New and experienced agronomists across Australia’s grain-growing regions are being invited to participate in the 2018 PREDICTA® B Root Disease Risk Management Courses to build or refresh their skills and knowledge of soilborne diseases.
Each one-day course provides accreditation for delivering PREDICTA® B – the DNA-based soil testing service which enables identification of the pathogens posing the greatest risk to cereal crops.
A Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) investment, PREDICTA® B is a service provided by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), a division of Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA).
The PREDICTA® B service is delivered through SARDI’s Molecular Diagnostic Centre, a state-of-the art facility capable of delivering high throughput diagnostic testing to industry. Investment in the Molecular Diagnostic Centre and the continued development of PREDICTA® B are components of the GRDC-SARDI strategic research partnership.
Alan McKay, the leader of SARDI’s Soil Biology and Molecular Diagnostics group, says Australian grain growers incur, on average, more than $200 million each year in lost production due to cereal root diseases.
"By using PREDICTA® B, combined with advice from an accredited agronomist, disease pathogens can be detected and managed before losses occur," says Dr McKay, who will be among the national and regional research leaders presenting at the courses.
Dr McKay says the courses will cover the main soilborne diseases for each region, including rhizoctonia, crown rot and root lesion nematodes.
Other course topics include interpreting and understanding PREDICTA® B results; using PREDICTA® B to make better informed variety, rotation and paddock management decisions; yield loss risk categories for established tests and population density categories for new tests; disease management options; soilborne diseases in dry times; and soil sampling strategies.
Courses will be held in:
- Adelaide (SARDI Plant Research Centre, Waite campus) on November 15
- Ballarat (Sovereign Park Motor Inn) on November 19
- Echuca (Mercure Port of Echuca) on November 20
- Parkes (Quality Inn Parkes International) on November 22
- Perth (Technology Park, Bentley) on December 10.
