Ngi Updates | Your Levy at Work

Growing Together Tour heading to Brisbane

The final leg of the Growing Together Tour by 202020 Vision is taking place in Brisbane on Thursday, 19 September 20 at The Gardens Club.

The main event is targeted towards local government, developers, urban greening professionals and town planners. It aims to equip decision-makers with the latest resources and research from 202020 Vision on community attitudes towards green space.

Later that evening, growers and retailers are invited to attend an Industry briefing dinner, where the team will present the research, share insights from the event series to date, and provide an update on the next phase of 202020 Vision and Plant Life Balance.

Register for upcoming IPM Workshop in NSW

by Levy Communications • NGI Updates

NSW production nurseries are invited to attend an upcoming biosecurity workshop on ‘Integrated Pest Management, Insect and Mite Identification’ on 9 October 2019 at Rouse Hill.

In collaboration with NGIA, the Queensland Department of Agriculture (QDAF) will deliver a workshop on how to prevent pests from damaging crops using IPM. The project is funded by Hort Innovation using the nursery industry levy and funds from QDAF.

Budget tool set to showcase costs & benefits of establishing trees in urban landscape

by Levy Communications • NGI Updates

A new nursery levy funded project aims to develop a budget tool that can calculate the costs associated with a successfully planted urban tree over the course of its lifecycle.

The budget tool will be a valuable resource for industry and local governments to use in highlighting the costs and benefits associated with the successful establishment of tree-based urban greenspace.

Developing a more accurate way of determining the current costs to establish and maintain trees in an urban setting will allow industry to raise awareness and better communicate the value of more green life in our urban landscapes.

Greater urban greenspace is needed to increase the liveability of our cities, particularly with the associated health and environmental benefits stemming from cleaner air and cooler cities.

The aim is that by providing a tool which can quantify a cost-benefit analysis of establishing urban trees, the industry will be able to better promote its value. More

September Pest of the Month: African citrus psyllid

by Levy Communications • NGI Updates

Name: African citrus psyllid, Trioza erytreae

The main economic importance of T. erytreae is that it is the vector of the very serious citrus huanglongbing disease caused by Liberibacter species. While the insect itself is a minor citrus pest, huanglongbing is a serious threat to citrus-producing areas worldwide.

The African citrus psyllid, Asiatic citrus psyllid and huanglongbing disease are not known to occur in Australia. If these pests become established in Australia, they have the potential to cause major crop losses and any farm/orchard infested can be quarantined. All citrus cultivars are a host for African citrus psyllids (e.g. orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, mandarin, cumquat, tangelo, pomelo, native citrus and citrus rootstock). Native and exotic mock orange/orange jasmine (Murraya spp.), white ironwood (Vepris lanceolata), lime berry (Triphasia trifolia) and horsewood (Clausena anisata) are also hosts.T. erytreae affects other species in the Rutaceae family, and can feed on Cape chestnut (Calodendrum capense), orange-climber or forest-pepper (Toddalia asiatica) and small knobwood (Zanthoxylum capense).

Similar to: More

Improving plant industry access to new genetics through faster and more accurate diagnostics using next generation sequencing (MT18005)

by Levy Communications • NGI Updates

Monday, 2 September 2019

Background

A new Hort Innovation levy-funded project seeks to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of virus detection in plant genetic material in post-entry quarantine facilities, through the adoption of next generation sequencing.

Utilisation of this sequencing technology will improve current methods and techniques to allow for quicker access to new genetic stocks. The technology is a cost-effective option which has potential to increase business resilience, by allowing the import of larger panels of genetic stocks to adapt to local environmental conditions.

Past research has found utilising next generation sequencing has great promise; strongly correlating with methods currently used at post entry quarantine (PEQ) facilities.

In 2018, the Australian horticultural sector exported an estimated $2.4 billion of produce highlighting the importance of importing ‘clean’ and true-to-type plant materials that improve biosecurity and provide access to valuable markets.

Run by The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in collaboration with Agriculture Victoria, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries (NZ MPI), the project aims to develop a useful tool for plant pathologists, enabling users to conduct shorter, more efficient and accurate plant pest screenings.

Plant protection workshops coming to Northern Australia

by Levy Communications • NGI Updates

Thursday, 15 August 2019

Nursery & Garden Industry Australia has teamed up with the Northern Territory Government and the Australian Department of Agriculture to deliver a series of free and practical plant protection workshops for growers in Northern Australia.

Held across the NT, QLD and WA, the workshops will assist growers on how to implement an effective plant protection program. Attendees will learn how to create a program that assists in the prevention, mitigation and assessment of pests in production nurseries.

Each workshop will also cover best practice resources for the nursery industry, such as BioSecure HACCP, as well as the following topics:

Introduction to key elements of plant protection programmes in nursery production
How plant protection in nursery productions aligns with components of Best Management Practice and biosecurity programmes
How to access information on developing plant protection programmes
How to apply plant protection principles in developing detailed Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plans
Practical crop monitoring procedures.

NGIA has engaged Technical Advisor at NGIQ, Lex McMullin, to deliver the workshop series. A representative from Biological Services, a national IPM service company, will also provide implementation and monitoring tips on the day.