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

Nursery industry participants from across the country will converge on Hobart for three big days of updates, workshops and networking at the 2018 Nursery Garden Industry National Conference & Exhibition being held from 19-21 February.

The conference includes a variety of informative presentations from across the supply chain, including six presentations related to strategic levy investments happening under the Hort Innovation Nursery Fund, enabling growers to get first-hand insights into the latest project updates and research findings.

Ben Peacock, Founder of Republic of Everyone, will be on-hand at the conference to present updates and discuss all things 202020 Vision related, as well as the consumer marketing campaign, Plant Life Balance.

Conference delegates will be able to hear Mr Peacock’s presentation 202020 Vision and Plant Life Balance during the 11am timeslot on Tuesday 20 February.

We caught up with Mr Peacock to hear about what his presentation has in-store and how the campaigns are going more broadly. More

Growers of banana and avocado crops can expect to benefit from the transition of their clean plant programs to the Nursery Production Farm Management System over the next 12-18 months, and other horticulture industries are likely to follow suit.

Both the banana and avocado industries have well-established and well-recognised programs to ensure the provision of high quality, disease-free planting material, but decided to consolidate these into the overarching Nursery Production FMS to reduce the cost and improve the speed and quality of high health and biosecurity measures.

The full story is available here.