plants – Michmutters

Tag: plants

Categories
Australia

Market pain ahead as Tasmania fights losing battle on blueberry rust

Market pain ahead as Tasmania fights losing battle on blueberry rust

Biosecurity Tasmania officials have given up trying to contain the plant fungus blueberry rust — saying “the benefits of containment no longer outweigh the burdens.”

The fungus which first arrived on the island state in 2014 can cause extensive defoliation on blueberry plants and sometimes plant deaths.

Biosecurity Tasmania said it was proving impossible to stop the spread of the fungus, which travels via airborne spores, contaminated clothing or equipment.

“The containment approach that we’ve been undertaking for the past few years clearly isn’t working anymore,” said chief plant protection officer Andrew Bishop.

“It’s worked very well for the first few years, and it was always intended to try and slow the spread to enable producers to adjust to management, but last season we saw a larger number of infections incurring.”

A blueberry plant affected by blueberry rust
Blueberry rust was first detected in Tasmania in 2014.(Department of Primary Industries Victoria)

Organic farmers expecting price drop

Tasmania’s organic blueberry growers are devastated.

They will now be locked out of their lucrative South Australian market which requires produce to be from rust-free plants.

Organic blueberry farmer Kent Mainwaring is one of those that will lose a market that gave them a premium price.

“It would make our operation here marginal we do rely on getting the peak in the market, if we lost our organic status that would put us on the other side of the ledger,” Mr Mainwaring said.

Tasmanian blueberry grower Kent Mainwaring
Kent Mainwaring says he will lose a lucrative market in South Australia.(ABC News: Tim Morgan)

It will also see organic blueberries hit other markets, alongside the conventionally farmed products.

“The South Australian market has traditionally been a very strong market for us … any increase in supply to the markets in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane will decrease prices I believe,” Mr Mainwaring said.

The price drop could be dramatic depending on how many surplus blueberries those markets can absorb.

“We can always hope the consumption of blueberries will increase year on year as it’s been doing,” Mr Mainwaring said.

‘They’ve fought hard’

Blueburries on a tree
Researchers are investigating sprays for organic blueberries but a product is still some time away. (ABC News: Clint Jasper)

Fruit Growers Tasmania’s chief executive officer Peter Cornish said those farms infected with blueberry rust were under strict conditions that were affecting their business and it was time to admit defeat.

“All credit to Biosecurity Tasmania and our growers, they’ve fought hard, they’ve fought hard in this battle to try and stop the spread of it,” he said.

“This last year we’ve had very conductive [conditions] for the spread of blueberry rust.”

Since arriving eight years ago, hundreds of plants have been destroyed and tens of thousands of dollars spent as part of an eradication plan, Biosecurity Tasmania.

It was declared a success by mid June 2016 but a second outbreak was detected just a couple of months later and a containment approach was taken instead.

The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture has been researching and evaluating sprays for use by organic growers.

While that research is coming to an end and has promising results, it’s expected to take some time before a product is ready for market.

.

Categories
Australia

Hunting for heritage fig trees introduced to Australia by migrants

Yasmin Sadler stands on the bank of the Murray River

At this time of year, fig trees have no leaves and are nothing more than a rise of branches sprouting from the ground. But it’s the ideal time for propagation and that gets Victorian, Yasmin Sadler excited.

It’s not just any fig tree that the Orbost resident is looking for — she’s trying to find the heritage fig trees that were introduced to Australia by migrants.

“They brought their best with them and they are still in our landscape, so my passion is to preserve them, to hear their stories and see them being grown again,” Ms Sadler said.

The self-confessed “fig hunter” started looking for heritage fig trees in Melbourne where she found 100 and was able to produce about 300 plants from cuttings.

Dozens of ripe, purple figs in dip tins picked fresh from the tree, ready to be eaten
After a cutting is taken it can be up to three years before the fig species is identified.(Rural ABC: Jessica Schremmer)

“Out of all the trees I visited, they were all different,” she said.

“We thought there’d be black Genoas or other common figs, but we haven’t found any of those at all.”

The 300 figs that Ms Sadler has propagated have been shared with others.

“My fig tribe has moved on up into the hills of Gippsland to become firebreaks. Also in Orbost, there’s a gentleman who started a fig farm based on my plants,” she said.

Hands holding secateurs and three cuttings from a fig tree
When Yasmin Sadler finds a heritage fig tree she takes cuttings to propagate.(Rural ABC: Kellie Hollingworth)

fig fossicking interstate

Ms Sadler is embarking on an interstate expedition to find even more heritage fig trees.

.

Categories
Australia

Queensland gardening guru Tom Wyatt hangs up his headphones after 40 years on air

Queensland gardening guru Tom Wyatt hangs up his headphones after 40 years on air

From “give it a cup of urine” to “how to sex up your pumpkins”, Tom Wyatt’s practical and sometimes cheeky advice has won him legions of fans across regional Queensland.

But after 40 years of gardening talkback on ABC Local Radio, the 75-year-old gardening guru has hung up his headphones due to health issues.

Mr Wyatt puts his success down to being curious, having a retentive memory and having “a specialized interest in what happens to gardeners when they get frustrated.”

