap detection method
• Effective IDM strategy
Main aims
Sugarcane streak mosaic virus
• Institutions involved
– Indonesian Sugar Research Institute
– Bogor Agricultural University
– Indonesian Sweetener and Fibre Crop Research Institute
– Sugar Research Australia
• First project meeting in April
Project 3: PNG research
• Long history under BSES / Ramu consultancy
– 1982 to now
• In 2009, collaborative research
– funded by SRDC / SRA
• Institutions
– Sugar Research Australia
– Ramu Agri-Industries
• Important threats in PNG
– Stem borers
– Downy mildew (DM)
– Ramu stunt
• Resistance tests
• Sesamia grisescens,
• downy mildew, and
• Ramu stunt
• particularly rapid testing
• Diagnostic tests
• downy mildew and Ramu stunt
• Pathogen variation with the diseases
• Update incursion management plans
Project objectives (2009-2015)
Sesamia grisescens (Nader Sallam)
• Indication of the ‘resistance’ of Australian
commercial varieties gathered
• ‘Resistance’ to Chilo terrenellus
• Rapid shade-house testingc
DM (Rob Magarey)
• Focus is rapid resistance screening
• Field trials with the latest Australian
commercial varieties
Ramu stunt (Rob Magarey
• Field trial planted in 2014 with latest
varieties
Field trial resistance research
DM pathogen variation (Nicole Thompson)
• Surveys suggest 3 taxa of Peronosclerospora are
causing DM
• taxa more closely aligned with P. sacchari and P.
miscanthi rather than P. philippinensis
• Further work to confirm these variants
• Pathogen variation vs resistance?
Downy mildew pathogen research
• Pathogen is a Tenuivirus
•
• Pathogen variation seen around PNG in
survey samples
• Researched where to sample plants
Ramu stunt research (Kathy Braithwaite)
• Current project finishes 1 May 2015
• New project submitted to SRA
• Complete rapid DM test development
• Sequence Tenuivirus
• Completion of DM pathogen variation / assay
work
• Resistance screen 2 other borers
• Scirpophaga excerptalis / Chilo terrenellus
• 2-year project finishing 30 June 2017
Future