Nursery Papers

Urban Vegetation and Heat Related Mortality
In this month’s Nursery Paper, Dr Dong Chen and the team from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) look at urban vegetation and its impact upon heat related mortality. This research represents one of the first attempts to develop quantitative estimates of the potential benefit of urban vegetation in reducing heat related mortality.The project involved modelling of vegetation and mortality relationships for the summer of 2009 and projected future climates in Melbourne. Different urban vegetation scenarios were tested, with the forest scheme predicted to achieve up to 100% reduction in excess mortality rate in comparison with the CBD vegetation scheme. From these results it is recommended that urban vegetation be a key component in heat wave mitigation and for preventative health.

Crisis Management in the Australian Nursery Industry
There are a number of issues which have the potential to escalate into a crisis and cause serious adverse commercial and reputational impact to the Australian nursery and garden industry, both at an individual business level and at a state or national organisation level. As an industry we must take the opportunity to be prepared to address these issues before they arise. In this month’s Nursery Paper NGIA Policy and Technical Officer Chris O’Connor explains what a crisis is in the nursery industry, the importance of crisis management, steps to take during a crisis and where to turn to if you need help with a crisis.

Survey of Nursery Industry Attitudes towards the Australian Urban Forest

In order to better understand the attitudes of the Australian nursery and garden industry (NGI)
in relation to urban forests, Nursery and Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) undertook a Survey
of Nursery Industry Attitudes towards the Australian Urban Forest. The survey was conducted
online via Survey Monkey during September and October 2012 and targeted the retail,
production and allied sectors of the Australian NGI. In this month’s Nursery Paper,
NGIA Environmental & Technical Policy Manager, Dr Anthony Kachenko reports on
the key results and recommendations of this survey.

Minor Use Pesticide Program

The Minor Use Pesticide program allows for pesticides (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulators, etc.), that do not have a legally approved label registration, to be used in a non-registered cropping system under an authorised APVMA permit. In this months Nursery Paper, Queensland Industry Development Manager John McDonald explains how managing the National Minor Use Pesticide Portfolio delivers new chemistry to support on-farm plant protection management activities.

Fungicide resistance

Fungicides are often used as a critical part of an integrated pathogen control strategy as pathogenic fungi have the ability to significantly reduce the yield and quality of plant stock if left untreated. However with incorrect management there is potential for fungicide resistance to develop. In this month's Nursery Paper Industry Development Officer David Reid investigates fungicide resistance and explores suitable methods for controlling this.

Reducing the Pest Risk – Industry’s Policy Position on Biosecurity and Quarantine

Nursery and Garden Industry Australia launched ‘Reducing the Pest Risk – The Australian Nursery and Garden Industry's Policy Position on Quarantine and Biosecurity’ at its National Conference on Thursday 15 March 2012. The Policy Position paves the way for industry to ensure biosecurity responsibilities are shared equally between governments, industry and the community as part of the biosecurity continuum.
In this month’s Nursery Paper NGIA Environmental & Technical Policy Manager, Dr Anthony Kachenko provides an overview of this Policy Position and what it means for industry.

Cylindrocladium diseases of nursery plants

Various species of the fungus Cylindrocladium cause a wide range of destructive diseases in nursery plants and are particularly prevalent in more tropical areas. Cylindrocladium scoparium occurs worldwide, and is the most commonly reported causal agent of Cylindrocladium diseases in Australia, although a number of other species are also important pathogens including Cylindrocladium spathiphylli.

This nursery paper was prepared by Lindy Coates, Leif Forsberg and Tony Cooke (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Queensland) as part of levy funded project NY11001 Plant health, biosecurity, risk management and capacity building for the nursery industry. It provides an overview of the fungus Cylindrocladium and how to prevent and control this disease of nursery plants.

How to Minimise the Effects of Carbon Pricing on Nursery Production Systems

On July 1 2012, the new carbon price policy – Clean Energy Future – was introduced by the Australian Government. While the nursery industry will not be directly involved in the carbon price mechanism, it is expected that the carbon price will result in cost increases for key agricultural inputs with the most significant costs relating to energy and energy intensive inputs such as fertilisers, chemicals and machinery .
In this month’s Nursery Paper NGIA Environmental & Technical Policy Manager, Dr Anthony Kachenko provides an overview of strategies that can be applied within production systems to minimise the impact of the carbon price policy .

A pest concern for Production Nurseries that reinforces the need for IPM in your business

Over the past few years many new varieties of plant species have been developed and sold widely within the nursery industry of Australia.

