Centre for Crop and Disease Management

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Centre for Crop and Disease Management With support from Curtin University and GRDC, we're helping to reduce the impact of crop disease

The Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM) is a national research centre co-supported by Curtin University and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), investing $100 million over a five-year period. Launched in 2014, the centre’s major aim is to reduce the economic impact of crop disease for Australian growers via three main research themes:

Fungicide resistance: by developing the necessary tools and strategies for industry to prevent and minimise its occurence and impact. Molecular genetics: by providing breeders with genetic tools to breed cereal, oilseed and pulse varieties with improved disease resistance. Farming systems: by developing economical and adoptable Integrated Disease Management (IDM) strategies for managing the evolution of resistance to fungicides.

🌱🔬 Ready to kick-start your research career?The Curtin University Undergraduate Research Experience Program offers paid ...
12/10/2026

🌱🔬 Ready to kick-start your research career?
The Curtin University Undergraduate Research Experience Program offers paid summer research internships valued at $4,000, giving second-year undergraduate students the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience while working alongside leading scientists at CCDM.

Students can work with researchers and data scientists across Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry (AAGI), Plant Biology and Plant Pathology. Whether you're interested in genomics, bioinformatics, data science, remote sensing or crop disease research, there's a project for every emerging scientist.

Build valuable research skills, expand your professional network, and contribute to projects tackling some of agriculture's biggest challenges.

Current projects include:
🧬 DNA Methylation Changes and Gene Responses to Plant Stress
Supervisor: Ulduz Vafadarshamasbi

🦠 Understanding the Regulation of Virulence Adaptation in Pyrenophora teres f. teres Through Whole-Genome Methylation Analysis
Supervisor: Fatima Naim

📊 Automated Acquisition and Annual Updating of Australian Grain Productivity Data Using Reproducible Data Pipelines
Supervisor: Barbara Kachigunda

🌱 Co-infection of Blackleg and Sclerotinia Diseases in Canola
Supervisor: Sarita Bennett

💻 Structural Ensembles for Predicting Pathogen Effector-Plant Protein Interactions
Supervisor: Kristina Gagalova

🛰️ Super-Resolution Satellite Imagery for Early Detection of Wheat Yellow Rust
Supervisors: Peiye Li and Ayalsew Zerihun

🌾 Could Pastures Be Hiding a Sclerotinia Problem? Exploring Pathogen Carryover in Mixed Farming Systems
Supervisor: Pippa Michael

🔬 Benchmarking Computational Tools for Plant Single-Cell RNA-Seq Analysis
Supervisor: Irina Kuznetsova

🖥️ Visualising Spatial Variability for On-Farm Experimental Design
Supervisor : Braden Thorne

📩 Express your interest by contacting the project supervisor directly by 30 November 2026.

The projects are offered through the eight-week Undergraduate Research Experience Program 2026/27 and are open to second-year undergraduate students only. They are not suitable for PhD candidates.

🔗 Learn more:
https://buff.ly/JsosaWg
🔗 View projects and supervisor contact details:
https://buff.ly/ADY5cuc

🌾 CCDM's AAGI - Analytics for the Australian Grain Industry team recently visited Australian Grain Technologies (AGT) in...
30/09/2026

🌾 CCDM's AAGI - Analytics for the Australian Grain Industry team recently visited Australian Grain Technologies (AGT) in Northam for a behind-the-scenes look at one of Australia's leading crop breeding programs.

A highlight of the visit was touring an AGT wheat breeding trial site and hearing from Dion Bennett and Usman Ijaz, who delivered an excellent introduction to AGT's breeding program and a "Breeding 101" crash course. Their insights provided valuable context on the journey from research to improved crop varieties for Australian growers.

It was also fantastic to see how previous SAGI and AAGI research is now being utilised by industry, demonstrating the real-world impact of collaborative investments in analytics, genetics and grain research.

A big thank you to the AGT team for sharing their expertise and hosting us in Northam. We look forward to continuing to strengthen the connection between research and industry outcomes.

Grains Research and Development Corporation Curtin University Australian Grain Technologies

🌱 Some of our CCDM researchers are screening lentil and chickpea breeding populations for resistance to Ascochyta blight...
28/09/2026

🌱 Some of our CCDM researchers are screening lentil and chickpea breeding populations for resistance to Ascochyta blight, one of the most significant diseases affecting pulse crops.

The nurseries were inoculated with Ascochyta lentis in lentils and Ascochyta rabiei in chickpeas, before being assessed for disease damage following several weeks of disease build-up. Planted in replicated, randomised field trials, these nurseries help researchers identify valuable sources of resistance for future breeding programs.

Preliminary analysis of the chickpea populations suggests resistance is influenced by multiple regions of the genome, with some resistance traits shared across different populations.

This research will help support the development of more resilient pulse varieties for Australian growers.

Grains Research and Development Corporation Curtin University

25/09/2026

🌾 Fungicide reduced sensitivity found in barley loose s**t
CCDM researchers have, for the first time, characterised a mutation in barley loose s**t associated with reduced sensitivity to SDHI (Group 7) fungicides, including fluxapyroxad, carboxin and penflufen.

Identified from samples collected across NSW, Queensland and Western Australia, this is the first known genetic change linked to reduced SDHI sensitivity in barley loose s**t anywhere in the world.

Importantly, this discovery does not indicate widespread fungicide failure in the field. Instead, it provides an early warning and highlights the value of ongoing surveillance to help preserve fungicide effectiveness and support sustainable disease management.

