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MacAlert July 2024
2024 | Grieve E, Kojetin L | Manual/guide
Key messages this month include: The prolonged wet weather over the harvest period favours the growth and infection of Phytophthora causing root rot, trunk cankers and tree decline. With harvest coming to an end, focus shifts to crop production and protection, with each underpinned by monitoring. Pest consultants will be monitoring for lace bug as well as flower diseases. Watch out for the three common fungal flower blights - grey mould, green mould and dry flower. In some seasons, these can cause massive crop failure. Ensure regular rat baiting continues in the orchard. This month may be your last chance to order your organic inputs for application post-harvest. Discuss with your nutrition consultant if any soil amendments are required for your orchard. With post-harvest late fruit spotting bug and/or leptocoris being present in orchards, it is time to check your mechanical equipment for crop protection activities. Following harvest, ensure shed equipment and vehicles are thoroughly cleaned and conduct and audit of your chemical store.
MacAlert June 2024
2024 | Kojetin L | Manual/guide
We are heading into the peak pest and disease monitoring and control period. Book your pest consultant to monitor for critical pests and diseases in July and begin discussing the season ahead. Ensure you have completed the assessments to compile the new season's nutrition program. Mulch is important to increase water holding capacity, mediate soil temperatures during spring growth and improve soil/orchard condition. Make sure you are prepared for frost risks if you are in an area that is impacted heavily. The BOM has handy weather tools to help you plan ahead. Are you ready for spraying? Calibrate and service your spray equipment, conduct coverage tests, choose appropriate nozzles and ensure weather monitoring tools are ready. In NSW, the Environmental Protection Agency has had macadamia spray management under scrutiny. Ensure you have adequate spray records, chemical storage/handling protocols, spray drift management, weather monitoring protocols, neighbour engagement and farm pesticide management plans in place. Are you managing nuts with increased field moisture adequately? On farm post-harvest storage conditions are critical in seasons that are wetter than usual. Contact a professional beekeeper to bring managed hives to the orchard. Save the dates for the July/August MacGroup events in your region.
MacAlert May 2024
2024 | Kojetin L, Australian Macadamia Society | Manual/guide
Assess and monitor phytophthora levels in your orchard after months of above average rainfall. Plan your crop inputs for the season ahead to to replenish nutrients, build soil fertility and support tree/crop development. Considerations to make when using ethephon and the best weather conditions to apply. Prepare for frost risk and ensure your orchard is protected. Rules of thumb to ensure your kernel quality is maintained during times of wet weather. Should you consider tree shaking for your orchard? Start thinking about when you will be conducting any pruning and orchard floor repair.
MacAlert April 2024
2024 | Kojetin L, Australian Macadamia Society | Manual/guide
Key messages this month include: • Tips for the harvest period. Wet weather has made harvest a challenge. Ensure harvest gear is maintained and follow actions to maximize kernel quality. • Soil and leaf sampling. How and when to take samples of your orchard, and how to get the most out of your results. • Organic inputs. Now is the time to determine organic amendments you will be applying directly after harvest. • Rats, cockatoos and feral pigs. Controlling vertebrate pests during nut drop is essential. Read about management practices you can implement to mitigate these pests. • On-farm crop loss. Understanding where loss is coming from can be invaluable. • Frost mitigation. Consider management practices if you are in frost-risk areas, especially if you have younger trees which are highly susceptible.
MacAlert March 2024
2024 | Australian Macadamia Society | Manual/guide
Key messages this month: • Rats. Wet weather has made ideal conditions for rats and mice. • Thrip and Mite damage. Thrip and mite flare ups are often the direct impact from too frequent use of disruptive chemicals. • Kernel Grub. Check storage bins for pests attracted to the odour from broken shells, like kernel grub. • Phytophthora. Phytophthora root rot and trunk canker have a significant impact on production following wet weather. Now is a good time to asses its prevalence. • Nutrition. Long term productivity relies on consistent nutrition which usually includes organic material. You may need to monitor closely more mobile elements such as nitrogen. • Orchard floor preparation is not the only clean up required prior to harvest. Cleaning and checking for any contaminants are essential for food safety as well as a supply requirement with your processor. • There are major benefits to completing a crop loss assessment on all loads coming into the shed. • Are there ways to reduce your harvest period and set the orchard up for the following season sooner?
MacAlert February 2024
2024 | Australian Macadamia Society | Manual/guide
Key messages this month: Rats. If you're not actively managing rats now, it will only get worse through harvest. Spotting bug. Late season damage is only revealed in consignment reports or on drop sheets. Botryosphaeria branch dieback. Symptoms become obvious in late summer. The autumn flush has started earlier this year in response to rain. Monitoring flush, in particular where flush is poor is a pre-emptive way to identify tree health issues. Finish pre-harvest clean-up ensuring no old nuts, sticks and debris remain on the orchard floor. With orchard hygiene and clean-up in progress, ensure mulcher parts (grease points, belts, hammers and retaining bolts) are not worn and functional. Conduct thorough maintenance of dehusking/sorting shed. February/March MacGroups are your chance to connect with others in the industry. RSVP now.
