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Industrial ecology education is being developed and delivered predominantly within the domains of engineering and management. Such an approach could prove somewhat limiting to the broader goal of developing industrial ecology as an integrated knowledge base inclusive of diverse disciplines, contributing to sustainable development. This paper hypothesizes that industrial ecology could be optimally delivered across broader disciplines if it were to be delivered as a supplemental knowledge among disciplines that engage with sustainable development education. Based on this hypothesis, a pedagogical experiment was devised and is presented here. This paper is descriptive, reflective and exploratory in approach, highlighting the challenges embedded in an interdisciplinary industrial ecology education, and recommending an inclusive pedagogical model to address the challenges. The intention is binary, to contribute towards the advancement of industrial ecology as an integrated knowledge base, and to introduce the concept of industrial ecology to the discipline of landscape architecture. (Contains 4 figures.)

Nurses, the largest healthcare workforce, are well placed to provide leadership in initiatives that promote planetary health. Yet, few practical examples of nurse leadership in the health sector's response to climate change are evident in the scholarly literature. The aim of this discussion paper is to profile Australian nurses who are leading initiatives designed to champion planetary health and promote sustainable practice. The paper presents a series of case studies derived from interviews conducted in October and November 2023. The nurses' experiences and insights, along with the challenges they have encountered, are presented as evidence of Kouzes and Posner's five practices of exemplary leadership. The case studies demonstrate that appointment of more nurses with climate and sustainability expertise will accelerate the implementation of responsive strategies that target waste management, emissions reduction and climate resilience across healthcare organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the now extensive recent literature on cultures of nature, agriculture has received less attention than might have been expected given its threshold role in transforming human relations with the earth and with plants and animals. The concept and practice of agriculture can be understood as central to the emergence and maintenance of the culture/nature dichotomy within Western thought and practice. In this paper we use the comparative cases of Sweden and Australia to examine the differential and contingent positioning of agriculture with respect to that which is understood as nature. Broadly speaking, some parts of agriculture are understood to belong to nature in Sweden through a long history. This is not the case in Australia, where the short agricultural history is positioned in contrast to nature. This affects the way in which biodiversity and environmental protection takes place--in Sweden as part of farming,--in Australia in spite of it. We argue that these cultural differences have been more important than generally recognised in debates over multifunctional agriculture. We discuss the environmental management implications of the two different models in a context made more dynamic by climate change.

Professional discourse in education has been the focus of research conducted mostly with teachers and professional practitioners, but the work of students in the built environment has largely been ignored. This article presents an analysis of students' visual discourse in the final professional year of a landscape architecture course in Brisbane, Australia. The study has a multi-method design and includes drawings, interviews and documentary materials, but focuses on the drawings in this paper. Using the theory of Bernstein, the analysis considers student representations as inter-relations between "professional identity" and "discretionary space" for legitimate knowledge formation in landscape planning. It shows a shift in how students persuade the teacher of their expanding views of this field. The discussion of this shift centres on the professional knowledge that students choose rather than need to learn. It points to the differences within a class that a teacher must address in curriculum design in a contemporary professional course. (Contains 1 note, 2 tables, and 10 figures.)

Summary: Gardening has the potential to enhance health and well-being, through increased physical activity and social connectedness. However, while much is known about the benefits of garden activities, less is known about the potential health implications of more passive forms of engagement with gardens, for example, viewing gardens. In addition, much garden research is undertaken in urban settings, leaving little known about potential health impacts for rural populations. The present study explored these research gaps by gaining an understanding of the experiences and perspectives of members of a gardening appreciation group in rural Australia: The Colac Horticultural and Marvellous Property Appreciation Society (CHAMPAS). A phenomenological, qualitative methodology was applied, using semi-structured interviews for data collection. Eleven participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling and the data were analysed by applying interpretive, reflexive thematic analysis. Four main themes and supporting sub-themes were generated. The four main themes were: (i) motivations for maintaining participation in CHAMPAS; (ii) social connections and friendships, formed from membership; (iii) sense of community and structure of CHAMPAS and (iv) the perceived health and well-being benefits of continued involvement in this group. This study found that members perceived health and well-being benefits stemmed from CHAMPAS facilitation of social connectedness, function as a community group and a way for members to share a love for home gardening. This study provides insights into the perceived and potential health-promoting effects of garden appreciation groups for rural populations. Lay Summary: There are many health and well-being benefits of gardening. However, research is predominantly focused on the active practice of gardening in urban environments, and little is known about the passive activity of garden appreciation, nor about the benefits of this activity in rural areas. This paper explores the health promotion potential of garden appreciation groups through the experiences of members of a rural group called CHAMPAS. Eleven members of CHAMPAS were asked to talk about what