SARDI plant pathologist Jenny Davidson has urged graingrowers to be aware of changes in resistance in some pulse varieties, and keep an eye on crop disease levels.
The guest speaker at the Hart Field Day site winter walk on July 21 said there had been a change in the virulence of ascochyta blight in some faba bean varieties.
In 2013, there were some options for better resistance to ascochyta blight apart from traditional variety Fiesta, including Farah and Rana, but Ms Davidson said it was a different story this year, particularly in the Lower North.
"Farah and Rana are suffering quite high levels of ascochyta blight," she said.
"We are also starting to see the same thing in this area (of the Mid North) but it is not as severe as in the Lower North."
The popularity of faba beans in the Lower North had seen it used intensively in rotations, which increased disease pressure.
Apart from the Lower and Mid North, evidence of the new virulent pathotypes has been observed in faba bean varieties grown in the South East. This has also occured in Vic and NSW.
Dr Davidson said this would mean growers needed to implement Fiesta's management strategies for Rana and Farah.
But lentil growers have better news.
While there has been some change in the variety Nipper, considered moderately resistant to ascochyta blight, most other lentils that originally offered strong resistance to the disease are showing the same resistance levels.
Dr Davidson said SARDI was looking for samples of ascochyta blight levels in chickpeas from growers who had noticed this out in the paddock.
Another project SARDI researchers are working on is using new ways to create a pulse management guide for growers.
While the Blackspot Manager for Field Peas has been used for many years as a forecasting model for ascochyta blight, researchers are looking at the use of spore tracking and molecular assays for disease management.
"With diseases, particularly leaf diseases you see in plots, it's blown in through the wind, sometimes a long way, sometimes a short distance," Dr Davidson said.
"Different weather conditions promote the spread of spores in the different cropping systems and regions."
