What was it all about?

This project ran from 2016 to 2020 and ensured production nurseries in Australia were prepared for incursions of exotic plant pests. The investment also carried out broader biosecurity-related activities for the nursery industry, including meeting industry obligations under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD), and maintaining the industry’s minor use permit program as needed. Some key outcomes from the project were:

• Development of an on-farm plant protection and biosecurity program (BioSecure HACCP) to support production nurseries in meeting quarantine entry conditions and electronic certification.
• Distribution of industry wide communication across the life of the project to deliver information on plant protection and biosecurity issues. Access Nursery Papers which have been published in HortJournal, the GIA website and the GIA APPS website.
• Development of Training packages for each Entry Condition Compliance Procedure (ECCP). The e-learning platform that hosts and facilitates the delivery of training is established and operational at nurseryproductionfms.com.au.
• Enhancing industry access to appropriate pesticides (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc) to manage plant pests across cropping systems through the pesticide minor use program.
• Updates to the Pest ID Tool to include systems to record crop monitoring and surveillance.

Throughout the duration of the project the team also supported other biosecurity projects, including Building the resilience and on-farm biosecurity capacity of the Australian production nursery industry (NY15002) and RD&E program for control, eradication and preparedness for vegetable leafminer (MT16004).

ACT NOW

Learn more about BioSecure HACCP and how you can become certified on the Nursery Production FMS website here. The website also hosts relevant biosecurity resources in its technical resource hub, while online training associated with the program is available via the industry’s eLearning Portal.