Felice Driver (00:00): And good afternoon, everyone. My job this
afternoon is to give you a brief overview of MLAs investment in pasture dieback research.
So this includes some limited insights that came from MLAs investment in the emergency
response and research that started in 2018, and where we are going to head with the use
of short term funding from the Commonwealth government, which was granted during that
emergency response period. So MLA successfully put in an application with the Department
of Agriculture and Environment, and we've received $2.7 million of funding. Some of
that has been already invested in new research and MLA will be matching that funding. So
on a dollar for dollar basis, we will invest a further 2.7 million over the next two to
three years. So that creates a funding pool in excess of $5 million that will be applied
to the problem.
Felice Driver (01:20): As has already been mentioned by others today,
and I won't labour the point, our understanding is that pasture dieback is probably a disease
complex and there has not been a definitive identification of a single course or agent,
but our understanding is that there are a number of co factors, or other causal agents
that are probably involved in the expression of dieback and that complex is yet to really
be unravelled. There has been some research, certainly focusing on the pasture mealybug,
and that is continuing with Queensland University of Technology and that research is being led
by professor Kerry Hawksville.
Felice Driver (02:13): There has been definitive identification of
heliococcus summervillei, the pasture mealybug, as the same species that has been involved
in historical or associated with historical outbreaks of pasture dieback, going back as
far as to the 1920s. There's probably sufficient evidence, I think, really to conclude that
that combination of soil conditions, so the soil health status, and probably links with
things like insects, such as mealybugs or ground pearls, climatic factors, all probably
converge to affect pasture dieback expression, and probably may be associated with a risk
of pasture dieback.
Felice Driver (03:21): So in work under the emergency response, it
was on a fairly broad front of activity involving, certainly trying to understand causal agents
looking at pasture agronomy and pasture composition management strategies. There was work also
around detection, which involved remote satellite imagery and trying to develop identification
technology to map and monitor the spread of pasture dieback. And there has been pasture
trial work looking at resistant species and the roles of things like legumes, forage,
crops, and various cultivation strategies that might limit the impact of pasture dieback
and help with resurgence of pastures. So some of the work looking at soil health, there
were about 50 properties which were sampled for soil and grass tissues and a variety of
tests applied to those samples, and they were assess primarily for their physical soil attributes.
Felice Driver (04:41): So looking at things like soil structure,
compaction. Also looking at soil chemistry, particularly looking at soil fertility, pH,
cation exchange capacity, soil carbon status, and so forth. And also looking at the soil
microbiology, looking at a [inaudible 00:05:09] pathogens, those saw microbes involved in
nutrient cycling and also beneficial micro organisms. Things like microrisal fungi and
endophyte that may exist in plants and on root structures that would provide protection.
So across all those sites and looking at the analysis of the data, there was no single
cause or agent identified, or disease pathology across all of those sites. Probably what is
clear is that the general soil condition, or the condition of the soil, soil health
was often poor. There could be generally a lack, particularly of beneficial microorganisms,
that might keep pathogens and soil pathogens under control. So that balance between fungi
and bacteria was probably out of whack. Soil fertility was also often low, but generally
never critically low and there are often no sort of common threads running across those
sites, despite different soil type.
Felice Driver (06:37): We also looked at some experiments looking
at agronomic trials, which were conducted in four regions and these explored a number
of different treatment options to see if there were options that could control pasture dieback
and prevent its resurgence. There was a focus on cultural practises, things like slashing
and burning, ploughing, re-seeding, and re-sowing pastures, the use of legumes, spraying, fungicides,
insecticides, application of different fertilisers and soil conditioners or soil improvers including
looking at biologicals. And the results of those trials, again, are somewhat inconclusive.
When we look at pasture biomass and the impact of pasture composition and control strategies
and use of fertiliser technologies, I guess the best responses to pasture recovery were
around re-sewing with a combination of grass and legume mix, and some level of fertiliser
to ensure that there isn't a nutritional or fertility gap. So that gave really the best
outcome and a lot of the practises like burning and cultivation only really provided short
term relief. At this stage, there is really limited advice on management practises that
might be available to producers.
Felice Driver (08:48): So where are we going from here? MLA has been
having close discussions with New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, as well
as a Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and we've heard from both of
these agencies this afternoon, and also we are working closely with a number of universities
and other research providers to build on the research that has been started. Our investment
plan, which is this plan on the page, looks very similar to the work that's been mapped
out and supported by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, but our intention
is to work as collaboratively and as closely together that we can with these agencies and
organisations for the use of the remaining Commonwealth grant funds that we have, and
for the available MLA levy funding over the next two to three years.
Felice Driver (10:00): So the research programme will be structured
along three lines. The first area where there has been a little bit of new investment going
on, as I mentioned with Queensland University of Technologies, is looking at possible causal
agents. So we will be furthering the research into mealybugs understanding its life cycle
and testing it out on a range of grasses, also looking at natural enemies of mealybugs.
There will be work supported around ground pearls and looking at a whole range of diagnostic
tools to investigate soil condition and soil health. We will be looking at detection technologies.
So this will include further work around using a UAV technology and looking at, probably,
multi spectral and hyper spectral imaging and using that for mapping and prediction,
if possible, of areas at risk to pasture dieback. We will be investing also in managed interventions.
So further trial work, looking at what short term solutions there may be to provide feed
for livestock as a result of pasture dieback, so possibly the role of things like forage
crops.
Felice Driver (11:38): But further working to resistant grasses species,
if they can be found and combinations of pasture and legume species, if they turn out to be
one of the more effective strategies. So some of the thinking here is by introducing complexity
in pasture composition and moving away from monocultures, that we may actually be able
to enhance the role of things like natural predators as part of an integrated pest management
strategy. So this might compliment other technologies, such as the use of chemicals. So there has
been an emergency permit that has been granted from avento, which is produced by Bayer. So
this active ingredient is spirotetramat. So that may have a role, if used at the right
time and the right circumstances, in control of pasture dieback. But there may also be
other biologicals that we can investigate that would introduce things like entomopathogenic
nematodes, or fungi for example.
Felice Driver (12:52): So these are naturally occurring fungi and
nematodes that occur in the soil that might have an important role in controlling pests
and pathogens. So that's a potential area for future research as well. And we'll be
working very closely with, as I said, New South Wales DPI and QDAF around industry engagement.
We have an industry advisory group that is helping us to formulate the messages and the
tools that we want to develop for industry, so that will be in collaboration with others.
So I guess in short, what I wanted to say is it's unlikely there will be a simple solution
or a silver bullet for industry, but we are working as quickly as we can to try and deliver
solutions for industry. Thank you. That's all from me.