Rhizoctonia root rot on the rise
Australia, one of the world’s most important wheat producing regions, has a problem with rhizoctonia root rot. This fungal soil pathogen attacks and trims a plant’s roots from the start, weakening the plant and causing 5-20 percent yield losses. Sometimes they can be as high as 50 percent in severely infected fields. Rhizoctonia is the most costly root disease in Australia’s large wheat producing regions of Southern and Western Australia, where it is responsible for nearly $77 million in lost wheat and barley yield each year. Experts fear the problem is on the rise, with rhizoctonia becoming more prevalent as farmers cope with long dry spells while embracing reduced tillage systems and tighter cereal crop rotations to maximize productivity. To date, Australian farmers and agronomists have had few tools to suppress this root disease, let alone prevent it. Some products have claimed activity against rhizoctonia, but few have delivered genuine results.