Mould Matters & Future Fungicides

Fungi aren’t all bad. They’ve given us penicillin – one of the most important medicines ever discovered.
But they can also rot our crops, threaten food security, and spread resistance to our best fungicides.

Climate change is introducing fungal diseases where they previously didn’t exist. And as farmers use more fungicides to combat these threats, fungi develop resistance – creating a vicious cycle of increasing pesticide use, environmental pollution, and diminishing effectiveness.

Dr Donovan Garcia-Ceron is on the case. He works at Victorian Strawberry Industry Certification Authority Research to ensure that we can all have good strawberry fields forever.

He discusses why traditional fungicides are losing effectiveness, and how RNA-based fungicides can “silence” fungal infections – essentially telling fungi to turn off the genes they need to cause infection. Next generation fungicides could revolutionise sustainable agriculture.

Originally aired 5th May, 2026.

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