kept them attending, and what health and well-being benefits the group provided them. The study found that CHAMPAS benefits stemmed from its function as a social group and a way for members to share a love for home gardening. The findings suggest that garden appreciation groups potentially provide health promotion benefits for people in rural areas. A recommendation of this paper is to undertake further research to map and analyse these benefits across rural Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last ten years, temporary migration schemes in the horticultural sector have received increasing attention in the Global North. The often precarious conditions of such work have been recognised, however, little attention has been paid to horticultural workers with migration backgrounds who have gained permanent residency or citizenship in the host countries. Ethnographic fieldwork with Pacific farmworkers and their families with various migration statuses in Australia, including seasonal workers, irregular migrants, and permanent residents, revealed that precarious employment conditions in horticultural work impact Pacific people across and beyond different legal statuses, challenging the notion of a clear correlation between irregularity and precariousness. This includes the children of migrants with Australian citizenship who are often employed as casual farmworkers and find it difficult to secure any other work. We argue that their experiences are fundamentally related to their position as 'racialised' workers. This paper sheds light on this racialisation of farmwork and its implications for the experiences of Pacific people as residents and workers in regional Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on long‐term ethnographic fieldwork with Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) workers in south‐east Australia, I reflect in this paper on the experience of interminable temporariness and on its implications for the structural conditions underpinning contemporary horticultural labour in Australia. Although in many ways reflective of the specificities of a unique historical moment, the interminable temporariness experienced through the COVID‐19 pandemic also speaks to broader, enduring conditions produced within contemporary Australian agriculture. Here, the restructuring of the agri‐industry produces for many what Lauren Berlant describes as the "impasse" or "crisis ordinariness" of life under neoliberalism. At the same time, logics of development—including racialized imaginaries and border regimes—articulate with agricultural guest worker schemes in ways that seek to fix whole populations and regions in relations of suspended hope. In this context, I argue, the pandemic exposed and intensified structural vulnerabilities and unequal distributions of risk, which are encoded in the political economy of farm work in Australia, while also cleaving open new, if tentative, possibilities for agency and solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This pilot study aimed to explore the perceived benefits of a new children's sensory garden in a healthcare centre in south-eastern Melbourne that provides specialised care, support and guidance to parents. Methods: A mixed-method research design was employed in this study comprising a combination of quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (interviews) data collection methods. A total of 19 staff and 36 parents completed surveys relating to their experiences in the new garden. Results: The staff members and parents surveyed were found to use the new children's garden on a regular basis and suggested that the new garden provided them with an opportunity to escape and feel calmer and had positively impacted on their interactions with their child. Interviews were also undertaken with four staff members who indicated that they believe the new garden is affording them perceived personal wellbeing benefits and that the activities in the new garden led to better perceived outcomes for families. Conclusion: The perceived benefits reported provide support for the development of sensory gardens at other similar healthcare facilities. What is known about the topic? The restorative benefits of gardens and other natural features are well known. What does this paper add? Pilot study findings as to whether there are any perceived benefits of accessing a children's sensory garden in a healthcare setting. What are the implications for practitioners? The inclusion of children's gardens could be considered at healthcare facilities to promote wellbeing of staff, patients and visitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research and development programs for improved productivity and profitability in horticulture have focused largely on understanding biophysical factors and production and harvest technologies. By contrast, relatively few studies focus upon the existing status of a rural community in terms of demographics, rationales and motivations underlying current farm management practices. Understanding such factors is increasingly important as pressures from climate change, globalised market forces, land-use competition and ageing workforces intersect on farms and for farmers. This paper explores experiences among macadamia growers in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, with the aim to better understand and improve the targeting of development programs to meet grower needs and aspirations, for improved industry resilience. Results suggest that growers are a diverse, ageing demographic who came into the industry with a variety of skill sets. Noting a lack of previous farming experience for many growers, we highlight the need to consider information transfer and succession planning, along with aspirations to consolidate properties and skills. New engagement approaches are recommended, with tailored extension to different grower groups. To aid with this process, a classification tree was developed for the purposes of separating growers into groups with different support needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the labour experiences of Pacific Islander people living in the Greater Shepparton Region in south-eastern Australia, and the forms of both intergenerational belonging and exclusion that are produced at the intersection of racialised labour and place-making in the settler-colonial state. Shepparton's Pacific Islander community, which has been resident in the area for over thirty years, is heavily involved in seasonal horticultural labour, forming part of an industry workforce that also includes workers from other settled migrant-background communities, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as