The production of baby-leaf lettuce under floating crop covers
25 June 2013Mechanisms and management of insecticide resistance in Australian diamondback moth
30 July 2013The management practices of recognised champion greenhouse grower Phuong Vo from the Vietnamese community in Virginia, have been captured in text and video as an illustrative case study of Best Practice in soil based capsicum farming. The case study of Mr. Vo has been supplemented with additional technical resources to give more detail and scope to the suite of information. This resource has been created to provide an integrated, one stop shop of farm focused information suited to the needs of capsicum producers growing in low-tech, or conventional structures. No such resource has previously existed to match Australian conditions. Other knowledge support options are increasingly limited due to state government budget reductions in horticulture extension, and the discontinuous and partial nature of most other funded programs. Key resources have also been translated into Vietnamese to improve access by the largest CALD community of growers in Virginia and other regions in Australia. The web page style resource is intended to assist growers to: 1. Identify agronomic issues more clearly and gain insight into how to achieve improved yields/reduce costs by changing specific practices 2. Estimate the costs and benefits of changing specific practices so they can assess the economic pros and cons of making changes to their production program The resource is presented in an interactive web page style with four main sections: 1: Essential Knowledge; Covers plant needs, optimal use of low-tech greenhouse design, irrigation and salinity management, soil health and pest and disease management. 2: Preparing & Planting; Key practices used by Mr. Vo to repair and prepare his soil, matched by careful planting of seedlings for a long and productive life. 3: Managing The Crop; Key practices used to manage his crop for maximum production and identify and deal with likely challenges and threats to his plants and fruit 4: Cost Benefit Calculator: Demonstrates how productive Mr. Vo’s farm is and estimates the cost and benefit of his improvements. Enables other growers to prepare a hypothetical costed scenario of changes and potential benefits. Each of these modules has links to additional supporting information including farm videos and fact Sheets.