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The following priorities for Phytophthora research were established by the WA Dieback Consultative Council in June 2000.
1. Optimising phosphite application regimes
Objectives to be achieved:
- Identify best surfactants.
- Determine most effective frequency of application and any other factors that will improve the efficacy of phosphite in a range of vegetation types.
Criteria against which achievment of the objectives will be measured:
- Increased effiiciency of penetration, longevity of protection and improved efficiency and economics of application.
2. Reduction of autonomous spread using phosphite
Objective to be achieved:
- To ascertain the suitability of phosphite to reduce the rate of autonomous spread across a range of native plant community types.
Criteria against which achievment of the objectives will be measured:
- Demonstrable outcome on whether the fungicide can be used 'safely' in the long-term to reduce the rate of autonomous spread in native plant communities.
- Management prescriptions defining application regimes and techniques.
3. Improving the effectiveness of hygiene or quarantine protocols
Objectives to be achieved:
- Develop a practical monitoring protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of existing hygiene and quarrantine measures on reducing disease spread.
- Where appropriate, develop better, practical hygiene and quarantine measures.
Criteria against which achievment of the objectives will be measured:
- Continued or improved implementation of appropriate hygiene or quarantine protocols.
- Monitoring protocols and hygiene/quarantine prescriptions for managers.
4. Fire-phosphite interactions
Objective to be achieved:
- An understanding of how the timing of fire, pre- and post-phosphite application, affects the efficacy of phosphite in a range of vegetation types.
Criteria against which achievment of the objectives will be measured:
- Management prescriptions defining the optimal regimes for phosphite application and fire frequency for a range of vegetation types.
5. Predictive (expert) systems to describe or quantify disease risk, rate of disease development and level of impact
Objective to be achieved:
- The use of predictive models to describe the risk of infection in different plant communities and subsequent disease development.
Criteria against which achievment of the objectives will be measured:
- Predictive models in place and being used by land managers and researchers.
6. Ex situ conservation and germplasm storage of Phytophthora susceptible threatened flora
Objectives to be achieved
- The development of suitable germplasm storage methods for plant taxa threatened by Phytophthora.
Criteria against which achievment of the objectives will be measured:
- Adequate germplasm storage of all plant taxa threatened by Phytophthora particularly those taxa considered to be critically endangered.
7. The role of fire in managing species susceptible to Phytophthora
Objectives to be achieved:
- Investigate whether fire regimes can be devised to manage the regeneration and population dynamics of specified threatened flora to enable them to escape Phytophthora disease.
Criteria against which achievment of the objectives will be measured:
- Disease escape fire regime prescriptions for specific threatened taxa.
8. Long term ecological impacts of Phytophthora disease
Objectives to be achieved:
- An understanding of the long-term impacts of Phytophthora cinnamomi in a range of ecosystems.
Criteria against which achievment of the objectives will be measured:
- Documentation of the impact of the disease on flora, fauna and invertebrates in different ecosystems.
- Implementation of strategies (research and management) to reduce any long-term impacts.
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