Abstract
This work was done to demonstrate the opportunities provided by application of meta-analysis in plant pathology. It was a case study used to determine the effectiveness of foliar fungicides in minimising yield loss from a complex of yellow spot (Pyrenophora tritici-repentis) and septoria nodorum blotch (Stagonospora nodorum, teleomorph: Phaeosphaeria nodorum) (YS-SNB disease complex) on wheat in the northern grain-belt of Western Australia. Forty-seven datasets of experimental results from 14 growing seasons, using 18 varieties sprayed one to three times, predominantly with tebuconazole or propiconazole fungicides, were analysed. Across the datasets, the wheat yield gain from fungicide application was 297 kg ha−1 with a 95 % confidence interval of 11.6 kg ha−1. Significant yield gains resulted from single or multiple applications of fungicides. Both propiconazole and tebuconazole, increased yield of wheat affected by the YS–SNB disease complex, with yield gain from propiconazole being greater than that from tebuconazole. Yield response varied significantly among crop growing seasons. Meta-analysis was able to aggregate a large number of experimental results and answer important questions related to the variables that influenced those results; in this case the effectiveness of fungicides in minimising yield loss from the YS-SNB disease complex on wheat. It also identified areas where further research needs to be done. It is concluded that meta-analysis has the potential to contribute to similar analyses in other crop disease systems.
Highlights
Wheat (Triticum spp.) is a cereal grain that has significant world-wide importance
The untransformed wheat yield response to fungicide application ranged from −140 to 1,040 kg ha−1
Three key questions often asked by the growers and other stakeholders in Western Australia in relation to controlling the YS-septoria nodorum blotch (SNB) disease complex on wheat are: what fungicide to use, how many applications of a fungicide are required, and how is the yield response influenced by the crop growing season
Summary
Wheat (Triticum spp.) is a cereal grain that has significant world-wide importance. Western Australia (WA) plays a vital role in producing wheat, contributing 42 % of the annual national production of about 14 million tonnes in 2007–08 (Anonymous 2010a). Yellow spot (synonym: tan spot) (YS) and septoria nodorum blotch (SNB) are the most common foliar diseases affecting wheat production in WA (Bhathal et al 2003; Shipton 1971; Wiese 1987) They often co-exist in a complex association that is hard to differentiate in the natural environment (Bhathal et al 2003). We apply meta-analysis to plant disease management using the effect of fungicides on yield loss from the YS-SNB disease complex on wheat in the northern grainbelt of the Western Australian south-western agricultural region as a case study. The study had three objectives: (i) to quantify overall yield response to fungicide application for disease control, (ii) to quantify the yield response as influenced by selected variables, viz. number of fungicide applications, growing season and fungicide active ingredient, and (iii) to assess the economic benefit, if any, from the yield responses
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