VG16086 ‘Area wide management of vegetable diseases: viruses and bacteria’ delivered its overall outcome for industry in providing updated, contemporary management strategies for important viral and bacterial diseases affecting Australian vegetable growers. These diseases impact producers nationally, collectively costing millions of dollars each year.

Multiple project activities over the four-year period combined to produce the management strategies. This included national annual disease surveys to capture current disease concerns, review of past disease research and new research through multiple management trials and genetic diversity studies of pathogens and vectors.

The trials were conducted in multiple districts for known highly impacting diseases (e.g mosaic of zucchini and viruses of capsicums) and for pectobacterium affecting zucchini which was identified through early surveys as an emerging concern. These activities also generated a priority list of endemic and exotic diseases of concern for the Australian vegetable industry.

Additionally, the project delivered a second important outcome through improved biosecurity preparedness to six key exotic threats for the Australian vegetable industry. Contingency plans and factsheets were prepared for three exotic virus groups and three bacterial diseases.

Specific industry impacts and benefits from this project include:

• Improved resilience to manage viral and bacterial diseases (for both field and protected cropping systems)
• Increased capacity for disease management through a reconnected national network of experts in the fields of virus and bacteria diseases. This also included training four PhD students, two in plant virology and two in plant bacteriology and industry stakeholders through extension activities
• Improved diagnostic capability nationally which provides faster results for producers when seeking confirmation of causal agents for disease outbreaks. Twenty-three assays were circulated and validated through the national diagnostic services, including 16 for viruses and 7 for bacteria. Accurate and fast diagnostics assists with early disease management interventions
• Delivery of four hands-on pest and disease identification training workshops
• Improved understanding of the potential of seed as a pathway for endemic and exotic pathogens to affect Australian production. All stakeholders including growers, seed companies, biosecurity agencies, nurseries, AusVeg and Hort Innovation participated in two workshops focused on this topic
• A disease priority list to inform on future R, D&E investment for crop protection

Future industry and benefits from this project include:

• Future project on seed pathways: AS21007 ‘Streamlining diagnostics for horticultural seeds imported into Australia.’ was tendered by Hort Innovation in June 2022
• Extension of research findings to improve management of viruses affecting lettuce and brassicas: recommendation for proposed project developed
• Extension of research findings on pectobcaterium in zucchini to develop management strategies for this emerging disease: recommendation for proposed project developed
• Conclusions from research highlights a need for new-age bactericides to reduce bacteria within infections and thus decrease disease spread and impact, current products attempt prevention of infection and regularly fail: recommendation for a proposed project developed

Multiple resources were generated for the industry and available through the Hort Innovation website. These include:

• A guide to understanding and managing bacterial diseases affecting Australian vegetable crops
• A guide to understanding and managing virus diseases affecting Australian vegetable crops
• Nine specific factsheets on virus diseases affecting vegetable crops
• Six contingency plans
• Priority list of endemic and exotic pathogens

Read the final reports here:

• Final report – VG16086 (NSW)
• Final report – VG16086 (Qld)