Subsequently, as plant stocks increase within production nurseries and variations in local climatic conditions have their effect on insects and pests in and around crops, different issues are raised regarding identification and treatment of unusual pest problems that generally do not require treatment!

In this months Nursery Paper IDO Grant Dalwood looks at the impacts of Midge Flies on the nursery industry and suitable methods for their control.

Mitigating Extreme Summer Temperatures with Vegetation

Recently, Dr Dong Chen and the team from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and NGIA modelled the potential benefit of vegetation in reducing extreme summer temperatures in Melbourne CBD under different climate scenarios. Results showed that the cooling benefit of various urban forms and vegetation schemes may be in the range of 0.3°C to 2°C. The team also found that although Melbourne is projected to be warmer in 2050 and 2090, the relative benefit of urban vegetation will not change significantly. In this Nursery Paper, Dr Dong Chen details the rationale to this research and the results to date.

Do herbicides applied in production nurseries have the potential to leach and accumulate in water storages?

The use of pesticides (herbicides, insecticides and fungicides) are an integral part of containerised plant production. They are used to assist nursery managers in maintaining a clean, healthy growing environment, while reducing labour to manage pests and weeds. In this Nursery Paper, NGINA Industry Development Officer Michael Danelon summarises the findings of a research project looking into “Herbicide residues in nursery dam water: A pilot monitoring program report” conducted by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) Queensland.

The Nursery Production Plant Health & Biosecurity Project

The Nursery Production Plant Health & Biosecurity Project covers a number of disciplines including research, industry development and extension in partnership with Agri-Science Queensland. The project is aimed at enhancing and strengthening the capacity of industry to plan, manage and respond to plant pest issues across Australia at both a farm and strategic national level. In this Nursery Paper, NGIQ Industry Development Manager John McDonald, provides a summary of this significant industry levy funded project.

Taking our strategy to the next phase - More Trees Please to Improve your Plant/Life Balance.

In 2011 the Australian nursery & garden industry launched its new marketing strategy titled Improve Your Plant/Life Balance.   This strategy was designed to meet objectives within the industry’s Strategic Plan 2010-2015.

The first phase was launched with the campaign, ‘Put a Plant on Your Desk’, and was judged an outstanding success.  In 2012 the Australian nursery & garden industry takes the strategy to its next level with a campaign called ‘More Trees Please’, which has been developed in conjunction with an industry consultative panel.

This Nursery Paper outlines the objectives of this campaign, its key elements and the range of activities which will be implemented throughout the year. Importantly, this campaign will build upon the work already done to engage with target audiences through established social media networks.

Managing Plant Pathogens in Recycled Irrigation Water

A researcher from the University of Melbourne has reviewed the scientific literature related to managing plant pathogens in recycled irrigation water. Plant pathogens present in the irrigation system of commercial plant nurseries and greenhouses constitute a disease risk to plants, and the continual recycling of this water can exacerbate this risk. Plant pathogens in recycled irrigation water can be managed by treatment methods from four broad categories: cultural, physical, chemical and biological. An integrated approach using one or more techniques from each category is likely to be the most effective strategy in combating plant pathogens in recycled irrigation water. This Nursery Paper compiles this information to enable growers to compare treatments and consider the best strategy for their enterprise.

Does plant diversity in biofilters affect stormwater runoff quality and quantity? Prudence Hucker and Claire Farrell (The University of Melbourne)

This nursery paper reports on the outcomes of a research trial that examined the effects of increased plant diversity (number of species) on the quality and volume of runoff from biofilters. Biofilters are small plantings incorporated into streetscapes and are used to remove pollutants such

as metals, nutrients and sediments from stormwater. The purpose of the trial was to investigate whether biofilters with increased plant diversity, especially those which include monocots will be most effective at reducing stormwater volume and improving quality. This research was undertaken

at The University of Melbourne by Prudence Hucker as part of her Honours degree in Natural Resource Management. Her research was supervised by Dr Claire Farrell and was made possible by direct funding from NGIA through the Nursery Industry Research & Development Levy.

The Effect of Biochar Amended Growing Media on Plant Nutrition and Growth

Over the past few years, there has been growing interest in using biochar as soil amendments to improve and maintain soil fertility and to increase soil carbon sequestration. Unfortunately, most of this research has failed to investigate whether biochar behaves similarly when incorporated in growing media. In this NurserPaper NGIA Environmental & Technical Policy Manager, Dr Anthony Kachenko summarises preliminary research undertaken by Nursery and Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) to assess the effect of biochar.....

