Eminent plant pathologist still working after six decades

And it was no different for Professor Lester Burgess, when two inspiring lecturers at university evoked his desire to pursue a career in plant pathology.

While no one knew then just how far this career choice would take him, Professor Burgess was to become a highly regarded scientist with a career lasting the better part of six decades, and at 82 years of age, he is still working.

The eminent plant pathologist and former Dean of Agriculture at the University of Sydney is internationally recognised for his expertise in the biology and control of Fusarium diseases.

Born in Mudgee, Professor Burgess grew up in wheat and sheep country at nearby Cooyal, where his father was the headmaster of the one-teacher primary school.

"As my parents both came from farming families near Yass and Crookwell, I developed a keen interest in agriculture," he said.

"I elected to study Agricultural Science at the University of Sydney, where I became interested in plant pathology thanks to two inspiring lecturers, Professors Neville White and David Griffin, and then completed a Diploma of Education."

Professor Burgess accepted a wheat industry scholarship for a PhD on a newly emerging disease - Fusarium crown rot of cereals.

Three postdoctoral appointments followed at the University of California, Berkeley, Cornell University, New York, and the University of Melbourne, all involving research on Fusarium and other soil-borne crop pathogens.

"I then took up a lectureship in plant pathology at the University of Sydney in 1971 and continued research, focussing on Fusarium root, crown, and stalk rot diseases of wheat, maize and sorghum," he said.

Professor Burgess was prompted to pursue work in international research and development about 40 years ago after the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research requested he develop a project supervising international postgraduate students.

He has also contributed to master classes in research management sponsored by the Crawford Fund in various countries, including Tunisia, Turkey, China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

In contrast to his career-long research and postgraduate teachings, his role in international development projects has been focused on graduate training and research on root and stem rot diseases of a wide range of crops, including wheat, maize, black pepper, chilli peppers, tomato, beans, cabbages, coffee, watermelon, durian and citrus, through working with local staff and small-holder farmers.

"A key aspect of the work overseas relates to Australian relates to biosecurity issues of concern to Australia," Professor Burgess said.

"We need to know as much as possible about the biology and host range of exotic pathogens to plan effectively for incursion responses."

For example, Professor Burgess and his team isolated a fungal pathogen associated with chilli and eggplant root rot called Fusarium falciforme in Laos in 2023, an emerging pathogen of significance worldwide.

"We undertook more studies on this pathogen in Laos this February," he said.

"Some researchers have suggested that it may have mutated into a more virulent form."

Professor Burgess identified Huanglongbing disease (HLB) as one of the most important exotic citrus diseases of concern.

"The citrus pathology team at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI) of NSW DPI continuously work to improve the molecular detection protocols for this disease in preparedness for a possible incursion," he said.

"We collect citrus leaf mid-rib samples from citrus trees with HLB and other diseases in Laos and bring them back to EMAI in 90 per cent ethanol to help improve detection protocols."

Professor Burgess established and has been running The Crawford Fund mentoring program in Laos since 2009, which has supported about 20 young Australian volunteers, 10 mentors on short-term placements, and other interns and postgraduate students also on short-term visits to work on improving crop and soil health, biosecurity, food safety, weed control, and, ultimately, food security.

Activities Professor Burgess has organised include holding farmer workshops on the safe use of pesticides, building a plant shade house for seedlings, and assisting a refuge for sex-trafficked girls to grow a successful vegetable garden.

Professor Burgess's international research has contributed to a better understanding and identification of significant pests and diseases of cash crops such as watermelons, cabbages and chilli and provided training on their cost-effective management.

His research publications provide a continued source of information for other researchers and advisers.

"One of my guiding principles has been to maintain a long-term focus on specific crops and regions," he said.

"In Vietnam, I focused on the key central provinces and their important horticultural crops as well as peanuts and maize.

"In Laos, my focus has been on the two main southern provinces, Champasak and Savannakhet, which are both key agricultural regions.

"I like to return to the same farms so I can monitor whether advice has been adopted and how successful it has been.

"Establishing a good rapport with farmers is essential for achieving needed changes in practices for disease control.

"Fortunately, I work closely with counterparts in the Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office in Pakse, some of whom have good English and can accurately translate advice in Lao to the farmers and translate the farmers' questions and concerns for me."

Professor Burgess has observed many similarities between farmers in the countries where he has worked.

"The majority are committed to learning new practices and adopting new crop cultivars, sharing information, and working long hours," he said.

"The differences relate to the size of farms, the level of investment in farm machinery, and, of course, different crops."

Professor Burgess said that in some Asian regions, much of the planting and harvesting still relied on manual labour, often done by women farmers.

"Consequently, our farmer training workshops have included women farmers," he said.

"We also had DFAT funding in Laos specifically for residential workshops for female watermelon and vegetable farmers.

"Some attendees brought grandmothers to care for the children and babies during training sessions."

Professor Burgess said a satisfying aspect of his work was seeing small, sometimes large, improvements in productivity and income through the adoption of disease control measures.

"These can, for example, mean the farm family can buy a better motorbike, improve their home, send children to school, buy their children textbooks, and afford medical advice," he said.

Professor Burgess said his most memorable overseas experience was working on an ACIAR project in Vietnam, where the training team involved two young staff members from Hue University.

"The youngest was a very shy new woman graduate, Vinh, from Nghe An province, who spoke no English," he said.

"My wife coached her in English, and she became quite proficient by the end of the project in 2008.

"She was then put in charge of the new laboratory we had established for her province.

"The following year, Vinh diagnosed two 'new' diseases in Vietnam with no help from me or other pathologists.

"For one of these, she wrote a scientific paper on one of the diseases for a national journal for which she received the national award for the best research paper of that year!

"In 2019, Vinh was awarded a travel grant to attend the biennial Australasian Plant Pathology Society Conference and visit with plant pathologists in rural research centres in NSW, including Orange Agricultural Research Institute, where she had discussions with the curators of the large Insect Pest and Culture collections and the Plant Disease Herbarium."

Professor Burgess said the most enjoyable facet of mentoring activities in Laos was seeing the growth in understanding crop diseases, the nature of the pathogens and their control at all levels, from farmers through to senior government staff.

"The young graduates quickly become proficient in the diagnostic laboratory despite having little laboratory training at the local University," he said.

Among other awards, Professor Burgess earned The Crawford Fund Medal in 2012 for contributions to international agricultural research and an Australia Day Honour in 2019 for significant service to international agricultural research in plant pathology and biosecurity.

He said it was difficult to pinpoint the most satisfying accolade.

"All awards mean a lot to me," he said.

"However, with respect to international development, the two most satisfying awards are the Vietnam Government Medal for Contributions to Rural Development in 2003 and The Crawford Fund Medal."