60 GERMINATION.CA SEPTEMBER 2018 WORLD STATUS Australia tackles herbicide resistance, Europe makes a big decision that some say will strangle innovation, and scientists from 11 countries see hope in new wheat varieties. AUSTRALIA RESEARCHERS FROM THE Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM), working closely with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), have discovered a new case of demethylation inhibitor (DMI) Group 3 fungicide resistance affecting barley crops in Western Australia’s southern grain belt region. The resistance was found in the pathogen responsible for the disease net form of net blotch (NFNB), caused by the fungus Pyrenophora teres f. teres. It was uncovered in samples collected by DPIRD plant pathologists in the Scaddan area, near Esperance, and sent for testing to the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Curtin University-supported CCDM. According to CCDM Fungicide Research Group team leader Fran Lopez-Ruiz, the extent of this new type of fungicide resistance in Western Australia is yet to be established and may not be limited to Scaddan. CCDM researcher Wesley Mair has been lead- ing the disease testing in the laboratory and is currently investigating barley samples from other areas of the grainbelt to determine the distri- bution of this new resistance across Western Australia. “It is early days in our attempts to quantify the spread of this form of resistance, but the sam- pling process is well underway and, as analysis progresses, we will be able to report any further findings of resistance,” Mair said. “Ongoing sampling and testing is crucial to helping the CCDM team identify not only new cases of fungicide resistance, but also which fun- gicides are effective in managing this problem.” CCDM co-director Professor Mark Gibberd said this latest resistance discovery highlighted the importance of maintaining a high level of moni- toring of disease pathogens in the landscape. “The Australian agricultural production system is becoming increasing dependent on both fun- gicides and improved crop varieties for pathogen control,” Professor Gibberd said. EUROPE MANY MEMBERS OF the plant breeding sector in Europe are voicing their opposition against the July 25 ruling stating that crops obtained by mutagenesis are GMOs and are, in princi- ple, subject to the obligations laid down by the EU’s GMO Directive. The European Seed Association (ESA) sees the Court of Justice ruling in Case C-528/16 as a missed opportu- nity for agricultural innovation in the EU. The ruling on the regulatory status of plants resulting from some of the latest plant breed- ing methods is widely seen as decisive for their practical take-up by European research- ers, breeders and farmers. It is a watershed moment for the EU’s agri-food chain. “It is now likely that much of the potential of these innovative methods will be lost for Europe — with significant negative economic and environmental consequences. That strikes a serious blow to European agriculture and plant science,” says Garlich von Essen, ESA secretary-general. New breeding innovations such as CRISPR are widely seen as critical tools to help breed- ers and farmers to do more with less inputs: less water, less fertilizers and less pesticides. They are also used to develop improved varieties that better meet consumer demands by pro- viding more nutritious, tastier, healthier, more convenient and more varied plant-based food. A more detailed analysis of the ruling still needs to be done, but the initial view of the seed sector is a bleak one. “While other parts of the world go ahead with these innovations without unneces- sary overregulation, Europe’s breeders and farmers will once again lose out, without a chance to explore the huge potential and benefits of these plant breeding innovations in practice,’’ von Essen said. EuropaBio’s secretary-gen- eral John Brennan highlighted Fran Lopez-Ruiz is leading research into fungicide resistance in Australian barley. PHOTO: CCDM