large number of temporary migrant workers. Nevertheless, Pacific Islanders in the region often feel themselves, and their labour, unrecognised within the context of established narratives that discursively construct localness as white. Here, we pay particular attention to the experiences of Pasifika youth who, in reflecting on the labour of their parents, offer potent perspectives on the kinds of precarious belonging this labour produces. These contrast sharply with the celebrated forms of intergenerational belonging and claims to place that adhere to the labour of white farmers, and that have their origins in the colonial dispossessions on which the region's industry is founded. Still, Pasifika people in the region do make place for themselves and for their youth, both through the waged labour they perform as well as through diverse forms of community labour that also situate them in relation to, and with, Indigenous community. Attention to these diverse forms of labour expands the terms through which the work and labour experiences of migrant and other non-white people are usually figured, and highlights the complex, intergenerational entwining of colonialism and racialisation in white-majority rural places. • Pasifika workers' labour produces rural landscapes within which they are marginalised. • Racialized imaginaries in Australian rural places construct local-ness as white. • Pasifika youth value the labour of their parents in ambivalent terms. • Understandings of work should expand to encompass diverse forms of place-making. • Labour in rural Australia reflects the entwining of racialisation and colonisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community gardens can offer a range of psychosocial benefits to individuals who utilize them including nutritional, social, psychological benefits, as well as the opportunity to become connected to nature. However, we know little about how community gardens are perceived and reasons that make people participate in community gardens in rural Australian towns. This paper addresses these issues among a group of older persons who reside in a rural Australian town. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 older persons. Findings highlighted the benefits associated with participation in a rural community garden including forming social support networks in order to cultivate social capital. Community gardens created social connectedness among the participants, which could lead to better overall health and well-being. The main reason for their initial involvement with the community garden was that they were new to the area. Joining the group to develop support networks within the local area would allow them to cultivate social capital in their new living environment. Our findings can inform government policies regarding localized food sustainability programs, which is important given the increasing popularity of such programs Australia-wide and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's primary production sector operates in one of the world's most variable climates with future climate change posing a challenge to its ongoing sustainability. Recognising this, Australia has invested in understanding climate change risks to primary production with a substantial amount of research produced. Recently, focus on this research space has broadened, with interests from the financial sector and expanded scopes of works from government and industry. These expanded needs require sector- and country-wide assessments to assist with the implementation of climate strategies. We considered the applicability of the current research body for these needs by reviewing 188 peer-reviewed studies that considered the quantitative impacts of climate change on Australia's primary industries. Our broad review includes cropping, livestock, horticulture, forestry and fisheries and biosecurity threats. This is the first such review for Australia, and no other similar country-wide review was found. We reviewed the studies through three lenses, industry diversity, geographic coverage and study comparability. Our results show that all three areas are lacking for sector- and country-wide assessments. Industry diversity was skewed towards cropping and biosecurity threats (64% of all studies) with wheat in particular a major focus (25% of all studies). Geographic coverage at a state level appeared to be evenly distributed across the country; however, when considered in conjunction with industry focus, gaps emerged. Study comparability was found to be very limited due to the use of different historical baseline periods and different impact models. We make several recommendations to assist with future research directions, being (1) co-development of a standard set of method guidelines for impact assessments, (2) filling industry and geographic knowledge gaps, and (3) improving transparency in study method descriptions. Uptake of these recommendations will improve study application and transparency enabling and enhancing responses to climate change in Australia's primary industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This study reports on the contribution of the Australian Tree Seed Centre (ATSC) to the international dissemination of Australian acacias. It also describes the current uses and the scale of economic benefits derived from planting Australian acacias, and speculates about possible future trends in usage. This information is crucial for the evaluation of overall human-mediated transfers of Australian acacias as a global experiment in biogeography. Location Australia and Global. Methods ATSC databases were used to determine which taxa were sent to which regions of the world and in what numbers. Location, scale and value of uses of the most important species were described from a review of published and grey literature, and we drew on our collective experience to speculate about future trends. Results The ATSC despatched samples of 322 taxa (or roughly a third of Acacia species native to Australia) between 1980 and 2010 to 149 countries. Plantations in SE Asia and South Africa supplying the pulp and paper industry cover an area of over 2 M ha and produce pulp worth around $US4.3B p.a. In SE Asia, pulpwood species also provide logs for an expanding industry based on solid wood product. Tannin is produced from Acacia mearnsii in South Africa and Brazil. A suite of multi-purpose species helps meeting the demand for food, fodder, fuelwood, poles and site amelioration in dry zone regions of Africa and elsewhere and are widely incorporated into agro-forestry systems. Acacia saligna is the most widely planted non-timber species with around 600,000 ha established