Catherine Wundele

The recently held International Women’s Day serves as a timely reminder that there are great opportunities for women to pursue in their given careers, particularly when it comes to mentoring and encouraging leadership, management and communication skills for other women in business.

Catherine Wundele plans to pursue this very opportunity as a scholarship recipient of the Executive Ready leadership program, run by Women & Leadership Australia (WLA) in partnership with Hort Innovation.

Currently the admin and HR Manager at Plant Growers Australia production nursery in Wonga Park, Victoria, Catherine will shortly begin an intensive seven-month professional development program, covering topics including team dynamics, driving performance, communication and influence and leading innovation and change.

Plant Growers Australia production nursery employs more than 80 staff, and produces more than 300 lines of native and exotic varieties that are supplied to independent and larger retail chains across Australia.

As the only woman in a senior management role in the business, Catherine sees the program as an opportunity to build essential skills to progress her own career and the career of those around her. More

Registrations have opened for two free webinars to equip production nursery managers with the latest insights on sustainable pesticide usage and effective phytotoxicity management.

Hosted by Dr Andrew Manners from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), the following webinars are part of the nursery levy funded project Building the resilience and on-farm biosecurity capacity of the Australian production nursery industry (NY15002), a collaborative project between Nursery and Garden Industry Australia (NGIA), Horticulture Innovation and DAF. More

Downy mildew

Month: March

Disease: Downy mildew – various genera including Peronospora, Plasmopara, Bremia and others.

Symptoms: Symptoms vary on different plant hosts and include spots on leaves, stems and flower stalks which may range in colour from light green to yellow or red. The upper leaf surface can show chlorotic (yellow) patches, while the typical downy grey fungal growth can be seen (under humid conditions) on the underside of these patches. Severe infections can lead to leaf drop, shoot dieback and leaf rosetting. The infection can become systemic in some hosts causing stunting and yellowing of growing tissues.

Transmission: Air-borne spores are produced at night, generally on the undersides of leaves, and released in the morning as the air dries out. These spores are short lived and need water to germinate. The fungi can survive on contaminated soil, plant debris, seed or other propagating material and on weed hosts.

Favoured by: Leaves that are wet for long periods, when humidity is high and the weather cool (temperatures of 4^o – 27^o C depending on host). More

Zoe Palmer

If you are ready to advance your career, or know of an emerging leader in your business, now is the time to apply for the 2018 Green Industry Growing Leaders Program.

The Green Industry Growing Leaders Program is a four-month professional development course, funded by Hort Innovation and designed to equip the next generation of nursery and turf industry participants with stronger leadership skills to drive effective business change.

Zoe Palmer from Anderson Horticulture Pty Ltd, New South Wales, participated in the 2017 program and believes the course empowered her to receive a promotion to Nursery Manager.

“I needed to step-up into a managerial role and knew what I needed to do, but didn’t have the tools to do it. This program has given me the skills and confidence to make better decisions and manage the team more effectively,” said Ms Palmer. More

A new resource to help teachers bring more green life into their classrooms and playgrounds has been released as the next phase of the nursery industry’s national marketing initiative, Plant Life Balance.

About the Guides

The new guides, How to Green Your School, will add another dimension to the initiative by getting Australia’s school community aware and excited about green life and the benefits it brings to our lives and our communities.

It features two guides to help green our schools from the inside, out. The first is focused on transforming the classroom into a healthier, more productive space and, the second, on how schools can develop a shadier, happier playground for kids to enjoy.

More

Powdery Mildew on Dahlia

Month: February 2018

Pest: Powdery mildew – Various genera including Oidium, Erysiphe, Leveillula and others.

Symptoms: White powdery appearance on infected host tissue. Usually on upper leaf surfaces, but can also be on stems and underside of leaves. Lesions start as small, circular, white, powdery patches. The fungus can quickly cover both leaf surfaces. Young infected growth is distorted or puckered while leaves may turn yellow, shrivel and die.

Transmission: Produces air-borne spores which are released into the air when temperatures are moderate and there is a drop in humidity. Spores are spread with air movement, but not over long distances.

Favoured by: Humid nights with temperatures of around 15^oC combined with day temperatures above 26^oC with low humidity. Spores can germinate and infect plants without surface wetness, but germination is favoured when humidity is high. The fungus flourishes in dry, warm and shaded conditions. More