UNE joins forces with Cotton CRC to stop the rot

January 29, 2008

Scientists at the University of New England are putting cotton under the microscope to solve the not-so-microscopic problem of black root rot in the region's cotton fields.

Every year cotton growers lose as much as 40 per cent of their yield to the disease, which attacks the roots of cotton seedlings and stunts their growth.

Dr Lily Pereg-Gerk, a senior lecturer in the School of Science and Technology at UNE, is leading the research, which has been funded by a grant from the Cotton Catchment Communities Cooperative Research Centre (Cotton CRC), in which UNE is a participant. In all, funding for the project comes to about half-a-million dollars, to be spent over three years.

Dr Pereg-Gerk said that because the fungus that caused the disease was soil-borne, it was difficult to treat using conventional methods.

"What we're looking at in particular is molecular factors involved in the virulence of the pathogen towards the plant," Dr Pereg-Gerk said. "When we find such genes, we will try to see how they're activated, and from there, how they can perhaps be controlled."

Dr Pereg-Gerk and her colleagues were considering a number of techniques to combat the disease, she said, including genetic modification of the cotton plant and the introduction of "bio-controls" to help protect it from the disease-causing fungus.

"We are looking at the plant's response to the disease and whether we can utilise natural mechanisms of the plant to fight this disease and other soil-borne pathogens," she said.

Dr Pereg-Gerk said they were also looking for naturally-occuring micro-organisms that could help fight the disease. This could reduce the need for farmers to spray their crops with chemicals, she said.

The research has won praise from the cotton industry and the Cotton CRC. In response to initial findings by Dr Pereg-Gerk and her colleagues, Cotton CRC Chief Scientist Peter Gregg wrote that "The researchers are to be congratulated for making some major advances in understanding the molecular aspects of black-root rot interactions with cotton and other plants. This is particularly so in view of the low level of understanding at the start of the project. The use of UNE funds to establish the work, followed by applications to CRDC/CRC is appreciated."

The Cotton CRC, through its Summer Scholarship program, has enabled several UNE students to work with Dr Pereg-Gerk and her team on the black root rot project.

Posted by Leon Braun at January 29, 2008 04:27 PM