worldwide. Many acacia species also have horticultural uses particularly in Europe. Main conclusions The ATSC has been the major agent for systematic exploration and worldwide dissemination of Australian acacias over the past 30 years, but seed from local and regional sources of exploited species will dominate future movements. The scale of production from currently planted species will expand to meet the demands of population growth, using improved varieties. Plantations for energy and carbon sequestration might become increasingly widespread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many landscapes that straddle the rural/urban divide suffer from low levels of species diversity following extensive clearing and fragmentation of native vegetation communities and conversion of land to agriculture. Further pressures are placed on remnant vegetation by encroaching urban expansion. These landscapes now exhibit a mosaic of small, patchy vegetation remnants that are under considerable pressure from housing and light-industrial development. Furthermore, agriculture in these landscapes tends to be of high economic value from uses such as intensive horticulture. Concerted and well-planned efforts are needed to balance the many conflicts of interest and competing demands for land with the need to restore landscapes for the protection of biodiversity. There has been a recent move in Australia toward regional biodiversity planning and goal setting, however specific detail on how to plan for achieving targets in complex landscapes is lacking. This paper applies a systematic landscape restoration model to a mixed-use, peri-urban landscape on the northern fringes of Adelaide, South Australia. The region contains fragments of remnant vegetation amongst a mosaic of high-value horticulture, light industry and urban development. Models produce maximally efficient solutions that meet comprehensive, adequate and representative conservation targets. Further constraints are added to the model to take into account the value of agricultural output, the biodiversity value of remnants, and property size and tenure. The effects on solution efficiencies as the number of constraints increase are investigated. This paper demonstrates the flexibility found in applying a systematic landscape restoration methodology. The process we present can be transferred to any rural-urban fringe region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this paper, informed by more-than-human and biosecurity literatures, I attend a neglected nonhuman considered a serious agricultural pest: the fruit fly. In addressing what it takes to live without fruit flies, biosecurity is theorised as ongoing, enacted achievement sustained (or not) by everyday and eventful interactions of heterogeneous spaces, strategies, and participants--human and nonhuman. Relations of fruits, flies, and people are explored through one vital attempt to biosecure life: Australia's Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone (FFEZ), a tristate pest-free area established to protect commercial horticulture from the fruit fly. Fruit flies become problematised as their appetites and mobilities confound fruit production and marketing, and affdiated biosecurity controls. Making fruit safe enrolls policy and agricultural sectors, but also more dispersed agents (travellers, residents, trees) and management sites (primarily off-farm). Since its introduction, the FFEZ's ongoing biosecuring normalised, with only occasional outbreak events. However, recent unprecedented outbreaks evoke questions about the FFEZ's future status. In such eventful times, it is worth reflecting on what kinds of living are possible in biosecurity zones--for flies, for resident human communities, and for agrifood networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of the drivers of agricultural land use is important for policy makers as the issues of climate change and food security become increasingly prominent in the political landscape. This paper analyses the role of prices, total land holdings and climate on land use in Australia. The analysis relates to a unique comprehensive coverage of commodity types at a regional level. An explicit treatment of missing data and the novel use of cluster analysis is employed within a partial adjustment framework for modelling land allocation. The majority of commodity types across regions exhibit significant degrees of slow partial adjustment for land allocation, the frequency of slow adjustment is greatest with crops and livestock and weakest for vegetables. In general, relative own and cross prices, total land holdings and rainfall only have a minor impact on short-term land allocations, however numerous individual commodity/regional combinations have identified significant short-run impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews practical policy lessons from trade in a dietary supplement (or nutraceutical) processed from Terminal/a ferdinandiana (Combretaceae), which contains extremely high levels of natural ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Most production is from wild harvest by Aboriginal people, who get USD 14 per kilogram (kg) for picked, sorted fruit. However, the main Australian company involved is struggling to get the 12 tons/year it requires, and could market much more. Although Aboriginal people ideally should benefit economically from harvest of T. ferdinandiana, there are major challenges to this objective, including Australia's high labor costs compared to Asia, Africa, and Latin America where T. ferdinandiana can be grown. In addition, although Australia is a signatory to and plays a leading role in the international Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), this has meant lithe in practice so far. "Cultural branding" and certification of organic, wild harvested T. ferdinandiana fruit collected by Aboriginal people working in partnership with commercial companies offers a possibility for Aboriginal people to continue to benefit from wild harvest or enrichment plantings. However, even the establishment of commercial horticultural production within Australia faces several challenges. For Australia to maintain and develop the international market, future development of this bush food must include: (a) implementation of existing international and national policies on protection of genetic resources; (b) formation of a producer association to increase production efficiencies; (c) functioning partnerships between Aboriginal producers and commercial partners that guarantee and expand reliable supply and develop cultural branding and certification as marketing tools; and (d) scientific research into