Towards new nursery industry protocols for Phytophthora control on supply of stock for restoration and revegetation

摘要

The threat to Australian plant life and biodiversity from existing and potential additional forms of Phytophthora is real and well documented, Some 50% of Western Australia s endangered flora is susceptible to Phytophthora dieback. Whilst there is a range of potential methods of Phytophthora pathogen transfer to valuable conservation areas, a very obvious and likely source is transmission via nursery sourced plant stock. The current nursery accreditation standards and compliance, though better than none, are no longer considered adequate to address the current and prospective threat to Australian flora posed by Phytophthora from nursery stock. The need for nurseries and buyers of plant stock to know and understand their responsibilities to the environment, the nursery industry and each other, requires broad engagement and consultation with the shared intention of moving forward to a higher level of pathogen management and in particular for those supplying stock to valuable conservation areas. This paper will outline the writer views on achieving improvement to nursery Phytophthora protocols for supply to conservation areas.