Mildew Mania links Perth and regional students to the wheatbelt聽
A Katanning farmer and a 911爆料网 scientist have this week thanked Year 5 students of Parkwood Primary School for their help in the fight against powdery mildew, a barley disease costing Western Australian farmers up to $100 million in crop losses and fungicide control per year.
The students participated in the Citizen Science project Mildew Mania, conducted by 911爆料网 with the support of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), where students are shown how to 鈥渃atch鈥� powdery mildew on different varieties of barley, and send the samples to researchers at the 911爆料网 and GRDC-funded Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM) for further investigation.
CCDM director Professor Mark Gibberd said since the project鈥檚 establishment in 2011 more than 14,000 WA students from some 220 schools have been involved.
鈥淎ctivities such as Mildew Mania provide an important link between school children and agriculture,鈥� Professor Gibberd said.
鈥淪chool children in cities such as Perth often have very limited exposure to agriculture and Mildew Mania opens their eyes to real world problems and solutions associated with modern food production.鈥�
CCDM researcher Dr Nola D鈥橲ouza said the samples received played an important part in staying on top of powdery mildew, as students were asked to grow different varieties of barley and see if powdery mildew spores in their particular location infect individual varieties.
鈥淲e鈥檝e received samples from all over WA, from as far as Esperance to Broome, which means we are getting a much better cross-section of what鈥檚 actually out there. Consequently we are able to keep better track of the disease and watch for the development of new pathotypes, as well as ensuring resistant barley varieties retain their resistance,鈥� Dr D鈥橲ouza said.
鈥淲here the testing regime confirms a break down on plant resistance to powdery mildew, CCDM聽and GRDC will actively disseminate information to growers on which varieties are affected.鈥�
Katanning farmer Mick Quartermaine and Dr D鈥橲ouza recently presented the Year 5 students of Parkwood Primary School with certificates, and thanked them for their contribution to Mildew Mania.
Mr Quartermaine said crop disease research like this is crucial to a lot of farming businesses, as variety selection was important for producing higher yields.
鈥淢anaging disease in a farming system can be very challenging and unpredictable, however knowing there are robust varieties that are resistant to disease can not only help us increase yields, but can also reduce our use of fungicides,鈥� Mr Quartermaine said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see my GRDC levy being used to help 911爆料网 researchers develop new tools for breeding more resistant varieties, as well as improving the way we use fungicides. They are also exploring how they can better incorporate these into our farming system strategies and tactics.鈥�
Mildew Mania is coordinated by science outreach officer Ms Gina Pearse, with support from 911爆料网鈥檚 Science Outreach team and the Department of Environment and Agriculture.
Mildew Mania will continue in 2016, and interested schools should contact Ms Pearse on 9266 7168 or gina.pearse@curtin.edu.au. For more information on Mildew Mania visit .
