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8 January 2024

Evidence-based education program to support increased vegetable consumption in children (VegInfluencer)

Project overview
Consumer and market research, Health and nutrition and more
26/06/2023 - 01/08/2024
1 January 2024

Potato industry minor use program

Project overview
Chemicals & pesticides
Potatoes
Ongoing - Ongoing
22 December 2023

Vegalogue #5 – The year ahead for hort, SA onion grower lunch, Angela Candeloro

Industry development and communication, Grower profile and more
16 December 2023

PestREADI: Regionally-enabled agroecological decision

Project overview
Technology
15/12/2023 - 08/12/2028
15 December 2023

Generation of data for pesticide applications in horticulture crops 2018

Project overview
Chemicals & pesticides
15/12/2023
6 December 2023

National fall armyworm innovation system for the Australian vegetable industry

Project overview
Pests diseases and biosecurity
06/12/2023 - 05/01/2027
30 November 2023

Management strategy for serpentine leafminer, Liriomyza huidobrensis

Project overview
Pests diseases and biosecurity and Industry development and communication
19/03/2021 - 30/11/2023
30 November 2023

Vegalogue #4 – Export export export; European opportunities, Multi-Industry Export Program, Frank Frappa

Podcast
International trade and markets, Grower profile and more
29 November 2023

Classification of the onion rust complex and development of rapid diagnostic assays

Project report
Pests diseases and biosecurity
Onions and Alliums
29 November 2023

Development of an onion white rot forecast model for Tasmania

Project report
Pests diseases and biosecurity
Onions and Alliums

Onion white rot is a highly destructive fungal disease of commercial onion crops. The disease is widespread across Tasmania’s coastal production areas and is rapidly spreading to less intensively cropped areas.

This project sought to better understand the disease and its control, including the conditions that precede high-risk infection periods and how growers can optimise timings of fungicide applications to control white rot. It ran from 2015 to 2018.  While the researchers initially hoped to develop a forecast model for white rot infection periods in Tasmania, due to variability within disease incidence across seasons a fully operational model was not able to be developed – however the project still identified major risk factors that will be of benefit to Tasmanian onion growers.

The results showed that:

  • Onion white rot incidence was not directly associated with root development, suggesting that factors other than root growth influence disease outbreaks
  • Disease risk is primarily determined by the prevalence of inoculum in the top 100mm of soil, where onion root biomass is the highest
  • Disease risk is related to temperature, with incidence decreasing at temperatures above 20°C
  • Higher soil surface temperatures may kill pathogens in the critical top 50mm of soil
  • Disease risk in Tasmania is lowest in late plantings
  • Pathogens present at depth may survive higher soil surface temperatures and result in late infections.

The project made the following recommendations for growers:

  • Fungicide applications should generally target the top 100mm of soil – in the project’s studies, this is where more than 80 per cent of onion roots were found and disease risk was the highest.
  • Fields with a moderate to high risk of onion white rot are best planted later in the season, however this does not negate the need for fungicide control.
  • Late fungicide applications are recommended to prevent late infections. The project results indicated that the white rot fungus may be killed in the top 50mm of soil during hot weather conditions but survives at lower, cooler soil depth. This fungus can remain active and progress up towards the bulb if soil temperatures are lower towards the end of the season and before harvest.

Read the fact sheet “Managing onion white rot in Tasmania” produced by the project

Read the article ‘Development of an onion white rot forecast model for Tasmania’, produced during the project’s trial stage, on page 32 of the 2016 Onions Australia magazine

Watch this video to hear researcher Dr Suzie Jones from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture talk about the project and its findings