News

The Hervey Bay and Bundaberg regions played host to the Australian macadamia industry’s first ever macadamia production nursery workshop in early September.

The important event was hosted by the industry’s peak industry body, the Australian Macadamia Society (AMS), and was created in response to the burgeoning industry’s growing demand for young macadamia trees. Demand for macadamia nursery trees is at an all-time high, with most commercial nurseries reporting a 2-3 year waiting period for trees. The AMS estimates that between 2000-3000 hectares of macadamias are currently being planted per year.

In attendance were delegates from a wide selection of both established commercial macadamia nurseries as well as other nursery operators who are in the process of establishing macadamia propagation facilities.

The 2-day workshop focused on nursery standards and propagation practices and featured a keynote presentation by Nursery & Garden Industry Australia’s National Biosecurity Manager John McDonald who is leading the Australian macadamia industry’s new nursery standards project.

The macadamia industry’s development manager Leoni Kojetin says the workshop was all about lifting the quality and standards of young macadamia trees and providing commercial operators with the knowledge and tools to implement best practice in the nursery.

“High quality nursery trees are essential for productive macadamia orchards, and production nursery skills (from propagation to delivery) are highly specialised,” says Mrs. Kojetin.

Key workshop topics included nursery standards and hygiene, irrigation design and layout, grafting techniques, rootstock and scion wood selection, and pest and disease management.

“This is an exciting time for our industry, as we continue to expand into new territory with new plantings and new growing regions. It’s the first time we have brought all of the nurseries together for an open discussion on the best way forward.”

Delegates participated in a formal conference at the Hervey Bay Mantra before embarking on a practical tour of key local nurseries, including the Golden Grove Citrus Nursery, Andersons Nursery and Steinhardt’s Nursery.

The workshop was partly funded by Hort Innovation, using the macadamia research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government.