Workshop and grower visits in Tasmania gauge industry needs

As part of project VG16060 Agrichemical pest management needs and priorities, AUSVEG Project Coordinator Patrick Arratia has hosted a carrot and pea workshop for Tasmanian growers and agronomists.

The workshop, held at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture’s Vegetable Research Facility in Forthside on Wednesday 14 February, was part of Patrick’s work to help the Australian vegetable industry establish a prioritisation process for its agrichemical access to support its pest management needs.

At the workshop Patrick Arratia met with carrot and pea growers and agronomists from north-west Tasmania to discuss their main pest, disease and weed issues, including cavity spot/forking, crown rots, and white-fringed weevil for carrots and Ascochyta blight for peas. Information and feedback from the workshop was recorded and will be used for the crop-specific pest, disease and weeds prioritisation process, which will help develop a better understanding of the Australian vegetable industry’s agrichemical needs and gaps.

This workshop was followed up by one-on-one grower and agronomist consultations in Devonport and Hobart where Patrick focussed on the leafy vegetables sector.

This project will be hosting workshops and working groups in major vegetable growing regions across Australia to gain a thorough understanding of all regions’ and commodities’ agrichemical needs, so keep an eye open for more details being released soon!

This work is made possible through a strategic levy investment under the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund.

National Pest Survey open for growers

As part of the the agrichemical needs prioritisation project, a National Pest Survey has been developed by AUSVEG and Hort Innovation to capture the vegetable industry’s main pests, disease and weed issues per crop and region.

We ask growers and agronomists to get involved and to please take the time to fill in these crop-specific surveys, which cover beans and peas, beetroot, brassica leafy vegetables, brassicas, carrot, celery, cucumber, eggplant, leek, lettuce, parsley, peppers, silverbeet and spinach, snow peas and sugar snap peas, spring onions and shallots, sweet corn, sweetpotato, zucchini and other vegetables.

The priority agrichemical gaps identified will inform industry actions at the annual AgChem Collaborative Forum, aid in updating industry Strategic Agrichemical Review Process documents (SARPs) and identify potential solutions to address these gaps.

Please click on the banner below to choose from the list of crop-specific surveys.

For more information in regards to this project please see the project’s page on our website or contact Patrick Arratia at patrick.arratia@ausveg.com.au.

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 13 March 2018.