One of the nursery industry’s biggest initiatives – 202020 Vision – could be coming to a nursery and garden trade show near you, with industry levies supporting state and territory nursery associations in holding practical workshops for growers.
The 202020 Vision initiative aims to boost green life in our cities by 20 per cent by 2020, which in turn assists in lifting sales of Australian nursery stock. More
Imagine having to look at 139,000 photos, and decide if they’re mostly of grass, trees, or hard surfaces.
That’s what a team of researchers has spent the past few months doing, as part of the project Where should all the trees go? An investigation of the impact of tree canopy cover on socio-economic status and wellbeing in LGAs (NY16005).
It follows on from the 2014 report Where are all the trees? – which created Australia’s first national baseline measurement of tree canopy cover – and will update and compare those figures for each of Australia’s 139 urban Local Government Areas. More
Eucalyptus rust, Guava rust
Pest of the month: Eucalyptus rust, Guava rust (Puccinia psidii)
Category name: Fungi
Importance: Emergency disease, however currently found only in Eastern Australia.
Symptoms: The fungus attacks young tissues of new leaves, fruits, flowers, shoots and succulent twigs. The disease can cause deformation of leaves, heavy defoliation of branches, dieback, stunted growth and even death. More
A request to review industry standard AS2303: 2015 Tree Stock for Landscape Use will be made this year, following new research that shows Australia’s landscape trees have a much greater variation than it allows.
The project Evaluation of nursery tree stock balance parameters (NY15001) has been carried out to provide additional data backing for the standard, often used by nurseries, councils and landscape architects to determine trees ready for dispatch are ‘fit for purpose’.
The team from Western Sydney University’s Hawkesbury Institute of the Environment recently concluded nursery visits, which involved collecting extensive tree measurements from 23 wholesale nurseries across Australia.
The 202020 Vision team is going to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS), being held 29 March to 2 April.
Ben Peacock from The Republic of Everyone, which runs the 202020 Vision project, will present to several different audiences, delivering messages about the importance of urban green space, and providing information on tools being developed to help increase it. More
Webinars are being held to help with the identification of the major pest mite groups likely to be encountered in a production nursery; and the steps to take once virus-like symptoms are identified to confirm if a virus is present.
The presenters will be Andrew Manners and John Duff, from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), who collectively have over 45 years of experience in pest and disease management. More
