YOUR PRODUCTION
Vegetable growers’ adoption of farm biosecurity practices BY TRUYEN VO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, VEGETABLESWA
Highlights • Adopters enhanced farm biosecurity practices. • Factors influencing farmers’ practice changes in farm biosecurity are identified. • Strategies to foster grower adoption of farm biosecurity practices are recommended.
Problems and opportunities In recent years the vegetable industry in Western Australia has been hit hard by two exotic pest incursions — CGMMV in August 2016 and TPP in February 2017. The state is also under threat of fall armyworm (FAW) and serpentine leaf miner (SLM).
On the other hand, preliminary results of the Area wide management of vegetable diseases: viruses and bacteria project in WA (VG16086)1 reveals contagious vegetable diseases and pests such as bacterial canker, nematodes and different types of viral diseases being continuous threats. Improving WA growers capacity in planning and implementing farm biosecurity plan and plant protection management is essential to protect the multimillion dollars vegetable industry in WA. Literature from both national and regional projects in this area showed extension resources such as farm biosecurity plans and practice guidance have been valuable2. However, stronger extension activity at a grassroots level is needed to facilitate wider grower adoption.
Enhancing grower decision making in relation to farm biosecurity practices Over a series of workshops, vegetablesWA through the vegNET project has introduced growers to knowledge and information about historical pest and disease incursion incidents, fundamental pest and disease management, IPM, area wide management of plant pests and diseases, farm biosecurity plans and practice guidance. A core group of seven growers has been encouraged to try changes in plant pest management using this recently introduced knowledge. Grower participants have been assisted in developing and finetuning farm biosecurity plans to see the relative advantages (the degree to which new practices are perceived to be better than those it supersedes); compatibility (consistency with existing values, past experiences and needs) and observability (the visibility of results).
100% participants carried out practice changes in farm biosecurity.
1 www.horticulture.com.au/growers/help-your-business-grow/research-reports-publications-fact-sheets-and-more/vg16086 2 https://ausveg.com.au/app/data/technical-insights/docs/TL179.pdf; https://ausveg.com.au/app/data/technical-insights/docs/TL180.pdf; https://ausveg.com.au/ app/data/technical-insights/docs/TL48.pdf
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WA Grower SUMMER 2021
