Protecting Australia's citrus industry from biosecurity threats (CT12022)

What was it all about?

This project, which ran from 2013 into 2017, was established to strengthen citrus industry planning and preparedness in relation to biosecurity, and to facilitate awareness of exotic pests and diseases among growers, consultants and other industry participants.

Some of the project’s achievements included the development of the Biosecurity Manual for Citrus Producers, to assist growers understand, identify, avoid and manage high-priority pest and diseases, as well as revision of the industry’s biosecurity plan (a high-level document that ranks pest and disease threats to assist in biosecurity planning).

The project also employed a part-time Citrus Biosecurity Manager, Stuart Pettigrew, to coordinate biosecurity activity and to ensure information from the project reached growers and other stakeholders.

Training of crop scouts in the identification of exotic pests, the development and deployment of an industry surveillance strategy, and refinement of the industry’s huanglongbing (citrus greening) contingency plan were also among its activities.

ACT NOW 

• Click here to download the 2014 edition of the Biosecurity Manual for Citrus Producers, developed by this project. Any updated editions of the manual will be available on the Plant Health Australia website here. The site also has other information and resources related to citrus industry biosecurity. 
  
  
• Visit the Farm Biosecurity website for more info on high-priority exotic pests of citrus and other significant pests.