Tom Wyatt, with headphones half on, talks into a microphone in a radio studio
People from across Queensland called in to let Mr Wyatt know the impact he’d had over 40 years.(ABC Capricorn: Rachel McGhee)

“I’m so happy this has brought so much pleasure to people and solved so many problems,” he added.

Mr Wyatt’s familiar advice has often boiled down to Condy’s Crystals, a good dressing of gypsum, blood and bone delivered by one clenched handful to the square metre, lux flakes and “don’t forget the wetting agent”.

His encyclopedic gardening knowledge and unique on-air style had loyal listeners tuning in from across the state every Friday morning at 10am.

in the beginning

The program began in 1982 after ABC staff in Rockhampton bounced around the idea of ​​a 10-minute gardening program.

Tom Wyatt’s name was tossed around as he was a horticulturalist working for the Rockhampton Council as director of parks and gardens and curator of the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens.

“He seemed the right choice,” said David Anderson, a radio presenter for the station for more than 30 years.

And they were right.

“It just blew up,” Mr Anderson said.

A group of people with Tom Wyatt in the center holding an award.
Tom’s last broadcast was an emotional one, but his family and colleagues celebrated afterwards.(ABC Capricorn: Rachel McGhee)

The program was lengthened to half an hour, and it wasn’t long before it was extended again to the full hour at the request of listeners.

The program was soon networked to Mackay, Bundaberg, Longreach and Mount Isa – more than half the state.

“Tom has such a wealth of knowledge and he’s such an interesting person to talk with – he doesn’t talk at people, but he has a conversational style,” Mr Anderson said.

“There were so many times when people would simply ring up and say, ‘Oh, I wanted to congratulate Tom on such and such an idea that he gave me because it worked,'” he said.

Mr Wyatt credits Mr Anderson with the program’s success.

“David coaxed me all the way, so I owe my debt to David Anderson for developing the program,” Mr Wyatt said.

having a laugh

It would be difficult to name all the presenters Mr Wyatt has worked with over the years, but one who stands out is Craig Zonca.

Mr Zonca, who now presents Breakfast on ABC Brisbane, took on the role as a fresh-faced 21-year-old with no clue about gardening.

But the two struck up a special rapport.

“We changed the tempo of it a bit and made people laugh,” Mr Wyatt said.

Sometimes it was the other way around.

Tom Wyatt stands at the top of stairs at ABC Capricornia, a sandstone building
Tom has walked up these stairs at ABC Capricornia almost every Friday for 40 years to host his talkback program.(Supplied: Donna Thurecht)

Pat from Mount Isa recalls phoning in about her husband’s problem pumpkins.

“Tom asked, ‘Did John propagate them with a cotton bud?’

“I forgot I was on the radio all over north Queensland and said, ‘Yes. He’s sexing the pumpkins every morning’.

“Tom and Craig Zonca couldn’t stop laughing,” Pat said.

Traveling far and wide

Family sits together in radio studio
Tom Wyatt’s family came to his last broadcast and say they are so proud of what he’s achieved. (ABC Capricorn: Rachel McGhee)

Mr Wyatt’s popularity has seen him invited to gardening clubs, expos and agricultural shows all over Queensland – and he has never said no.

Long-time listener Margaret Pegler from Trinidad Station near Quilpie opened her gardens to the public and invited Mr Wyatt four times.

“He was always very popular and if he couldn’t answer a question at the time, he would find out and get back to you,” Mrs Pegler said.

“I have helped a terrific number of people with their gardens, and I know they have helped me a lot.”

Beautifying the Beef Capital and beyond

People who have worked with Mr Wyatt describe him as a visionary.

“You can see Tom’s touches wherever you look,” said Rockhampton councillor Cherie Rutherford, who was given her first job in council by Mr Wyatt.

The chimpanzee enclosure, a jewel in the Rockhampton Zoo’s crown, is one of those.

Cassius the chimp goes to kiss Tom Wyatt's hand through the glass
Tom Wyatt and Jim Webber saved Cassius the chimpanzee from death row. (ABC Capricorn: Inga Stunzner)

Mr Wyatt and Rockhampton’s eldest at the time, Jim Webber, drove through the night to save two chimpanzees from death row, breaking a few rules along the way.

“We did a lot of things we weren’t supposed to, but it worked well,” Mr Webber said.

And in this case, it did. Cassius, who turns 51 later this year, is now the oldest chimpanzee in Australasia.

Mr Wyatt also transformed Rockhampton from a dust bowl to a green city, converting an old rubbish dump into Kershaw Gardens — 50 hectares of parkland.

“The city wouldn’t be the green area that it is today if it wasn’t for Tom,” Mr Webber said.

A man sits in a paved area with trees.
Tom Wyatt designed the Stuart Fragrant Garden, a sensory experience for people with disabilities.(ABC Capricorn: Inga Stunzner)

It wasn’t just Rockhampton that benefited from Mr Wyatt, but towns around the state, I added.

“He would go anywhere anybody wanted him to go and he was always advising people on the talkback radio.”

Although the contribution Mr Wyatt has made to regional Queensland is immeasurable, ABC Capricornia presented him with an award for his 40 years of service.

.