Highlights from Hort Connections 2022

Greenlife Industry Australia’s (GIA) team of Plant Protection Officers attended Hort Connections 2022, the country’s largest horticulture conference and trade show, in Brisbane last week. Here they share their key event highlights with you, including new technologies and industry insights.

Integrated Pest Management

It was my first visit to Hort Connections, and I enjoyed the Trade Hall the most as it provided the opportunity to talk to numerous businesses. After such a long lockdown in Victoria, it was important for me to connect with others. I was able to meet representatives from several Integrated Pest Management (IPM) businesses including Biological Services and Bugs For Bugs. So, if you are looking for help with IPM in your nursery, I can put you in touch with the experts.

Kimberley Thomas, Plant Protection Officer (VIC)

Irrigation water treatment options

I visited Vibrex to learn more about their irrigation water treatment options. Their produce is intended for use as a primary water treatment for common nursery pathogens such as Fusarium, Pythium and Phytophthora as well as controlling bio-film growth. It can be used to drench soil beds, as a foliar treatment and/or post-harvest treatment to protect against viral, fungal, and bacterial germicides.

Kimberley Thomas, Plant Protection Officer (VIC)

Supercharged Air Technology

The ‘Food Safety Supercharger’ operates using Supercharged Air Technology. A custom-made 250-kilogram test-unit was on display at Hort Connections, showing how it creates a stream of ‘supercharged air’ by applying an electric current to normal air. This process can kill microbial pathogens on the surface of fresh produce and nuts, without leaving any chemical residues. This technology is currently being commercialised for various horticultural industries and has the potential to become an environmentally friendly form of disinfestation.

Emma De Landre, Plant Protection Officer (NSW/NW VIC)

Free weeds app

Developed by and for growers and agronomic advisors, xarvio® SCOUTING is a free to download and use smartphone application (app) that automatically analyses and identifies in-field stress. Users simply take a picture of a problem in their crop, submit it for analysis and then, in just seconds, receive a result. This app can identify more than 400 weed types and recognise damages caused by over 400 different diseases, pests, and nutrient deficiencies in over 60 crops. At this stage, the app is mainly focussed on key broadacre crops in Australia (e.g. wheat, barley, canola), although it could potentially cover many more plants in horticulture.

Emma De Landre, Plant Protection Officer (NSW/NW VIC)

VESPAs could provide regional customers and workers

Bernard Salt is the Executive Director of The Demographics Group, and well-known for having popularised the phrase “smashed avocado”. I enjoyed Bernard’s talk on how the demographics of Australia has changed over the last two to three years with large numbers of people leaving the city centres for peri-urban and regional areas, and how they are embracing a more sustainable lifestyle.

Bernard dubbed those people ‘VESPAs’. No, not the scooters! This acronym stands for Virus Escapees Seeking Provincial Australia. What this movement of people could mean for the nursery industry is a more decentralized customer base with the potential for regional businesses having more local customers and/or workers.

David Hunt, Smart Farming Project Officer

Post-COVID immigration set to rise (and therefore labour sources)

My highlight was also Bernard Salt’s speech. He delivered a highly entertaining and enlightening bit on Australian demographics and the effect of large-scale events (COVID-19) on population trends. He highlighted a current drop in our population due to the pandemic that correlates with other events such as World Wars 1 and 2 and predicted a bounce back in immigration and therefore available labour in the near future.

Celeste Cook, APPS Administrator and Plant Protection Officer (TAS/SA)

NB. The information presented here is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA) does not endorse or sponsor any of the commercial products or services listed in this article.