Profitable break crops for management of root lesion nematodes and Rhizoctonia solani AG8

Root lesion nematodes (RLN) can cause significant yield loss to crop plants; up to 40% in wheat if beginning of season levels are > 25 RLN/g soil for some nematode species (Table 1). However, glasshouse trials in 2017, 2008 and 2007 and field surveys (2013-17) (Loi et al 2005; Vanstone et al. 2008, 2009;Collins et al. 2018) have demonstrated that some pasture and pulse species are resistant to moderately resistant to these plant parasitic nematodes. For instance, lupins have repeatedly demonstrated resistance to the major root lesion nematodes found in Western Australia, Pratylenchus neglectus and P. quasitereoides (Collins et al. 2018) and can offer growers options to manage RLN (Collins et al. 2017). To have full confidence, glasshouse results always need to be confirmed in local conditions the field. In 2017, two WA growers with root lesion nematode infestations offered their paddocks to investigate solutions to these soil disease issues. These paddocks also contained Rhizoctonia solani AG8, a fungal pathogen that causes root rot in a number of agronomically important crops grown in WA, and can cause significant yield losses; up to 50% in wheat if beginning of season levels are > 2.0 log pg DNA/g soil (Table 1).