Greenlife Industry @ Hort Connections

Greenlife Industry Australia’s National Biosecurity and Sustainable Plant Production project team attended Hort Connections in Brisbane earlier this month where they viewed the latest technologies with potential application into production horticulture and connected with industry stakeholders.

Delivered by AUSVEG and PMA Australia-New Zealand (PMA A-NZ), Hort Connections 2021 was held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 5-7 June and celebrated the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. Greenlife Industry Australia’s National Biosecurity and Sustainable Plant Production project team were in attendance, viewing the latest technologies with potential application into production horticulture and connecting with industry stakeholders across the food supply chain.

Irrigation control systems

John was impressed with the irrigation control and monitoring systems on display, leaving the conference keen to set up demonstration sites to better explore the potential of that technology. One irrigation control system on display operates wirelessly without the need for internet access, using a built-in radio with a potential coverage of 8 kilometres. “People are saying that they have really poor mobile coverage,” says John, “However, you do not actually need the mobile coverage. You can set up your own irrigation control system very effectively and cheaply to capture through Wi-Fi platforms on your own business.”

New barcoding technologies

Steve Blyth, Plant Protection Officer – WA, enjoyed the human connection and being able to reconnect to people that he had not seen for a while and find out what they have been working on. “My main motivation for going to Hort Connections was to talk with other businesses to see what is available out

Catching up with industry connections

Emma De Landre, Plant Protection Officer – NSW, says one of her Hort Connections highlights was the opportunity to meet with Marcela Badim Rocha-Lima, Divisional Agronomist within the Costa Group’s Avocado & Banana Category. Emma says that Marcela gained her current role through contacts she made at the 2017 Hort Connections conference. “Marcela and I did our Hort Masterclass together in its first year in 2017,” says Emma, “It was great to be able to reconnect with Marcela. We discussed the Avocado and Banana Nursery Stock Specifications as part of the Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme Australia (NIASA), the availability of disease-free avocado trees for orchard plantings and tissue culture.”

Learning from new colleagues

Barry Naylor, Plant Protection Officer for Northern NSW and Queensland, relished the opportunity to meet his new colleagues in person having only started in his role three weeks earlier. “The conference was a great educational opportunity. I was able to learn from my colleagues whilst we were together at this event, watching what they did, observing what they found to be of interest, and listening to the questions they asked,” says Barry, “This experience was as important as the technical information itself.”

Barry also found the Hort Connections’ Trade Show very informative as it enabled him to connect with people across the supply chain, including fruit and vegetable growers, manufacturers and packaging businesses. “Viewing the exhibits in the Trade Show gave me a good picture of how everything fits together,” says Barry. He focussed his time visiting stands dedicated to smart farming, remote monitoring and environmental/sustainability certification programs.