RESEARCHERS are aiming to reduce the impact of damaging crown rust, a fungal pathogen affecting Australian oat production.
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The research team is being led by world-renowned crop disease expert Professor Robert Park from The University of Sydney, which is working with Australian oat-breeding companies Intergrain and S&W Seed Australia.
Intergrain will focus on hay and milling oats, while S&W Seed Australia will focus on grazing oats for livestock.
Crown rust occurs globally and is considered the most important disease limiting oat production worldwide.
The Australian oat industry has been plagued by recurring epidemics despite the release of many grazing oat varieties with genetic resistance from 1990-2020.
Although resistant when first released, new rust strains emerged soon after rendering all these varieties highly susceptible to the fungal disease.
The team was awarded an $928,845 Australian Research Council Linkage Grant.
"Crown rust causes severe damage to oat crops in Australia and, due to ongoing losses of important resistance genes since the early 1990s, it has become an intractable constraint to oat production," Professor Park said.
Crown rust causes severe damage to oat crops in Australia and, due to ongoing losses of important resistance genes since the early 1990s, it has become an intractable constraint to oat production.
- Professor Robert Park, The University of Sydney
"Loss in grain yield can be as high as 50 percent in susceptible varieties."
Australia produces oats for grazing, hay, and milling for human or animal consumption.
"Our project aims to reduce the impact of crown rust in Australian oat production," Professor Park said.
"It will deliver robust genetic resistance to crown rust to all Australian oat growers."
The University of Sydney team will work with researchers at Murdoch University and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Germany, who will provide genetic expertise.