Estimating the benefits of Australian Street  Trees using i-Tree Stratum - A Pilot Study
Abstract
A US software  package  called i-Tree STRATUM designed  to quantify the physical and economic benefits of street trees was trialled by University of Melbourne  in a study of two Melbourne  city councils, the central City of Melbourne  and the newer City of Hume on the cities outskirts.  This research was made possible by direct funding from Nursery and Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) through the ....

Sampling for Analysis

Analysing plant tissue, soil, growing media, water and hydroponic solutions produces numerous benefits to the grower: a proven process to achieve much healthier and stronger crop growth with higher yields and added disease resistance; production becomes more efficient as growth improves due to less plant stress and less disease control measures; and minimised crop loss. The key to effective analysis is timing and knowing how .....

Managing Myrtle Rust in Australia

Myrtle rust (Uredo rangelii) has the potential to infect all myrtaceous plants within our built (gardens & landscape), rural and natural environments along the coastline of Australia. Under threat from this disease, if it becomes widely established, are a number of identified threatened native plant species across Australia plus a range of endangered wildlife habitat(s) that could have a major impact on our natural biodiversity. Queensland Industry Development Manager John McDonald details in this Nursery Paper how to recognise and manage myrtle rust in Australia.

 The Role of Collaboration in Building a Sustainable Nursery Industry

This Nursery Paper looks at the changing landscape of commercial business where relationships are the corner stone of success. It has been found that the impact of collaborative relationships on business can be twice as significant as a company’s aggressiveness in pursuing new market opportunities and five times as significant as the external market environment (Microsoft News Centre, 2006). First delving into cross sector partnerships with community outcomes in mind, we will then digress to the benefits of businesses working with each other within the industry. This culminates in the form of Business to Consumer (B2C) collaboration, where the economic model of comparative advantage plays a key role in establishing a more sustainable industry.

Biosecurity – what is it and what does it mean to the nursery and garden industry?

The Nursery and Garden Industry grows and supplies a vast range of plants to many different regions of Australia. Plants grown by the industry are subject to a range of pests across the different climatic regions and environments throughout Australia. It is not just the existing established pests within Australia which the nursery industry should be concerned about. Exotic plant pests not currently known to exist in Australia are a real threat as well. Fortunately, due to the geographic isolation of Australia, we have had relatively few of the exotic plant pests which have impacted on plant industries overseas such as Sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum). Freedom from these pests is a vital part of the future profitability, productivity and sustainability of Australia’s plant industries and will also help protect the natural environment and landscape across Australia. (Michael Danelon, Nursery Industry Development Officer NGINA).

Managing Liverworts and Mosses in Nurseries
In this Nursery Paper Robert Chin, NGIV Nursery Industry Development Officer takes a closer look at liverworts and mosses. He shows the detrimental effects they have on the nursery industry as well as their general environmental implications. He also suggests preventative measures and cultural techniques and treatments to best manage them on your nursery premises.

NIASA Greenlife Market Accreditation

Following the inception of the Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme Australia (NIASA) in 1996, there has been over 260 businesses gain NIASA accreditation. During this time, the program has gone through several updates to ensure it continues to meet Industry Best Practice. In 2010, the National NIASA Accreditation Committee identified an opportunity within the program for Greenlife Markets to gain NIASA Greenlife Market accreditation. In this Nursery Paper NGISA Industry Development Officer (IDO), Grant Dalwood outlines how Greenlife Markets can become accredited under the NIASA program....

On March 2 2011 the Nursery & garden Industry will launch its most ambitious and dynamic marketing campaign in many years. Across the country more than 20,000 plants will be given away to commuters as they arrive for work. Dressed in branded t-shirts, promotional staff and more than 80 industry personnel will create a buzz as we stimulate interest in plants and the national Improve Your Plant/Life Balance campaign.

In this Nursery Paper Jacqui Gibbs NGIA’s Marketing and Communications Manager presents the campaign, the rationale behind it and the plans for expanding the campaign over the coming three-five years.

In 2009, Nursery & Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) undertook a survey to identify the success of industry initiatives associated with invasive plant management. The survey titled ‘National Invasive Plants Survey’ was undertaken by Dr Anthony Kachenko (NGIA Environmental & Technical Policy Manager) and Delwyn Thomas (Project Consultant) and involved two parts. The first part evaluated production and availability lists from 328 businesses across the country whilst the second part of the survey was a questionnaire relating to awareness of industry invasive plant initiatives.