Key Points
- Soil-borne diseases may have a large impact on cereal yields and reduce crop quality
- Most of the causal pathogens survive in host crop residues in or on the soil and usually remain there as long as susceptible host residues remain
- Take-all and sharp eyespot are the most common root and stem-base diseases in NZ. Although occurring in barley, they are more significant in wheat, particularly autumn sown wheat
- Crop rotation is an important means of reducing pathogen inoculum