Russian Wheat Aphid Australia June 2016

 There has been detection of Russian Wheat Aphid (RWA) in South Australia and Victoria. The incursion was initially managed by PIRSA Biosecurity South Australia under the Exotic Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD). The EPPRD is administered by Plant Health Australia (PHA) on behalf of government and industry. It was determined that it was not feasible to eradicate RWA, which has now been declared endemic and therefore industry must manage the pest. GRDC, the state governments and PHA are all working together to disseminate information about the incursion.

Due to the previous investment made by GRDC in this area, it makes sense for GRDC to coordinate access to material in Australia, make arrangements to access further international germplasm where required and coordinate seed increase. It is essential that we take a coordinated approach to minimise duplicated efforts, ensure that we produce meaningful data and have a path mapped out for utilisation of any material/outputs so that the benefits can be made available to industry and growers.GRDC has made significant investment over the last 10 years into emergency response plans; emergency permits; the development of semi-automated detection sampling and in pre-emptive pre-breeding activities. A significant amount of the material for Russian Wheat Aphid resistance in both Wheat and Barley that is available in Australia is a direct result of GRDC investment in pre-emptive breeding with various research partners, the CIMMYT and ICARDA Germplasm Evaluation (CAIGE) Program and through successful collaborations with international experts within this field.

There is already a significant amount of germplasm in Australia with potential and confirmed resistance to Russian Wheat Aphid and we also have resistances that have been introgressed into Australian backgrounds. If there is additional germplasm that researchers/breeders wish to bring in to Australia through the CAIGE program that is not in Australia and that has novel resistance to any material we have in Australia then please contact richard.trethowan@sydney.edu.au and copy lauren.dufall@grdc.com.au and marine.guerret@sydney.edu.au.

For more INFORMATION click here

-Pre-emptive breeding for Russian wheat aphid in wheat and barley (UMU00029)