Sustainable starfruit control using
a mycoherbicide to avoid development of chemical herbicide resistance
Research Supervisors:
Dr Gavin Ash, Dr Eric Cother
Research Staff:
Mr Farzhad Jahromi
Funding:
$ 83,525 (RIRDC)
Duration:
1996-1999
  Suppression of star fruit with
naturally occurring fungus (Rynchosporium alismatis).
Project Summary:
Starfruit is one of the most damaging weeds of
rice. A naturally occurring fungus,
Rynchosporium alismatis, is being studied for its potential as
a mycoherbicide of this weed. Studies are focussing
on epidemiology, formulation and competition experiments. The environmental parameters
for infection and disease expression have been
defined. The fungus has been found to cause a leaf
spotting symptom on floating leaves, but when seedling
plants are inoculated the fungus retards growth with
no obvious symptoms. This prevents the weed from effectively competing with the rice. The
infection process and the interaction with herbicides is
also being investigated.
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