The socio-economic impact of fungicide resistance in West Australia's Wheatbelt

Farming is a risky business, demanding daily decisions on farm input expenditure and best practices while operating in an uncertain climate. One of these decisions regards agro-chemical inputs for disease control, a decision increasingly challenged by fungicide resistance for many pathogens of agric...

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Main Authors: Olita, Toto, Sung, Billy, Hooper, Bethany, Cao, Zhanglong, Lopez-Ruiz, Fran, Gibberd, Mark
Other Authors: Sparks, Donald
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:CUR00023 - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Curtin University
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/91461
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author Olita, Toto
Sung, Billy
Hooper, Bethany
Cao, Zhanglong
Lopez-Ruiz, Fran
Gibberd, Mark
author2 Sparks, Donald
author_facet Sparks, Donald
Olita, Toto
Sung, Billy
Hooper, Bethany
Cao, Zhanglong
Lopez-Ruiz, Fran
Gibberd, Mark
author_sort Olita, Toto
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Farming is a risky business, demanding daily decisions on farm input expenditure and best practices while operating in an uncertain climate. One of these decisions regards agro-chemical inputs for disease control, a decision increasingly challenged by fungicide resistance for many pathogens of agricultural significance. To understand disease management decision-making and the importance of fungicide resistance, we surveyed 137 barley growers from West Australia's Wheatbelt. On average, this group spent AU$42/ha on fungicide application. Our survey found that growers were willing to invest an additional AU$18/ha to delay resistance of the pathogen to fungicides. Qualitative data show that barley growers perceive fungicide resistance as a growing issue in the region with a significant economic and emotional impact. Growers also expressed concern that fungicide resistance could become a long-term threat to the sustainability of their agribusiness. This study demonstrates that understanding growers' financial motivations and the economics of plant diseases is vital.
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format Journal Article
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T11:36:37Z
publishDate 2023
publisher Elsevier
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-914612024-12-03T08:12:41Z The socio-economic impact of fungicide resistance in West Australia's Wheatbelt Olita, Toto Sung, Billy Hooper, Bethany Cao, Zhanglong Lopez-Ruiz, Fran Gibberd, Mark Sparks, Donald Mode of action Net blotch of barley Pesticide Return on investment Sustainable agriculture Farming is a risky business, demanding daily decisions on farm input expenditure and best practices while operating in an uncertain climate. One of these decisions regards agro-chemical inputs for disease control, a decision increasingly challenged by fungicide resistance for many pathogens of agricultural significance. To understand disease management decision-making and the importance of fungicide resistance, we surveyed 137 barley growers from West Australia's Wheatbelt. On average, this group spent AU$42/ha on fungicide application. Our survey found that growers were willing to invest an additional AU$18/ha to delay resistance of the pathogen to fungicides. Qualitative data show that barley growers perceive fungicide resistance as a growing issue in the region with a significant economic and emotional impact. Growers also expressed concern that fungicide resistance could become a long-term threat to the sustainability of their agribusiness. This study demonstrates that understanding growers' financial motivations and the economics of plant diseases is vital. 2023 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/91461 10.1016/bs.agron.2023.03.005 CUR00023 - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Curtin University Elsevier fulltext
spellingShingle Mode of action
Net blotch of barley
Pesticide
Return on investment
Sustainable agriculture
Olita, Toto
Sung, Billy
Hooper, Bethany
Cao, Zhanglong
Lopez-Ruiz, Fran
Gibberd, Mark
The socio-economic impact of fungicide resistance in West Australia's Wheatbelt
title The socio-economic impact of fungicide resistance in West Australia's Wheatbelt
title_full The socio-economic impact of fungicide resistance in West Australia's Wheatbelt
title_fullStr The socio-economic impact of fungicide resistance in West Australia's Wheatbelt
title_full_unstemmed The socio-economic impact of fungicide resistance in West Australia's Wheatbelt
title_short The socio-economic impact of fungicide resistance in West Australia's Wheatbelt
title_sort socio-economic impact of fungicide resistance in west australia's wheatbelt
topic Mode of action
Net blotch of barley
Pesticide
Return on investment
Sustainable agriculture
url CUR00023 - Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Curtin University
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/91461