This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

This project NY11000 – Nursery Environmental & Technical Research, Development and Extension 11/12 consisted of several environmental and technical research and development sub projects that addressed key environmental issues that impacted on the sustainability of the Australian nursery and garden industry (NGI).

The development of each sub project involved consultation from whole of industry which involved all State/Territory Associations to ensure relevance of issues in relation to industry needs and expectations as well as alignment with the Nursery Industry 2010–2015 Strategic Plan.

The national Environment Committee funded through this project met twice (4 November 2011 and 28 June 2012) to oversee the direction of this project as well as provide input on future research, development and extension opportunities.

A key sub project of this project was developing and utilising the skill and knowledge base of the Industry Development Officer (IDO) network in representing the Australian nursery industry at a regional level on key national environmental and technical issues such as biosecurity and quarantine. This representation supported the Nursery & Garden Industry Australia National Environmental & Technical Policy Manager (NETPM) to ensure the NGI was adequately represented in areas that may have been impacted on its long term sustainability.

Several outcomes relating to other sub projects within this project included:

• Completion of three university student projects that addressed key industry issues whilst educating tomorrow’s future industry leaders.
• Submission of six minor use permit applications to the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) for industry access of key pesticides.
• Inclusion of four new calculators in the online Water Management Toolbox calculator
• Development of resources and tools that sat behind the industry on-farm BioSecure HACCP program to provided industry a possible third legal instrument for market access.
• Completion of the Nursery Production Farm Management System Cost/Benefit Analysis and ROI report.