Managing disease! What do you need to know?
Developing an Integrated Disease Management (IDM) strategy for your farm
Effective disease management should be integrated within the management of the whole farm, focusing on the crop, the potential pathogen (disease), and the farming system. The implementation of basic disease management strategies, even where disease in not evident, will reduce the risk of disease problems in the future. Remember, the absence of disease symptoms does not always indicate the absence of disease.
Once in a field, diseases are unlikely to be completely controlled through the eradication of a pathogen. However, effective disease management can reduce the effect of a disease on subsequent crops and the risk of the disease spreading between fields and farms.
It is important to be informed about what diseases are present and where they occur on your farm to implement effective management strategies, as different diseases have different management strategies.
Growers and consultants can conduct their own early and late season disease surveys to monitor and record findings allowing a comparison over time. Farm staff should be trained to look for and report unusual symptoms in the crop. Contact your state department (cotton) pathologist for assistance in identifying and confirming suspected diseases.
Key components of an effective IDM strategy occur throughout the season and include the following:
At planting time
- Optimal seed bed conditions and sowing temperature
- Variety selection
In crop
- Irrigation scheduling
- Agronomic management
- Balanced crop nutrition
- Fungicide use when appropriate
- Monitoring for disease presence or changes
Post-harvest
- Controlling alternative hosts and volunteers
- Manage crop resides appropriately
- Use crop rotations to help reduce disease inoculum in the field
Year round
- Managing insect vectors
- Farm biosecurity and hygiene
More information on these different strategies can be found in the Cotton Pest Management Guide.
So, what should you do on your farm?
- Monitor crops for disease symptoms and know what diseases are present. Consider doing a disease survey within your fields to track the severity and incidence of disease over time.
- Send in disease samples to the industry pathology services when unusual or new symptoms are present to confirm the pathogen. See below on how to collect and send plant samples for diagnostics.
- Ensure all farm personnel, contractors and visitors, where possible, are made aware of diseases on farm and unusual disease symptoms are reported.
- Where pathogens are known to be present, plant resistant varieties where possible to assist in controlling diseases.
- Implement an integrated disease management strategy across the whole farm, with tactics including optimal planting date and temperature, nutrition and irrigation.
- Control weeds, volunteer and ratoon cotton throughout the year.
- Manage crop residues and consider crop rotations based on best practice for diseases present in the field.
- Ensure vehicles, equipment and people have followed Come Clean Go Clean and farm biosecurity procedures.
visit the myBMP Disease Management module for more information on disease management
Do you know how to collect and send disease samples?
Sending well-prepared plant samples enables industry pathologists to accurately identify the pathogen or disease affecting your crops. In contrast, poorly collected samples may arrive mouldy or deteriorated, leading to inconclusive results. Missing or incomplete submission forms can also leave pathologists without critical information, such as disease symptom details or your contact information. By collecting and sending samples correctly the first time, you increase the chances of receiving a clear diagnosis, helping you to effectively manage the disease sooner.
In this CottonInfo video, Collecting stem and leaf samples for disease testing, the Qld DPI pathology team highlights the best practice for collecting plant samples. You can also find a factsheet on collecting plant samples and the plant diagnosis form needed for sending samples to your state pathologist (contact details found below).
Where should I go for more information?
Pathologists
NSW DPIRD
- Karen Kirkby
Phone: 0428 944 500
Email: karen.kirkby@dpi.nsw.gov.au Dr Thi Phuong Chi Nguyen (Chi)
Phone: 0459 259 969
Email: thi.nguyen@dpi.nsw.gov.au
QLD DPI
- Dr Linda Smith – QLD Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Phone: 0457 547 617
Email: Linda.smith@daf.qld.gov.au Dr Dinesh Kafle
Phone: 0436 622 940
Email: dinesh.kafle@daf.qld.gov.au
NT DAF
Dr Edward Mwando
Phone: 0470 259 875
Email: edward.mwando@nt.gov.au
WA DPIRD
Sarah Nolan
Phone: 0488 007 692
Email: sarah.nolan@dpird.wa.gov.au
CottonInfo Technical Lead
Sharna Holman - Technical Lead for Biosecurity and Disease
Phone: 0477 394 116
Email: sharna.holman@daf.qld.gov.au
Resources
- Australian Cotton Production Manual
- Cotton Pest Management Guide
- Cotton Symptoms Guide
- The fast facts: be wilt aware (comparing different types of wilt)
Disease diagnostics
- Diagnosing Diseases: how to collect, store & send plant samples
- CottonInfo Disease Diagnostic Submission Form
Verticillium wilt information
Verticillium wilt: latest research and fast facts
Video: Verticillium wilt in cotton
Fusarium wilt information
Black root rot information
Managing for black root rot
Cotton bunchy top
Reniform nematode
Other cotton diseases
Boll rot, seed rot, tight lock factsheet
Seedling diseases factsheet
- Video: Sclerotinia in cotton
Tools
- Cotton Rotation Tool: tool to assist with developing a rotation strategy to manage disease pathogens
- Assessing Disease On Your Farm (myBMP): a do-it-yourself disease survey tool (note, requires logging onto myBMP to access).
Remember farm biosecurity is an important aspect of disease management, with prevention better than a cure. For the more information on biosecurity best management practices, see the Biosecurity page.