MacAlert January 2024
2024 | Australian Macadamia Society | Manual/guide
Key messages this month • Spotting bugs. Although shells have hardened, damage is still possible and will be worse after rain. • Leptocoris. More Leptocoris have been found in recent seasons and we are unsure why. • Macadamia nut borer. MacTrix wasp releases should continue into January. • Bark/boring beetles. More prevalent in recent dry seasons, members of the scolytid beetle family, commonly known as bark beetles or borers can cause tree and nut damage • Husk spot and husk rot. January onwards is a good time to assess any loss from these two husk diseases in the orchard. • Water requirements are now at their maximum. Macadamias are highly susceptible to water stress during oil accumulation which will continue into late February in Queensland and early March in New South Wales. • Heading further into summer, heavy rain along with the potential for strong winds, storms, cyclones and east coast lows are all a possibility. • Start preparing for preharvest clean-up. Orchard floor fanatics maximise income. • On-farm nut storage will be important as the supply chain changes. Storage is nuanced and professional advice is recommended, even if you have a small operation.
MacAlert December 2023
2023 | Australian Macadamia Society | Manual/guide
Key messages this month include: • Spotting bug. Keep monitoring for spotting bug by examining fallen nuts for damage. • Unless you're using species specific pheromone lures, monitoring and management is the same for banana spotting bug (BSB) and fruit spotting bug (FSB). • Macadamia Nut Borer (MNB). Keep monitoring for MNB eggs which helps time wasp releases. • Leptocoris. Red-brown winged bugs, known to harbour in foam bark and golden rain trees. • Water demand. Nut shed will continue in some regions, particularly southern areas where the crop is less advanced. • The month ahead remains a fire danger, but the arrival of storm season sees a change in preparation. Do you have a plan to deal with any orchard damage from severe storms? • Benchmarking data collection is underway for the 2023 season and it’s not too late to be join. Benchmarking is a free and confidential service comparing your farm’s yield, quality and optionally costs with other similar farms and the wider industry. • Start a conversation with your processor. With global and domestic supply increases and changes to the supply chain, there have been changes to “usual”.
MacAlert November 2023
2023 | Australian Macadamia Society | Manual/guide
Key messages this month include: • Spotting bug. Monitoring for spotting bug is critical. Look for damage at least weekly and preferably more regularly in warmer regions. The next few months are a period of high risk and potential crop loss. • Red Shouldered Leaf Beetle. This swarming pest has impacted many orchards over the last year, feeding on leaves (particularly new flush) that are left skeletonised or appear scorched. • Macadamia nut borer (MNB). Monitor for nut borer eggs (which signals the start of flights into orchards) to help time releases of the parasitic Trichogramma wasp, MacTrix. • Macadamia seed weevil (MSW). Monitor shed nuts on the ground for MSW eggs or larvae, particularly if control such as indoxacarb spraying was missed. • Husk spot. There are several new products available for control. If you have to spray for husk spot, ensure you are rotating chemical groups, which is more complicated with the new compound products. • Nutritional demand. Growing flushes and developing nuts are currently large nutritional sinks. Nitrogen and potassium are particularly important at this crop stage. • Water demand. The declared El Niño will lead to months of drier, hotter weather ahead. Macadamia trees have excellent ‘poker faces’ when it comes to environmental and soil water stress. • The potential for damage from intense storms (even during El Niño conditions) is increasing, so be prepared. • The Benchmarking project team has commenced data collection for the 2023 season.
MacAlert October 2023
2023 | Australian Macadamia Society | Manual/guide
Key messages this month include: • Macadamia seed weevil (MSW). Although MSW is a NNSW and FNQLD pest, every region should be on the look out. • Husk Spot. Control for husk spot should have started if you have susceptible cultivars, and or a history of the disease. • Spotting bugs (FSB & BSB). Early in the season look for distinctive damage on nutlets as they reach pea size and fall from trees when stung. • Banana fruit caterpillar (BFC). In northern regions, monitor for BFC in leaf litter and when they are active at night. • If you are unsure of how trees are progressing nutritionally, spring is a good time to sample leaves after flowering and before they flush. • During spraying season, mitigating spray drift is crucial. • With dry weather ahead one of the best ways to maintain soil moisture, improve soil productivity and ensure orchard resilience is ground cover. • Warmer weather with increased vegetation, after three wet seasons, are ideal conditions for many pests and increase the risk of bushfires.
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