🎥 In this video, CCDM Associate Professor Fran Lopez-Ruiz, Brad Baxter (NSW DPIRD) and Andrea Hills (WA DPIRD) discuss the discovery, how it was identified, and what it means for growers, agronomists and the Australian grains industry.

Read more here: https://buff.ly/i41IeBe

Grains Research and Development Corporation Curtin University Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development NSW Agriculture Queensland Agriculture University of Southern Queensland - Australia mcaag

🌱 New research highlights early signs of reduced fungicide sensitivity in barley loose s**t. CCDM scientists have identi...
22/09/2026

🌱 New research highlights early signs of reduced fungicide sensitivity in barley loose s**t.
CCDM scientists have identified a genetic mutation in barley loose s**t linked to reduced sensitivity to commonly used SDHI (Group 7) seed treatment fungicides, including fluxapyroxad, carboxin and penflufen.

The mutation was detected in samples collected from NSW, Queensland and WA, and is the first time this specific genetic change has been identified in loose s**t anywhere in the world.

Importantly, this does not mean these fungicides are failing in the field. Instead, the discovery gives growers and industry an early warning and an opportunity to adapt management strategies before resistance becomes widespread.

"Detecting resistance at a low frequency means there is still time for industry to respond and put the right management strategies in place," said CCDM Associate Professor Fran Lopez Ruiz.

Read more in our spotlight article: https://buff.ly/i41IeBe

Grains Research and Development Corporation Curtin University Queensland Agriculture Primary Industries and Regional Development Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development University of Southern Queensland - Australia

🌱 Measuring canola's response to disease in the field.How do different canola varieties respond to Sclerotinia infection...
14/09/2026

🌱 Measuring canola's response to disease in the field.
How do different canola varieties respond to Sclerotinia infection? CCDM's Canola and Pulses group are working to find out.

The team recently planted seven canola varieties and inoculated them with Sclerotinia using the red rice method. Two weeks later, researchers are now scoring disease severity to assess how each variety has responded to infection.

These assessments provide valuable insights into varietal susceptibility and resistance, helping researchers better understand host-pathogen interactions and supporting the development of improved disease management strategies for growers.

Research like this plays an important role in identifying traits that could contribute to more resilient canola varieties and improved protection against one of the crop's most significant diseases.
Grains Research and Development Corporation Curtin University

🌾 On the ground in Esperance!Some of our Pulse pathology team are currently conducting our annual field survey across th...
10/09/2026

🌾 On the ground in Esperance!
Some of our Pulse pathology team are currently conducting our annual field survey across the Esperance region, monitoring pulse diseases and helping support better disease management for Australian growers.

This year, we're placing a particular focus on Ascochyta blight and Botrytis grey mould in lentil crops. By visiting paddocks, assessing disease presence and severity, and collecting samples for ongoing research, we're building a clearer picture of disease development across the region.

The information gathered through these surveys plays an important role in strengthening disease surveillance, supporting management decisions, and helping protect the productivity and profitability of Australia's grains industry.

A big thank you to Andrea Hills from Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the growers and agronomists who continue to support this important work and welcome our team onto their properties and trials.

Grains Research and Development Corporation Curtin University

🌾 That's a wrap on Newdegate Machinery Field Days 2026!A big thank you to everyone who stopped by the GRDC Tent over the...
04/09/2026

🌾 That's a wrap on Newdegate Machinery Field Days 2026!
A big thank you to everyone who stopped by the GRDC Tent over the past two days. It was fantastic to connect with growers, agronomists, researchers and industry representatives, and share how CCDM research is helping protect Australian grain production.

Thank you to and the for their support and collaboration throughout the event, and a special thank you to our CCDM staff who represented the Centre and helped make the field days such a success.

We appreciate all the great conversations and look forward to continuing to work with industry to tackle crop disease challenges.

Grains Research and Development Corporation Curtin University

🌱 The fight against lupin diseases starts in the field. Last week, the CCDM team inoculated 200 lupin genotypes across 1...
04/09/2026

🌱 The fight against lupin diseases starts in the field.

Last week, the CCDM team inoculated 200 lupin genotypes across 1,200 individual plots with Sclerotinia at our Northam field trial using their red rice inoculation method.

Under irrigated field conditions, researchers are screening for potential tolerance and resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot, with disease assessments to begin in six weeks.

This work forms part of the Lupin Disease Resistance Project, a multi-institutional effort tackling major lupin diseases including phomopsis, anthracnose, cucumber mosaic virus and Sclerotinia stem rot through field research, genetics and advanced technologies.

We look forward to seeing how the disease develops and what the researchers find!

WA Agricultural Research Collaboration
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
Centre for Crop & Food Innovation; & State Agriculture Biotechnology Centre, Murdoch University
Australian Grain Technologies
Curtin University, Curtin Molecular and Life Sciences

🌾 Day 1 of Newdegate Field Days is complete, and what a fantastic start!A big thank you to everyone who stopped by the G...
02/09/2026

🌾 Day 1 of Newdegate Field Days is complete, and what a fantastic start!

A big thank you to everyone who stopped by the GRDC tent to say hello and learn more about CCDM's research. It was great to connect with growers, agronomists, researchers and industry representatives from across the region.

A special thanks to our CCDM staff for representing the Centre and sharing their expertise throughout the day.

We're looking forward to another great day tomorrow. If you're attending Newdegate Field Days, come and see us at the GRDC tent!

Grains Research and Development Corporation Curtin University

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Curtin University, Kent Street
Perth, WA
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