Nematodes are among the sugar industry’s most damaging hidden pests, reducing Australian sugarcane yields by an estimated 5 to 20 per cent each year and costing more than $80 million in lost production.
Current controls, including crop rotation and nematicides, provide only short-term relief because nematode populations rebound quickly in ratoon crops.
A Department of Primary Industries-funded project, managed by SRA and led by Leader Biotechnology Dr Nathalie Piperidis (above, centre), is applying advanced genetic techniques to the problem, with SRA Research Fellow Katherine Pinto Irish (above, second from right) and SRA nematode expert Dr Pedro Confort (above, left) undertaking the first steps.
SRA researchers:
- Research Fellow in Bioinformatics, Katherine Pinto Irish
- Manager Biosecurity & Disease Screening, Dr Shamsul Bhuiyan
- Senior Pathology Technician, Kylie Sherring
- Lead Field Pathologist, Dr Seona Casonato.
- Research Fellow, Dr Pedro Confort
and at The University of Queensland:
- Senior Principal Research Fellow, Dr Karen Aitken.
(Above): The SRA team working on improved nematode management in sugarcane.
Acknowledgement
This project is fully funded by the Department of Primary Industries and managed by Sugar Research Australia.
