Effects of stubble and sowing treatments on take-all of wheat in north-eastern Victoria

Abstract

The effects of stubble management treatments on take-all (Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici) of wheat were examined in 2 field experiments in north-eastern Victoria. Wheat stubble from a preceding crop was left standing, mulched, burnt or incorporated into soil prior to sowing wheat. At Rutherglen in 1984, neither the incidence nor the severity of take-all was affected by these treatments. Although the severity of root symptoms on take-all affected plants at anthesis and the incidence of white heads were very low, sowing with a zero till, triple disc drill resulted in a small but significant (P<0.05) increase in both disease severity and white head incidence (2% tillers with white heads), compared with sowing with a conventional tine drill (0.6% tillers with white heads), regardless of the stubble treatment. At Wilby in 1985, the incidence and severity of take-all in wheat at early tillering was higher in plots in which wheat stubble was incorporated into soil prior to sowing (16% plants affected), than in plots where stubble was left standing, mulched or burnt (2, 3 and 4% plants affected, respectively). At anthesis, however, there were no significant differences in the incidence of affected plants between the 4 stubble treatments (average of 81 % plants affected).