improving I ferdinandiana fruit yields and production methods, based on improved resource management and efficient processing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘Neolithic problem’ refers to forager/farmer interaction in northern Australia, where despite a shared environmental inheritance with their New Guinea neighbours, Indigenous Australians seemingly rejected both the domesticates and the practices of the Melanesian horticultural economy (White, 1971). This ethnographic example is often used to suggest that hunter-gatherers elsewhere may have chosen not to adopt agriculture. However, the premise of the ‘Neolithic problem’ has been criticised for its over-reliance on the ethnographic record and on an anachronistic notion of cultural evolution, which exaggerates the dichotomy between New Guinean agriculturalists and Australian hunter-gatherers. In this paper we review the historical and theoretical treatment of the ‘Neolithic problem’ and the archaeological evidence for subsistence practices in northern Sahul spanning the past 50–60,000 years. Using niche construction theory (Rowley-Conwy and Layton, 2011) to re-examine the archaeological and ethnohistoric record, it is possible to observe the development and expansion of a variety of subsistence systems. Contrary to the premise of the ‘Neolithic problem’, the past 50–60,000 years of occupation in Sahul has seen the development of a varied array of food-producing subsistence practices in both New Guinea and Australia. However, the archaeological evidence for the expansion of horticultural practices and cultivars outside of highland New Guinea suggests a spatially and temporally narrow window for the adoption of agriculture by Indigenous populations in Cape York. Instead, the interaction between different subsistence systems in northern Sahul may have centred on the New Guinea lowlands and the Bismarck Archipelago, where, in the late Holocene, local communities interacted with other Melanesian and Austronesian populations. Whilst further archaeological investigation is required, it is clear that the image of culturally-static Indigenous Australian populations often implied in the consideration of forager/farmer interactions belongs to another era of archaeological thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avocado pollination remains a major focus for producers as fruit‐set is typically very low (less than 1%). Most avocado producers in Australia utilize honey bees (Apis mellifera) to improve yield; however, there are risks with reliance on one species for future pollination security. Flies regularly visit flowers including avocado flowers. However, their pollination ability is poorly understood. To address this, visual observations of flies foraging in avocado orchards along with releases of two species of blow fly (within replicate enclosures of paired avocado trees; Hass and Type B cultivars) were conducted at a commercial orchard in south‐western Western Australia. Visual observations during flowering identified that most non‐bee flower visits were by hover flies (Melangyna viridiceps and Sphaerophoria macrogaster) and blow flies (Calliphora vicina and C. albifrontalis). Hover flies mostly foraged on flowers in the morning while blow flies were generally more active in the afternoon. Pollination as measured by harvestable fruit was higher by C. dubia (45.6 ± 10.0) than by C. albifrontalis. (26.3 ± 6.6). Compared with open trees pollinated by bees and other insects present, trees pollinated by C. dubia produced nearly two‐thirds the number of fruit. When presented with equal numbers of avocado flowers, C. dubia fed three times more often than C. albifrontalis, which may explain their higher pollination rate. Both C. dubia and C. albifrontalis transferred on average one pollen grain/flower visit. Blow flies improved avocado yield above no insect pollinators (3 fruit/tree) by an average of 31 fruit/tree (across both fly species), but considerably less than trees in the open pollinated by honey bees (128 fruit/tree). Future trials with multi‐tree enclosures will assess avocado pollination by different fly species. This study demonstrated that at least one species of blow fly could pollinate avocado and provide potential as a managed pollinator in Australian horticulture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product export provides an option for horticulture producers in Queensland (Australia) to diversify their market and increase returns from production. Vertical supply chain coordination in the form of contract-based marketing agreements between producers and export agents/distributors could facilitate increased export. The aim of this study was to investigate the willingness of horticulture producers to participate in export focused contract-based marketing agreements. To achieve this aim, a survey including a discrete choice experiment was conducted. The results from a mixed logit model and a latent class model suggest that there are three clusters of producers: a) the export interested, b) the likely risk averse, and c) those well established in the domestic markets. Only producers in group a) expressed a preference for contract-based export marketing agreements. These producers appear to be younger, already have some export experience, and have a relatively high level of collaboration in their product supply chains. Producers in groups b) and c) expressed an interest in stronger coordination within the domestic retail sector, potentially in the form of contract farming. Prices of produce and potential higher production costs are determinants identified by all producer groups as important for their decision-making about changes to their supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the economic potential for Area Wide Management (AWM) of the Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) through three case studies across endemic and Pest-Free Areas (PFA) in south-east Australia. The cost of Qfly needs to be identified before the potential benefit of AWM and SIT can be evaluated. We use results from grower workshops and expert elicitation to identify the financial cost of Qfly to growers (the baseline) and the potential impact of AWM as a precursor to SIT (scenarios). Results show a net benefit from maintaining PFA status. In endemic regions, the potential financial benefits to growers of are low. Avoided adjustment costs that contribute to a net benefit in PFA's are sunk in endemic regions. The low threshold for Qfly in markets and on-farm, and availability of cost-effective management options, implies limited benefits from avoided management costs. Market access is uncertain and AWM and SIT alone are