The risk to Australia from , the cause of Karnal bunt of wheat

In Australia, weather conditions at anthesis are suitable for the infection of susceptible wheat crops by and Karnal bunt could develop at many locations in Australia. Should the pathogen become established in all suitable locations, and if current world prices were applied to wheat grown in infested areas, the loss to Australia would be about M91M per year. If there were no price discount for uninfested wheat from areas infested with I: indica, the potential loss would reduce to about $295M per year. Thus Kamal bunt is a disease that would cause considerable damage to Australia’s economy through loss of domestic and international markets for our wheat. Current quarantine regulations should minimise the risk of entering Australia. If becomes established in Australia, eradication is unlikely, based on a comparison of the Australian experience following separate introductions of , the cause of boil smut of maize. There is a possibility that could be contained if it is confined to one or a few regions. Disease management strategies could reduce losses. These would involve the segregation of grain obtained from infested areas from that harvested in disease-free areas, longer rotation between wheat crops in infested areas, and the development of resistant cultivars.