Tuesday, 8 December 2020

Fungus gnat larva. Note the distinctive black head capsule.

Name: Fungus gnats – Bradysia spp.

Larvae feed on organic matter and roots, stripping root hairs especially of seedlings and young plants. Tunnel into stems at and below the soil line causing collapse of tissue. Larvae can ingest fungal spores such as Pythium and Fusarium and spread them in both the larval and adult stages. Adults can spread foliar diseases like Botrytis.

Egg: Very small, laid in cracks and crevices of soil surface. Immatures: White, semi-transparent and maggot-like, with distinctive black head. Pupates in soil or potting media. Adult: Small, slender black or dark brown fly with long dangling legs and long antennae. Often found running over soil surface or leaves, weak fliers. Y-shaped vein at tip of wing.

For further information, please refer to the Pest ID Tool at: https://pestid.com.au/pest-insect/fungus-gnats  More

The ‘Where Will all the Trees Be’, Urban Canopy Benchmarking Report, is now available.

Led by RMIT University, Greener Spaces Better Places and funded by Hort Innovation, this report provides longitudinal research results from 131 Local Government Areas (LGA) on urban green cover increase and decline. The research promotes the importance and value of green cover to urban liveability, particularly in the context of ongoing population growth and the expansion of Australian cities and suburbs.

The research

Building on the previous ‘Where Are All The Trees’, and ‘Where Should All The Trees Go’ reports, this research has sought to:

• Understand to what extent factors such as urban density, population growth and effort influence local councils’ ability to increase or maintain their urban green cover.
• Identify ‘Best on Ground’ councils who, despite a range of challenges, are finding innovative ways to protect and increase their urban green cover.
• Capture the broader community’s imagination and understanding of the value of urban green cover by translating ‘targets’ and ‘percentages of cover’ into a more tangible vision for the future, through imagery and an interactive ‘search my postcode’ tool.

More

On Tuesday, 8 December, the University of Melbourne’s Green Infrastructure Research group is hosting a 90-minute online workshop to outline the key maintenance requirements for a range of Australian green roofs.

Delivered as part of the Hort Frontier Green Cities project, ‘Researching the benefits of demonstration green roofs across Australia’ (GC16002), participants will gain a broad understanding of green roof maintenance considerations as well as detailed information on specific tasks for different types of large and small systems such as roofs for stormwater control, podium gardens and residential projects.

As the long-term benefits of green roofs such as rainwater capture, increased biodiversity and mitigation of urban heat islands become clearer, the importance of understanding green roofs becomes more important.

All greenlife stakeholders are encouraged to join the workshop including growers, designers, building owners and managers, developers, and landscapers.

Presenters include: More

Thursday, 19 November 2020

Detected infesting field-grown vegetables in western Sydney in October, Serpentine leafminer has now been found across several horticultural cropping systems including production nurseries in the Greater Sydney area.

New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and Greater Sydney Local Land Services (GS LLS) are mounting a response to delimit the current distribution, with the aim to eradicate, or contain and control this pest.

Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA) has also been working with the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to secure a Minor Use Permit (MUP) PER88977, for the management of leafminers including Serpentine leafminer (SLM).

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Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Collection for the 2020 Nursery Industry Statistics survey is underway. But in order best represent the true value of Australia’s nursery industry, help from growers and nursery landscapers and retailers is needed.

Greater participation will address key data gaps for the nursery industry and provide a more accurate picture of its social and economic contribution. For the first time, we are also including landscapers and retailers in the survey will help identify greening trends to support future nursery production and improve availability of stock.

Findings from the study will help support our industry’s marketing and advocacy efforts.

More