[…] a one-row buffer between them. The experimental area will be 5 rows each containing Table 1. The treatments and rates being used in the trial. Active ingredient Example trade nameFRAC codeFormulation Application rate per 100 L Mancozeb Mancozeb DF 750M3Water dispersible granule 200 g Copper present as hydroxide Blue Shield® DF 500 g/kgM2Water dispersible […]

[…] use the services of crop consultants to aid with pest and disease identification and implementing IPM programs. From our experience, best managed farms are businesses that employ disciplined internal monitoring. It could be the case of quick checks daily, or random continuous checks over the blocks during tasks such as irrigating, spraying etc. Generally […]

[…] on profitability, measured as gross profits per hectare (see Figure 1). As measured here, gross profits are the difference between revenue and variable production costs. In the example in the Figure 1, increasing average fruit size from 20g to 25g per fruit increases gross profits from $58,000 to $67,00 per ha. Yield While higher […]

[…] parent award) and should not continue beyond the ‘normal’ employment period. Productivity Commission Review The Australian Government asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a public inquiry to examine the performance of the workplace relations framework (including the Fair Work Act 2009) and identify improvements to it. The draft report was released on 4 August […]

[…] Strawberry Symposium in Quebec  City, Canada. There were about 650  delegates and over 200 keynotes  lectures, orals and posters presented at  the meeting. I presented a paper on our work  addressing the risks of fungicide  resistance in controlling diseases in  strawberry nurseries. From the results  of this work, Australian nurseries  have access to new fungicides to  control powdery mildew and are  able to minimise the reliance on the  fungicides fruit growers use in the field.  This should help reduce the risk of  fungicide resistance developing in the  disease causing fungus. Pathologists  and nursery growers at the symposium  supported the idea of having separate  fungicides in nurseries and fruit farms.  Fungicide resistance is not only an  issue in Australia, resistance has also  been reported in strawberry fields in  North America. This is perhaps due  to the fragmented system that occurs  internationally, where a fruit grower  in Canada, for  example, can have  transplants from the US, the Netherlands,  or Spain etc., and have no knowledge  of the fungicides that were applied in  the nurseries of those countries. Our  “closed” system in Australia allows us to  co-ordinate the use of fungicides across  the whole industry.  Pathologists and runner growers  from North America were also envious  of Australia’s access to prochloraz  fungicide, which is registered for use  in our nurseries against Colletotrichum  spp. They do not have access to this  fungicide in North America. Symposium observations Below are some of the other key  topics from the symposium relevant to  strawberry pathology: • Additional silicon fertiliser  appears to aid management of  powdery mildew. Silicon must be  absorbed through the roots, rather  than the leaves for best results. • Biological fungicides (e.g.  laminarin and potassium  bicarbonate) can be integrated in a  […]