not sufficient to access these benefits. Although there may be exceptions, we find limited grower benefits from AWM and SIT in Qfly endemic growing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In this study, we produced a genomic resource for the light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana, to understand the biological basis of adaptation to a high number of hosts (polyphagy) and the invasive nature of this and other lepidopteran pests. The light brown apple moth is an invasive pest of horticultural plants, with over 500 recorded plant hosts. With origins in Australia, the pest has subsequently spread to New Zealand, Hawaii, California and Europe, causing significant economic losses for fruit producers. Comparative genomic analyses with other lepidopteran genomes indicate that a high proportion of the genome is made up of repetitive sequences, with the majority of the known elements being DNA transposable elements and retrotransposons. Twenty gene families show significant expansions, including some likely to have a role in its pest status. Finally, population genomics, investigated by a RAD-tag approach, indicated likely patterns of invasion and admixture, with Californian moths most probably being derived from Australia. The light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana is an invasive, polyphagous pest of horticultural systems around the world. With origins in Australia, the pest has subsequently spread to New Zealand, Hawaii, California and Europe, where it has been found on over 500 plants, including many horticultural crops. We have produced a genomic resource, to understand the biological basis of the polyphagous and invasive nature of this and other lepidopteran pests. The assembled genome sequence encompassed 598 Mb and has an N50 of 301.17 kb, with a BUSCO completion rate of 97.9%. Epiphyas postvittana has 34% of its assembled genome represented as repetitive sequences, with the majority of the known elements made up of longer DNA transposable elements (14.07 Mb) and retrotransposons (LINE 17.83 Mb). Of the 31,389 predicted genes, 28,714 (91.5%) were assigned to 11,438 orthogroups across the Lepidoptera, of which 945 were specific to E. postvittana. Twenty gene families showed significant expansions in E. postvittana, including some likely to have a role in its pest status, such as cytochrome p450s, glutathione-S-transferases and UDP-glucuronosyltransferases. Finally, using a RAD-tag approach, we investigated the population genomics of this pest, looking at its likely patterns of invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, water scarcity, profit-cost pressure and restructuring of agricultural markets have led to on-farm diversification. The Goulburn Valley's (GV) pome and stone fruit farms, in the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia, present potential lessons for the conditions under which alternative crops can sustain livelihoods. This research uses a mixed methods approach to assess the viability of vegetable production in the GV region. Quantitative and qualitative data collected from primary and secondary sources were analysed within the conceptual framework of 'opportunity and ability to diversify'. The favourable biophysical factors of GV region and a positive return on investment from vegetable production that is comparable with fruit production, provide an opportunity for crop diversification to the fruit farmers of the region. Socio-economic factors, including loss of market for fruit crops, family and peer group support and flexibility in vegetable production, supported crop diversification. Factors that prevented fruit growers from diversification include, risk to existing business, capital locked in fruit related infrastructure and lack of vegetable marketing knowledge, among other reasons. The approach highlights the underlying factors for crop diversification that can be applied to any region by agricultural extension agencies to evaluate the potential for diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera (Dacus) tryoni (QFF) is arguably the most costly horticultural insect pest in Australia. Despite this, no model is available to describe its population dynamics and aid in its management. This paper describes a cohort-based model of the population dynamics of the Queensland fruit fly. The model is primarily driven by weather variables, and so can be used at any location where appropriate meteorological data are available.In the model, the life cycle is divided into a number of discreet stages to allow physiological processes to be defined as accurately as possible. Eggs develop and hatch into larvae, which develop into pupae, which emerge as either teneral females or males. Both females and males can enter reproductive and over-wintering life stages, and there is a trapped male life stage to allow model predictions to be compared with trap catch data.All development rates are temperature-dependent. Daily mortality rates are temperature-dependent, but may also be influenced by moisture, density of larvae in fruit, fruit suitability, and age. Eggs, larvae and pupae all have constant “establishment” mortalities, causing a defined proportion of individuals to die upon entering that life stage. Transfer from one immature stage to the next is based on physiological age. In the adult life stages, transfer between stages may require additional and/or alternative functions. Maximum fecundity is 1 400 eggs per female per day, and maximum daily oviposition rate is 80 eggs/female per day. The actual number of eggs laid by a female on any given day is restricted by temperature, density of larva in fruit, suitability of fruit for oviposition, and female activity. Activity of reproductive females and males, which affects reproduction and trapping, decreases with rainfall. Trapping of reproductive males is determined by activity, temperature and the proportion of males in the active population.Limitations of the model are discussed. Despite these, the model provides a useful agreement with trap catch data, and allows key areas for future research to be identified. These critical gaps in the current state of knowledge exist despite over 50 years of research on this key pest. By explicitly attempting to model the population dynamics of this pest we have clearly identified the research areas that must be addressed before progress can be made in developing the model into an operational tool for the management of Queensland fruit fly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Australian horticulture industry has endemic labour challenges, both in terms of poorly managed and distributed labour supply and a systemic problem