[1]The second Asia Pacific Network (APN) Workshop on The effects of climate change on pests and diseases in the Asia Pacific was held at the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Victoria, Knoxfield and the University of Western Sydney (UWA), Hawkesbury campus last week. The workshop focussed on Potato Late Blight in India and Bangladesh, which is emerging as a major issue for growers in these countries potentially due to increased drought and flooding cycles. Chilling stories were told of Indian farmers recently suiciding as a result of total crop loss due to this disease. India and Bangladesh have the aggressive mating type of Phytophthora infestans, whereas Australia is one of the few countries that do not have the aggressive strain of the pathogen.

Indian and Bangladesh scientists from BCKV University in Kalyani, Kolkata and Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) presented the Late Blight problem as a race against a rapidly evolving pathogen and the apparent futility associated with the multiple fungicide application was highlighted.

Potato is the world’s third most important staple food crop and its production is increasing at 4.5% per annum. In 2005, for the first time developing countries were growing more potatoes than developed nations, with China contributing 20% of the world’s production

The historical datasets (1972-2010) for planting times, late blight initiation and severity were presented for both countries with climatic data sets associated with late blight establishment presented by project agrometeorologists, for the same period. In addition, downscaled climate projections to 2100 will be used in conjunction with published Late Blight models to determine if there will be increased risk in Late Blight incidence under future climates for India, Bangladesh and Australia.

Project Leader Dr Jo Luck (DPI) and project members Dr Dolf DeBoer (DPI) and Dr Robert Spooner-Hart (UWS) arranged for the group to visit Thorpdale and the Hawkesbury potato growing regions in Victoria and NSW to meet Australian growers to learn how late blight is managed here. A spiritual highlight was a side trip to the MCG with a trip on the Manly Ferry completing the cultural program of a highly productive week.

Image Caption: Dr Delowar Hossain (BARI) Professor Giashuddin Miah (BSMR) and Dr M Asaduzzaman (Bangladesh Science Foundation) in Thorpdale potato field
 

Article written by: Dr Jo Luck