$4M GRDC research consortium to tackle septoria in oats

A new research consortium has been established to close knowledge gaps around Septoria avenae leaf blotch, a significant disease in Australian oat crops.

The Oat Septoria Research Consortium (OSRC) is the second oat research consortium to be established by GRDC in 2024, following the launch of the Oat Grain Quality Consortium (OGQC) earlier this year.

The $4.18 million OSRC will see three programs established, led by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI – the research division of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions), Murdoch University in conjunction with the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), and Curtin University’s Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM).

Septoria avenae leaf blotch can cause yield losses of up to 15 per cent, or even as high as 50 per cent in susceptible varieties.

The stubble-borne disease is widespread in Western Australia, where it is estimated 90 per cent of oats crops have some level of Septoria infection, particularly in high-rainfall areas where oats are more widely grown.

Australian oat varieties typically have poor genetic resistance to Septoria, with growers relying on cultural practices and chemical measures to control it.

These come with an economic cost to growers, while chemical use alone is not sustainable because of the risk of fungicide resistance and market pressures to reduce its use.

Septoria avenae leaf blotch is a significant disease of Australian oat crops, often causing yield losses of up to 15 per cent, or even as high as 50 per cent in susceptible varieties    Photo: Georgia Megirian, GRDC

GRDC genetic technologies manager (barley, oats and sorghum) Dr Michael Groszmann says the OSRC is focusing on identifying more resistance sources, scrutinising the value of these sources across environments and seasons, refining in-lab phenotyping of the pathogen and generating molecular tools for plant breeders.

″If we can better understand the pathogen virulence mechanisms at the genomic level, it will enable improved identification of novel resistance mechanisms in the oat plant host,″ he says.

″The three programs are led by Australia’s leading oat Septoria research groups, who will unite in a consolidated effort to enable industry deployment of new high-yielding oat varieties that are highly resistant to oat Septoria.

″In addition to reducing yield losses, new resistant varieties will allow growers to minimise reliance on fungicides to reduce costs, ensure functional chemistry remains in reserve if needed, and safeguard the oat industry against market changes that may limit the use of or access to fungicides.

″Each consortium member has unrivalled expertise, resources, capabilities, and capacity in the oat Septoria research space that will be synergised in a collaborative network, and together represent the best opportunity to accelerate delivery of effective solutions against Septoria avenae leaf blotch for growers and industry.″

The three programs are:

• Program 1 – Accelerating transfer of resistant sources to Australian oat breeders. Led by SARDI under the management of Drs Judith Atieno and Janine Croser.

• Program 2 – Further discovery of improved sources of Septoria resistance. Led by a Murdoch University/DPIRD collaboration under the management of Dr Chengdao Li, Manisha Shankar and Darshan Sharma, with co-investment from the WA State Government Processed Oat Partnership program (giwa.org.au/pop).

• Program 3 – Identification of oat sensitivity loci corresponding to newly discovered fungal effectors. Led by Curtin University’s CCDM under the management of Dr Huyen Phan and Professor Mark Gibberd.

The OSRC follows an $800,000 investment from GRDC between 2020 and 2023, which saw SARDI conduct a discovery program into possible sources of resistance and understand the evolution and virulence of the pathogen population.

The new OSRC investment builds on this foundation investment and represents a wider group of oat investments over recent years by the GRDC totalling $24 million.

″GRDC’s new wave of oat investments has been designed strategically with industry partners using market insights and rides on prior investments, which include the aforementioned OGQRC, the new National Oat Breeding Program under the leadership of InterGrain, the oat pangenome initiative (Murdoch University), research into oat crown rust and oat phenology (CSIRO), and investment with an innovative trait development company, Traitomic, based in Denmark,″ Dr Groszmann says.

″This portfolio of research will benefit the entire Australian oat supply chain by providing breeders with new traits that align with grower and market demands, making Australian oats a more attractive commodity for wider cultivation.″