A new project is set to unearth leading research and development (R&D) from around the world and develop a roadmap that will help guide future R&D investment and collaborative opportunities for Australia’s nursery industry.

The six-month project, Global Review and Gap Analysis of Nursery Industry Research and Development Initiatives (NY17006), is being carried out by RMCG, a consulting company that specialises in horticultural R&D.

It aims to investigate world-leading nursery R&D initiatives and provide an action plan on how the industry can build an innovative R&D program here in Australia. The project is funded by Hort Innovation using the nursery industry levy and funds from the Australian Government. More

The Strategic Investment Advisory Panel (SIAP) is a panel of industry representatives that provides advice to Hort Innovation in relation to industry R&D and marketing investments, funded by nursery industry levies and contributions from the Australian Government.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your career in the nursery industry

I’m a fourth-generation horticulturalist from Redland Bay and have been involved in the family business since the early 1980s. I grew up surrounded by plants and have always felt very connected to the industry.

Earlier in my career, I studied in New Zealand, and returned to work full time in the nursery in 1983. Today, we own and operate Greenlife Solutions which specialises in young plants of frangipanis and advanced palms for landscape use.

I’m also General Manager of Proven Winners Australia, a marketing cooperative for new flowering ornamentals and shrubs.

More

The exotic plant pest Tomato potato psyllid (TPP) is known to affect plant growth, reduce crop yield and spread a serious plant disease known as ‘zebra chip’ in potato, caused by the Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso) bacterium. Currently, there has been no detection of CLso in Australia.

In February 2017, TPP was detected in Western Australia. This was the first time TPP had been found on mainland Australia, and in response the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) released the Transition to management plan. More

It may not always be obvious that a certain process or product in the nursery was the result of levy funded research and development (R&D) or marketing.

In fact, trolley systems, irrigation practices and pest management programs, are just a few ways that your nursery levy has made a positive impact on the industry we know today.

The nursery levy is currently set at 5% on containers (such as pots, bags and seedling trays) used by production nurseries. From this, 2.75% is for R&D and 0.25% for plant health programs, as well as 2% for marketing initiatives. More