Plant Health Australia (PHA) delivered a three-part ‘Lunch & Learn’ webinar series through the Avocado Industry Development and Extension project (AV23010).

The series provided practical information on some of the key biosecurity threats facing the avocado industry, how responses to exotic pests are funded, and what the avocado industry is doing to prepare for future biosecurity incidents.

The first webinar, held on Tuesday 21 July, focused on exotic pest threats facing the Australian avocado industry. Dalton Baker from Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Rebecca Powderly from PHA covered avocado High Priority Pests (HPP), potential pathways into Australia, the role of the Avocado Biosecurity Plan, symptoms to look out for and how to report a suspected exotic pest.

The second webinar, held on Tuesday 25 August, and presented by Zoe Nix from PHA, explored how national responses are funded. Growers heard how government and industry resources are coordinated during an emergency response and how industry levies contribute to response activities and what growers can do to improve potential Owner Reimbursement Cost (ORC) claims.

The final webinar, held on Tuesday 15 September, featured Professor Andrew Geering from The University of Queensland and Grant Telford from Avocados Australia. The session looked at lessons from Persea mite, a significant pest to the industry, including how affected areas outside of Australia have approached the mite. The session also explained current activities being undertaken to strengthen avocado industry preparedness and the role Avocados Australia plays in representing their industry needs during response decisions. It provided an opportunity to bring together the key messages from the earlier webinars and consider how growers can apply them on-farm.

Across the three webinars, growers heard what to look for, how emergency responses are funded and how the avocado industry is preparing for exotic pest threats. Early detection and rapid reporting give industry the best possible chance of responding effectively to a new pest or disease and minimising its potential impact.

All webinar recordings are now available on Avocado Australia’s YouTube channel and the Best Practice Resource.

For more information about attending PHA training or to discuss training opportunities, contact the PHA Training Team at training@phau.com.au. You can also view upcoming training in PHA’s training calendar.

The Avocado Industry Development and Extension project (AV23010) has been funded by Hort Innovation using the avocado industry research and development levy and contributions from the Australian government.