of noncompliance with labour standards. A core component of both problems is the entrenched reliance on undocumented migrant workers. This article examines the extent of this reliance and considers policy solutions to address it. In particular, it proposes a model for the one-off status regularisation of undocumented migrant workers in the Australian horticulture industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fruit flies are a biosecurity threat to international trade of horticultural produce around the world. Area-wide management (AWM) of fruit flies offers a promising solution to coordinate farmers' activities to fight against the spread of this pest. The incorporation of the sterile insect technique (SIT) may increase the effectiveness of AWM and lead to greater suppression and possible eradication of the fruit fly pest. This article presents findings from a choice experiment survey to ascertain the willingness to pay (WTP) for the benefits of a suite of AWM features and SIT. These features include the benefits from (1) coordinated fruit fly monitoring, (2) coordinated on-farm male annihilation of fruit flies, (3) management of fruit fly in residential areas, and (4) coordinated release of sterile flies. This is the first study of its kind to assess the WTP for AWM and SIT in a developed country. Results suggest that growers are willing to pay for SIT and coordinated fruit fly management in residential areas but are not willing to pay for other coordinated services that they are already practicing on their farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migrant farmworkers dominate the horticultural workforce in many parts of the Minority (developed) World. The 'manual' work that they do—picking and packing fruits and vegetables, and pruning vines and trees—is widely designated unskilled. In policy, media, academic, activist and everyday discourses, hired farm work is framed as something anybody can do. We interrogate this notion with empirical evidence from the Sunraysia horticultural region of Australia. The region's grape and almond farms depend heavily on migrant workers. By-and-large, the farmers and farmworkers we spoke to pushed back against the unskilled tag. They asserted that farmworkers acquire knowledge and skills over time and that experienced farmworkers are valuable—their value being brought into sharp relief against accounts of inexperienced farmworkers' errors. Our interviewees provided rich insights into farmworkers' engagements with crops and the intricacies of picking and pruning well. Far from being bereft of knowledge and skills, they recognised that experienced farmworkers bring benefits. They improve productivity, product quality and ultimately profits. This is especially so when open communication channels exist across the farm hierarchy, when experienced farmworkers' insights are taken seriously by their employers. Our research is informed by organisational studies literature and scholarship on craft/making. Like factory floor workers and artisans, experienced farmworkers bring accumulated knowledge and skills to their work, gained through repeat performance. They reflect on and adjust their activities in dialogue with their materials and the environment. Experienced farmworkers demonstrate care, dexterity and judgement. They are not unskilled, and they are more than labouring bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited evidence exists concerning knowledge and understanding of how to optimally support residents' physical activity, mobility and functional independence in residential aged care homes. An interpretive qualitative study was conducted to explore residents' perceptions and experiences of opportunities for physical activity and functional independence, and how physical activity and functional independence are challenged in their care home environment. Purposefully sampled 24 participants (male = 13) from five not‐for‐profit residential aged care homes in the outskirts of a metropolitan area in Australia, were interviewed between August and September 2017. Maintaining independence was found to be the utmost priority for nearly all participants in this study. Yet, many did not make the connection between physical activity and independence, and regarded 'exercise' as an inappropriate activity for them, perceiving it as high‐impact, high‐intensity activity in commercial gyms that was only appropriate for the young. Walking and gardening were found to be most popular. Walking could be a physical activity, social activity, solo recreational activity and a means of maintaining mobility and functional independence—all of which residents considered to be appropriate to them and achievable. The study identified key factors influencing physical activity and functional independence of residents: levels of activity prior to living in residential aged care, ageism, social capital and loss of a loved one, pain and staff support. Findings highlight the need for a 'flexible and inclusive' approach in facilitating the resident's physical activity, and a greater role for staff in encouraging residents' engagement in, and communicating the benefits and requirements of, physical activity, through, for example, motivational interviewing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remotely sensed data from Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 were used to demonstrate the estimation of irrigation water requirement (ρ) for treed horticulture crops in an important irrigation district of Australia. Crop- and region-specific relationship between satellite-derived evapotranspiration (ET) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was combined with daily step soil water balance to investigate the performance of horticulture crops for their water use during the peak irrigation demand period (summer) over three years from 2014–15 to 2016–17. Relative irrigation water use (RIWU) as the key irrigation performance indicator was calculated by comparing the irrigation water supply (ψ) records and the ρ estimates. ψ and ρ of the treed horticulture crops showed a strong positive correlation (Coefficient of determination, R2 > 0.70; p < 0.001) for each of the three summer seasons investigated, indicating an overall consistency in irrigation pattern. However, the values of both ρ and ψ varied considerably at farm level over the seasons, highlighting the changing demand and supply of crop water over the years. Most farms remained within the optimal irrigation range (0.5–1.5 RIWU) over the seasons – 75% in 2014–15, 68% in 2015–16, and 80% in 2016–17. However, some farms were over-irrigated (>1.5 RIWU) – 12% in 2014–15, 5% in 2015–16, and 8% in 