Spring

production calendar was sent out to West Australian citrus growers in August. The poster was produced as part of an R&D project using State government funding, providing timely reminders for good management practices, such as irrigation, nutrition, pest management and canopy management.

Potato is a crop of global importance, so it is not surprising that the potato research at Murdoch University is attracting the interest of post graduate applicants from a number of countries.

In 2018 the National Landcare Program and the City of Wanneroo funded Perth NRM to assess the practical use and adoption of improved soil water monitoring practices by horticulturalists in the North of Perth Food Zone.

Looking through the front window at home, sipping on the days first hot bean water and watching the pink and grey Galahs waddle around, I think to myself “No need to bundle up; today looks like a winner!” And then I go outside, where it’s freezing… however as the sun continues to shine, the day gets a little brighter.

The announcement of a proposed 10% reduction in licenced groundwater allocations for horticultural businesses in North Wanneroo has caused concern among vegetable growers.

The main vegetable production region in Western Australia is the South West, including the Swan Coastal Plain from Gingin (100km north of Perth) to Myalup (100km south of Perth). Within this area, about 67 per cent of the total value1 of the State’s vegetables are produced.

Western Australia’s growing avocado industry is being supported to confidently protect its orchards by managing the pest six-spotted mite (Eotetranychus sexmaculatus) through the provision of science, advice and protocols.

It’s all systems go at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s (DPIRD) Carnarvon Research Facility, with science facility upgrades underway, new horticulture researcher recruitments being finalised, existing trials revamped and fresh trial research being conducted.

In the growing game we are no strangers to the constant succession of challenges. If it is not pests, it’s disease, if it’s not the weather, it’s the prices. Now, it seems that it is our workforce that is under threat.

Communicating with growers is extremely important, now more than ever due to the pandemic, and finding a way to deliver key messaging is something that vegetablesWA is taking very seriously.