Risky business surviving in the plant world

A new approach to assess the risk of releasing disease-resistant plants will provide valuable information for managing future plant releases.

Designed by CSIRO Plant Industry researcher, Dr Bob Godfree, the framework gives an accurate representation of the risk presented by a particular plant in a particular environment.

Plants with disease-resistance are bred for their agricultural benefits, but may have the potential to become a weed threat if environmental conditions are suitable. It could be that the major factor limiting the spread of plants is the presence of disease.

Once that factor has been removed the plant may pose a threat to nearby non-agricultural environments by becoming invasive and affecting biodiversity.

Dr Godfree's framework allows the environment to be assessed to determine the likelihood of plants becoming invasive and provides tools for managing the release of plants.

The framework was used to assess the potential increase in weediness of white clover resistant to Clover Yellow Vein Potyvirus in a variety of environments. Results suggest that the framework was able to identify environments in which clover populations were most likely to increase.

This research was supported by Dairy Australia.

MORE DETAILS