It is estimated that Australia wide cereal disease costs Australian farmers $63 million ($70 000 per business) annually in last production. Disease remains one of the major constraints to farmers on the Eyre Peninsula.  To try and shed some light of this it was decided that the Eyre Peninsula Agricultural Research Foundation focus day, held at the Minnipa Agricultural Centre on 20 September, this year covered cereal leaf and root diseases.  Topics covered included Crown rot, Take-all, Rhizoctonia, Pratylenchus and rusts.  Information on the life cycle and identification of these diseases was presented to 130 attendees.  For most of the farmers the day reinforced that their management is on the right track.  Presenters highlighted areas that which could be improved such as paddock selection, rotation choices and soil sampling for root disease levels before seeding.

Farmer comments on the day:
* Soil health is the key issue facing farmers from this area
* Made you think about your whole system and how to get it working better, not just the season
* Very helpful for next years rotation planning
* Reinforced old knowledge but there was some new information presented
* Increased confidence in identifying root diseases
* Good to hear management plans are on the right track

AUTHOR: Cathy Paterson, Research Officer - Soil Compaction, SARDI

CONTACT: For further information please contact the Minnipa Agriculture Centre on 08 8680 5104.