Development of environmentally-friendly bioinsecticides for control of Australian crop pests. Insect pests cause over $3 billion of damage each year to Australian crops. Current insecticides are becoming less effective, and they often have adverse environmental impacts. This project aims to develop a new generation of environmentally-friendly insecticides that can be used to control insect pests on farms and around the home and garden.
Identifying the biochemical and molecular bases of 2,4-D herbicide resistance in the economically important weed Raphanus raphanistrum (wild radish). An alarming increase in the incidence of field-evolved resistance to 2,4-D in Australian wild radish has recently been observed. The project aims to characterise the molecular and biochemical mechanism(s) of resistance to help minimise its impact on Australian cropping.
Determination of factors responsible for aphid-borne pea seed-borne mosaic virus epidemics in peas and development of effective virus management tools. Aphid-borne virus epidemics threaten Australia’s $64 million per annum field pea industry. Factors affecting aphid survival within and outside growing seasons, time of first arrival in crops, and virus epidemic development will be identified. A forecasting model and Decision Support System will minimise the losses and permit industry expansion to ....Determination of factors responsible for aphid-borne pea seed-borne mosaic virus epidemics in peas and development of effective virus management tools. Aphid-borne virus epidemics threaten Australia’s $64 million per annum field pea industry. Factors affecting aphid survival within and outside growing seasons, time of first arrival in crops, and virus epidemic development will be identified. A forecasting model and Decision Support System will minimise the losses and permit industry expansion to new areas.Read moreRead less
Benign strategies to engineer nematode resistance in plant crops. Applications to other plant pests. Control of plant pests relies on the heavy use of chemical insecticides that cause an extraordinary impact on the environment. Some insect pests have been controlled by the production of toxins (like BT) by the plant. We will combine newly discovered RNA interference and genomics methods to develop innovative solutions to nematode resistance and insect control. Our methods can be tailored to any ....Benign strategies to engineer nematode resistance in plant crops. Applications to other plant pests. Control of plant pests relies on the heavy use of chemical insecticides that cause an extraordinary impact on the environment. Some insect pests have been controlled by the production of toxins (like BT) by the plant. We will combine newly discovered RNA interference and genomics methods to develop innovative solutions to nematode resistance and insect control. Our methods can be tailored to any pest with wide or narrow spectrum of action and does not require the production of toxins by the plant. The novelty of our approach will generate a large amount of intellectual property.Read moreRead less
Understanding trifluralin resistance in annual ryegrass, a major Australian agricultural weed. This project aims to better understand the biochemical and molecular basis of trifluralin resistance in annual ryegrass. The herbicide trifluralin is an alternative to soil cultivation in controlling crop-infesting weeds such as annual ryegrass. However, resistance to trifluralin in annual ryegrass now looms. A fundamental understanding and insight into trifluralin resistance will assist resistance man ....Understanding trifluralin resistance in annual ryegrass, a major Australian agricultural weed. This project aims to better understand the biochemical and molecular basis of trifluralin resistance in annual ryegrass. The herbicide trifluralin is an alternative to soil cultivation in controlling crop-infesting weeds such as annual ryegrass. However, resistance to trifluralin in annual ryegrass now looms. A fundamental understanding and insight into trifluralin resistance will assist resistance management, trifluralin sustainability and soil conservation. This will provide significant benefits for Australian grain production and soil conservation.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms of antifungal resistance in blackleg disease of canola. This project aims to determine how fungicide resistance evolves in the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans, the major pathogen of the oilseed crop canola. Global food production has become more reliant on the use of antifungal agents to protect crops, however these advances are now threatened by the emergence of drug-resistant microbes. The knowledge generated by this project will be used to reduce the risk of resistance evolving in po ....Mechanisms of antifungal resistance in blackleg disease of canola. This project aims to determine how fungicide resistance evolves in the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans, the major pathogen of the oilseed crop canola. Global food production has become more reliant on the use of antifungal agents to protect crops, however these advances are now threatened by the emergence of drug-resistant microbes. The knowledge generated by this project will be used to reduce the risk of resistance evolving in populations of the blackleg fungus. This will have economic benefits through ensuring increased canola yields, while providing health and environmental benefits through minimisation of use of fungicides.Read moreRead less
Defining the evolutionary processes of resistance to the new mode of action herbicide, pyroxasulfone. The sustainability of the Australin grains industry is threatened by the continuing evolution and widespread expansion of herbicide resistant weed populations across the crop production regions. The resulting loss in herbicide efficacy is forcing producers away from the environmentally friendly practices of stubble retention and reduced tillage in an effort to control herbicide resistant weed po ....Defining the evolutionary processes of resistance to the new mode of action herbicide, pyroxasulfone. The sustainability of the Australin grains industry is threatened by the continuing evolution and widespread expansion of herbicide resistant weed populations across the crop production regions. The resulting loss in herbicide efficacy is forcing producers away from the environmentally friendly practices of stubble retention and reduced tillage in an effort to control herbicide resistant weed populations. This research is aimed at conserving a novel mode of action herbicide with efficacy on resistant Lolium rigidum populations. The success of this project will inevitably lead the pesticide industry to adopt this approach for future product development. Read moreRead less
Development of novel pest management tools for major insect pests. The project will provide new options for environmentally sustainable control of some of the world's worst pests. Cost effective systems will be developed that prevent crop damage, using chemicals identical to naturally occurring plant compounds, combined with tiny quantities of insecticides, to lure and kill adult moths before they lay eggs.
Development of a novel, non-chemical technique based on the EppoMNPV baculovirus for the control of the lightbrown apple moth. Lightbrown apple moth (LBAM) is a serious pest of many horticultural crops in Australia, costing the economy about $21 M pa. Methods for controlling LBAM have relied on the use of insecticides. However, the pest has developed resistance to a wide range of chemicals used against it. This proposal aims to assess the potential of the EppoMNPV polyhedrosis virus as an alt ....Development of a novel, non-chemical technique based on the EppoMNPV baculovirus for the control of the lightbrown apple moth. Lightbrown apple moth (LBAM) is a serious pest of many horticultural crops in Australia, costing the economy about $21 M pa. Methods for controlling LBAM have relied on the use of insecticides. However, the pest has developed resistance to a wide range of chemicals used against it. This proposal aims to assess the potential of the EppoMNPV polyhedrosis virus as an alternative to insecticides for its control. Successful development of the virus will provide an environmentally benign alternative to insecticides that can be used to control LBAM in a range of different circumstances including broadacre and organic production.Read moreRead less
Gene identification and functional characterization for metabolism-based herbicide resistance in Lolium rigidum. Evolution of multiple herbicide resistance is widespread in Lolium rigidum in Australia. This resistance is very often endowed by enhanced rates of herbicide metabolism (metabolic resistance) involving cytochrome P450. This project aims to identify, clone and characterise important herbicide-metabolising P450 and other genes from multiple herbicide-resistant L. rigidum biotypes, and d ....Gene identification and functional characterization for metabolism-based herbicide resistance in Lolium rigidum. Evolution of multiple herbicide resistance is widespread in Lolium rigidum in Australia. This resistance is very often endowed by enhanced rates of herbicide metabolism (metabolic resistance) involving cytochrome P450. This project aims to identify, clone and characterise important herbicide-metabolising P450 and other genes from multiple herbicide-resistant L. rigidum biotypes, and develop transcriptional and biochemical markers for metabolic resistance diagnosis. Herbicide-metabolising gene discovery, characterisation and marker development will greatly extend the currently limited knowledge and understanding of metabolic resistance and help achieve sustainable weed management.Read moreRead less