Powdery mildew fungi (Erysiphales) are one of the most conspicuous groups of plant pathogens. Important crops, including wheat, barley, grapevine, and a number of fruit and vegetable crops, as well as ornamentals, grown in the field and glasshouses, are amongst the major targets of powdery mildew fungi. Their control is mainly based on the use of resistant cultivars, repeated application of fungicides, and agro-technical methods. In spite of their economic importance, the precise identity, host range, life cycle, perennation, virulence patterns, and other characteristics of a number of powdery mildew fungi infecting diverse crop species have not been deciphered yet. For example, this is the case of the species causing disease in mungbean fields in Australia and elsewhere. The project will focus on the precise identification of the powdery mildew fungi infecting this crop, their host ranges, virulence profiles of diverse isolates, and quantification of the infection of different cultivars and breeding lines, based on field, glasshouse and laboratory experiments, as well as molecular studies including DNA genotyping, phylogenetic analyses, and qPCR methods.

Professor Levente Kiss

• Professor Gavin Ash

• Centre for Crop Health

• Crop and Pasture Production

• Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD)