“Diseases of Cotton X” aimed to increase sustainability of the Australian cotton

industry through comprehensive disease surveillance. Continued collaborative

research, communication and education will enable better understanding of pathogen

biology and ultimately improve integrated disease management strategies. The three

year project resulted in several outcomes with direct consequences for the cotton

industry.

Important outcomes for the Diseases of Cotton X project include: incorporating

surveillance for exotic diseases into the biannual disease surveys has increased the

industries preparedness to deal with biosecurity threats of exotic diseases through

early detection. Evaluating existing and novel fungicide treatments each season

ensures growers have access to the latest information on seed treatments available.

This information helps the industry to make decisions on seed treatments in order to

decrease seedling mortality.

National diagnostic protocols have been developed for Texas root rot and

Hypervirulent bacterial blight and are currently being reviewed by DAFF. These

protocols will aid the industry in rapid diagnosis using standard procedures should

an incursion occur.

Australia capacity to screen for exotic races of bacterial blight has been re-established

through the importation of 10 differential cotton lines in 2012. The lines included:

Acala 44, Stoneville 20, Mebane B-1, Gregg, Empire B4, Stoneville 2B-S9, 1-10B, 20-3,

101-102B and DPxP4. The importation of these differential cotton lines has increased

Australia’s preparedness to diagnose exotic strains of bacterial blight in cotton.

The “Symptoms of diseases and disorders of cotton in Australia” was updated in 2012,

titled “Cotton Symptoms Guide – the guide to symptoms of diseases and

disorders in Australian cotton”. The pathology unit worked in collaboration with

Steve Allen (CSD) and the extension staff from Cotton Delivery and Development

Team, particularly Susan Maas. Updated images were supplied and many drafts of

the book were reviewed. The industry benefits from having an excellent resource full

of images, a symptoms key, looks like section and information on how to send a

sample for confirmation.

The network known as PathWAY was developed by the principal researcher to enable disease enquiries to industry staff from growers and consultants to be

captured and quantified as they occur. In the twelve months it has been running,

PathWAY has documented over 50 enquiries. This collaborative network links

cotton professionals from across agencies and borders and consists of pathologists,

virologists, researchers, extension, consultants and funding body representatives.

The network has facilitated a co-ordinated approach to enquiries resulting in faster

responses to disease issues.