2016–17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Irrigated agriculture faces significant challenges under climate change, and may not be feasible in parts of the Murray‐Darling Basin beyond 2050. Recent research into the cultural politics of water has paid limited attention to the water cultures and relations of irrigators in Minority World countries. We analyse the water relations of grape farm irrigators in the Sunraysia region of Victoria using interviews and farm tours undertaken between 2014 and 2016. Findings are summarised under five themes: (1) the sociality of irrigation water, (2) temporal and spatial relations, (3) the risk of rain, (4) the micro‐scale of water knowledge, and (5) environment as actor. These themes shed light on the diverse relations that constitute both environmental and irrigation water. Irrigators are embedded in these relations at multiple scales, local and distant, mediated by technology and infrastructure. The scale of our focus makes visible water and other forms of environmental knowledge that often go unnoticed in broader debates over irrigation. The concept of “the environment”, understood as an embodied actor in policy discourse and by irrigators, is an emergent trend that warrants ongoing research attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian horticulture (fruit and vegetable production) relies upon a seasonal harvest workforce, much of which now consists of temporary migrant workers. This article argues that the composition of this workforce and the character of the work lead towards layered vulnerability, some groups being more exposed to low pay and substandard working conditions than others. Formally at least, employment conditions are generally protected by the federal Horticulture Award (2010). But are decent employment standards consistently observed? The article explores this question, examining three issues. First, does analysis of workforce composition reveal different tiers in the workforce, some more vulnerable than others? Second, do the casual nature of harvest work and the job search processes used by temporary migrant workers create disadvantaged groups? Third, does evidence about pay, working hours and work intensity reveal some workers to be more vulnerable than others? The article concludes with an examination of those factors that appear to be associated with layered vulnerability in the harvest workforce, and considers some policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that contact with nature plays a vital role in our psychological wellbeing. Domestic gardening is common among older adults who spend more leisure hours gardening than any other age group. Despite this, few studies have systematically explored the significance of domestic gardens in relation to older adults' health and wellbeing. This study examined the perceived therapeutic benefits of gardening, and the effect of ageing in relation to older gardeners' continued participation in gardening, using quantitative and qualitative data from a survey of Australian older adult gardeners (N=331). The quantitative data, which included frequencies, were analysed using the PASW Statistics 18.0 package. The qualitative data, which included participants' responses to open questions, were analysed by deriving themes via Leximancer, an innovative text analytics software that uses word association information to elicit concepts, extracting the most important and grouping these according to themes. In relation to the reasons for gardening, several themes were identified including valuing the aesthetics of gardens, connecting with nature, achievement, and physical and mental activity. The benefits of gardening, and the variety of ways that respondents had adapted or modified their gardening activities in order to continue, are also reported. Gardening was more than a casual leisure pursuit for these participants, who saw it as critical to their physical and psychological wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Larvae of an undescribed gall midge were found feeding on leaves and stems within leaf sheaths and between leaf blades of potted plants of C ordyline fruticosa ( Asparagaceae) in a production nursery in Queensland. The following varieties of the host plant were infested: ' Apple Blossom', ' Glauca', ' Kilauea', ' Negra', ' Pink Diamond', ' Purple Prince' and ' Willy's Gold'. The new species, D asineura cordylineae Kolesik sp. nov., is described and its cytochrome oxidase unit I mitochondrial gene segment is sequenced. The new species is the first known gall midge feeding on a plant species of the genus C ordyline. Orange larvae induce oval shallow swellings on the leaf and stem tissue, which becomes necrotised during the later stage of larval feeding. Necrotic areas remain visible to the end of leaves' lives and decrease the market value of the plants. In the production nursery investigated, the lesions caused by the gall midge provided an entry for a fungal infection by F usarium sp. inflicting further injury to plants. Larvae of the new species were preyed on by larvae of G aurax sp. ( Diptera: Chloropidae). This is the first worldwide record of Chloropidae preying on Cecidomyiidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need to accurately estimate the carbon sequestration potential of many of our agricultural and horticultural industries now that the Australian Government has introduced the Carbon Farming Initiative and is planning to introduce an emissions trading scheme in 2015. This study estimates that the carbon sequestration of macadamia plantations is around 3t COe/ha/yr, and provides a methodology to assess the carbon footprint of the Australian Macadamia Industry. This study attempts to estimate the growth rate, and subsequently the sequestration rate of plantation grown Macadamia spp. through regression analysis of stem characteristics of destructively sampled Macadamia integrifolia var. 344. A volume increment curve was also derived using three common genetic varieties (A4, A16 & A42). This curve is used to extrapolate a carbon sequestration rate for the national macadamia plantation estate. Once volume estimates and sequestration rates are determined, an economic benefit of the carbon sequestration can be estimated by auditing the amount of carbon produced by activities such as 'on farm' fuel use, fuel used in transport, and energy used in producing the product. In this way, a life cycle carbon budget can be developed that will aid the sustainable development of the macadamia and horticultural industries in Australia through the production of carbon credits from the carbon stored in the trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]