PROC-9177506—Barley Net Blotch Initiative (BNBI) Program 1- Pathogen surveillance, monitoring, and screening

Net blotches pose an escalating and urgent threat to Australian barley, costing the industry an estimated $122 million each year through disease-related yield losses, downgraded grain quality, and higher fungicide management costs. Widespread planting of susceptible varieties, the practice of growing barley on barley, and an over-reliance on fungicides with a singular mode of action are driving net blotch pathogens to evolve and spread faster than current surveillance, varietal resistance breeding, management and extension efforts can respond. This investment seeks to help Australian barley growers keep ahead of a threat that is moving faster than current tools can handle. It will be delivered through a five-year, nationally focused Barley Net Blotch Initiative (BNBI) comprising three interlinked programs supported by a dedicated coordinator: ? Program 1 - Pathogen surveillance, monitoring, and screening ? Program 2- Host and pathogen genetics ? Program 3 - Integrated disease management and extension ? Program C - Coordination and capacity development GRDC is seeking a capable partner to deliver BNBI Program 1 that will strengthen Australia’s capacity for surveillance, monitoring and screening of rapidly evolving net blotch pathogens. The program will be required to expand pathogen surveillance and substantially increase pathotyping capacity to achieve full national coverage. It will review and revise the current net blotch surveillance sampling systems, generate critical insights into pathogen evolution, identify emerging and hypervirulent strains that threaten varietal resistance or increase fungicide resistance risk, identify better targets for disease screening and host resistance development, and provide breeders and advisers with timely intelligence on pathogen change.