AN understanding of the physiology of crop growth and grain filling can help in agronomic management of cereal crops. In particular, foliar disease management can be enhanced by knowledge of disease severity and the economic benefit of spray timing inrelation to the protection and retention of green leaf area. With diseases such as stripe rust estimated to cost the Australian wheat industry 127 million dollar annually, an understanding of the impact of leaf loss on yield is crucial. In particular, the estimation of individual leaf and stem contribution to yield plays a critical role in assessing potential economic impact and management decisions relating to disease control. Grain yield can be considered as the balance between the supply of assimilates (carbohydrates, proteins etc) and the capacity of the grains to accumulate these assimilates - often referred to as the 'source' and the 'sink' respectively.
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