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Management of Phytophthora cinnamomi
The main focus of research within the CPSM has always been on the management of P. cinnamomi. Over the years there has been extensive work on the use of phosphite as a management tool and this research continues to today. This research eventually led to projects demonstrating that containment and eradication of P. cinnamomi is possible. A sequence of treatments including host removal, herbicide application, fungicide application, soil fumigation and physical root barriers (high density polyurethane HDPE) have been tested; all are equally successful. Sites have been revisited and still remain pathogen-free six years after treatment. More recently, we have shown that removing all living host material from infested jarrah forest sites through herbicide application alone, and preventing no germination of plant species (including annuals) to ensure P. cinnamomi, a poor competitive saprobe, is not provided with a living food source, resulted in the eradication of the pathogen after 2.5 years. Consequently, we believe we now have the tools and knowledge to develop procedures to eradicate P. cinnamomi from other areas of the jarrah forest including infested haul roads, stockpiles and other infestations. Additional challenges do remain and these include sampling intensity and confidence in the traditional baiting methods to confirm whether P. cinnamomi has been eradicated. Therefore, additional molecular isolation techniques are required to confirm the success of any eradication treatments. We are currently working on new molecular diagnostics and best-practices for traditional baiting.
- Crone M, McComb JA, O'Brien PA, Hardy GESJ, 2013a. Annual and herbaceous perennial native Australian plant species are symptomless hosts of Phytophthora cinnamomi in the Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) forest of Western Australia. Plant Pathology. Doi: 10.1111/ppa.12016.
- Crone M, McComb JA, O'Brien PA, Hardy GESJ, 2013b. Assessment of Australian native annual/herbaceous perennial plant species as asymptomatic or symptomatic hosts of Phytophthora cinnamomi under controlled conditions. Forest Pathology. 43: 245-251.
- Crone M, McComb JA, O'Brien PA, Hardy GESJ, 2013c. Survival of Phytophthora cinnamomi as oospores, stromata, and thick-walled chlamydospores in roots of symptomatic and asymptomatic annual and herbaceous perennial plant species. Fungal Biology. 117: 112-123.
- Crone M, McComb JA, O'Brien PA, Hardy GESJ, 2014. Host removal as a potential control method for Phytophthora cinnamomi on severely impacted black gravel sites in the jarrah forest. Forest Pathology. 44: 154-159.
- Dunstan WA, Rudman T, Shearer BL, Moore NA, Paap T, Calver MC, Dell B, Hardy GESJ, 2010. Containment and spot eradication of a highly destructive, invasive plant pathogen (Phytophthora cinnamomi) in natural ecosystems. Biological Invasions. 12: 913-925.
- Jung T, Colquhoun IJ, Hardy GESJ, 2013. New insights into the survival strategy of the invasive soilborne pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi in different natural ecosystems in Western Australia. Forest Pathology. 43: 266-288.
- Li AY, Crone M, Adams PJ, Fenwick SG, Hardy GESJ, Williams N, 2014. The microscopic examination of Phytophthora cinnamomi in plant tissues using fluorescent in situ hybridization. Journal of Phytopathology. 162: 747-757.
- Scott PM, Barber PA, Hardy GESJ, 2015. Novel phosphite and nutrient application to control Phytophthora cinnamomi disease. Australasian Plant Pathology. 44: 431-436.
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