Fed: Researchers devastated by wheat virus disaster - CSIRO

00-00-0000
Fed: Researchers devastated by wheat virus disaster - CSIRO

CANBERRA, April 17 AAP - CSIRO cereal researchers have lost years of work with theoutbreak of a foreign wheat disease at the scientific body's Black Mountain laboratories.

The wheat streak mosaic virus, which is not found in Australia and can wipe out crops,was this week discovered in some of the CSIRO's experimental wheat plantings.

The outbreak has been contained but hundreds of wheat plants, including those centralto research into new varieties, are being destroyed by the CSIRO to ensure the outbreakis confined to the two sites.

Other plant varieties, including grasses, rye, barley and corn, are also being destroyedbecause they could carry the wheat curl mite that harbours the virus.

CSIRO Plant Industries researcher and wheat breeder Richard Richards said staff weredevastated by the outbreak.

"You can imagine that (for) the staff that work at CSIRO, it's just a terribly emotionaltime for everyone, with enormous sadness and gloom," Dr Richards told ABC Radio.

"We're talking about years and years of work in some instances.

"Clearly, it's affected some hundreds of people who have been working on these cerealplants for many, many years."

Dr Richards said the effect on programs differed from area to area, with some experimentationput back by three months.

"But that in itself can be devastating for many individuals, particularly if it's onthe cutting edge of science as well," he said.

"But, for other people, it is just tragic news, where it's put them behind years.

"For example, we've had to throw away wheat plants which we first developed about threeyears ago, which we were hoping to make commercially available to wheatgrowers in thevery near future.

"We've just had to eliminate these."

Dr Richards said an extraordinary benefit of these plants was that they were resistantto the barley yellow dwarf virus which was probably the most important virus worldwide.

These were in the final stages of production for commercialisation.

AAP dep/gl/bwl

KEYWORD: WHEAT DAYLEAD