Scotts Head deserves more than tokenistic consultation - Save our iconic Paperbarks!

And surprise conifer at Freo's smelliest bus stop

What do coffee, sugar, wheat, soy, eucalypts and paperbarks all have in common?

What do coffee, sugar, wheat, soy, eucalypts and paperbarks all have in common?

What do coffee, sugar, wheat, soy, eucalypts and paperbarks all have in common? They are all susceptible to parasitic rust diseases caused by fungi. Plant rust disease can easily be spotted by the characteristic orange or yellow spores that cover plant leaves, making them look rusty. The spores are easily transferred to your skin by touch or carried by the wind to other host plants. Despite their symptomatic similarities, each species of rust fungus is restricted to a single type of plant host. Farmers and nursery managers often use fungicide to tackle plant rust disease, but we need to find ways to decrease our reliance on fungicide treatment. Otherwise, we risk fuelling fungicide resistance. Could treating with natural beneficial fungi be a viable alternative? What we did and what we found To find out, we grew 143 species of fungi that were living in association with the leaves of the Australian native scrub turpentine tree, a species now considered critically endangered due to the effects of myrtle rust disease. Myrtle rust disease, cause by the exotic fungus Austropuccinia psidii is a type of plant rust disease, and it’s a huge problem. At least 380 Australian native plants are susceptible to...

In wet season, Jonathan and his family have to drive, boat and drive again if they want to reach town. The remote NT traditional owner says nature has long been warning us about climate change, "but n...

drhoz: “#2995 - Mycena clarkeanaA bonnet fungus native to Australia and New Zealand, where it grows on dead logs. In this case one of the many paperbarks killed by the honey fungus running rampant in....