NSW Wildflower Conference Report 2008

Efficient irrigation and nutrition management key to profits

Efficient irrigation was discussed at length by Sam Plant, one of two irrigation efficiency officers employed 12 months ago by the Flower Association of Queensland and funded through several state government programs. Precise information on water needs of wildflowers is largely unknown, so Sam has spent a lot of time measuring on-farm water application and helping growers to understand their water use. During the first year of this project, the objective has been to optimise the irrigation strategy for a number of crops. Sam explained the data he has obtained using EnviroSCAN, a stand-alone soil water monitoring system from Sentek. Data from the soil probes lets growers ‘look at the crop’s drinking pattern to see if the crop is starting to run out of water’ and ‘to determine how long they have after rain or an irrigation before the crop needs water again’. By the end of this project, Sam hopes to be able to say how many litres a day each major crop needs during the peak of the growing season. Sam highlighted the main areas where growers can improve their water use - improved irrigation scheduling, mulching, correctly maintaining their irrigation system and using pressure gauges to ensure it is operating correctly.

Murray Fraser, Senior Consultant and Director of the Sydney Soil and Environmental Laboratory, explained the benefits of plant tissue testing to the conference. Murray noted that tissue testing is ‘the plant equivalent of a blood test’, and a vital tool for a range of things, like identifying deficiencies, toxicities, and nutrient imbalances. He noted that ‘for most wildflower crops, we have no idea of what 100% maximum growth is’, adding that ‘for a lot of crops the nutrition research has been going on for only weeks’. Murray recommended plant tissue tests annually, saying ‘this testing is a great partner to soil testing, which growers should do every two to three years’.

Flannel flowers – a success story

In his presentation ‘Flannel flowers from A to Z’, NSW DPI researcher Dr Ross Worrall summarised a broad range of information now available to growers of flannel flowers, the result of many years of research. This ranged from the observation that ‘flannel flowers are susceptible to certain root diseases only under the wrong circumstances’ and that if they are growing under ideal conditions, pathogens, even if they are present, will not kill them. Ross unravelled some of the mysteries of nutrition, for example why flannel flowers manage to cope with a high level of phosphorus if it is applied gradually at increasing rates, but are killed when phosphorus is added as a big dose. Ross also shared his insights into successful propagation and noted that the development of an integrated production system has been the key to success with flannel flowers.

Grafted plants can overcome problems

A spectacular arrangement by florist Gail Anderson featured flowering gum blossom. In his presentation to the conference, NSW DPI researcher Jonathan Lidbetter chose flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia) to highlight the pluses and minuses of grafted plants for cut flower production. Jonathan is researching the benefits of growing grafted wildflowers for his project 'On-farm evaluation of grafted wildflowers for commercial cutflower production', which is supported by the Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation.

Jonathan Lidbetter, another NSW DPI researcher, highlighted the benefits of growing grafted wildflowers which range from ‘being able to put a root system on a difficult-to-propagate species’ to overcoming a particular issue such as root disease, difficult soil conditions, low yields or inappropriate flowering time. He stressed that ‘there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” grafting solution’. Jonathan presented examples of species where grafting has shown some benefits - Boronia, Banksia, waxflower, Eremophila, Qualup bells, Geleznowia,  Verticordia, Regelia, Darwinia, and flowering gum. Flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia) is a good example of ‘grafting pluses and minuses’. Grafting provides plants that are quick to reach flowering age and give excellent yields, with a range of colours and flowering times and opportunities for bud, flower and ‘nut’ product. Grafted plants also tolerate hard pruning and are a means to overcome juvenility problems. On the ‘minus’ side, seedling rootstocks show variable compatibility with the desired scion selections which can lead to a small percentage of combinations failing over time. The product itself has some drawbacks (ethylene sensitivity, a relatively short vase life, anther drop, heavy and bulky to handle) but still puts on a spectacular display.

Raising quality standards

Tools to raise product standards and consistency were introduced by Bettina Gollnow, who recently started a project funded by RIRDC to produce specifications for 30 Australian-grown wildflower products. The 30 products have been chosen to represent widely grown species, sold as single stems or bunched, and including both well-established and relatively new products. Bettina highlighted the reasons why specifications are needed and noted the sort of information that each specification would cover. Buyers currently see a wide range of ‘quality’, and poor quality undermines the industry’s reputation and prices. Good quality flowers take less time to pick and grade and tend to sell first. Bettina showed ‘real life’ examples of poor quality product sourced from the Sydney Flower Market – deformed blooms, ragged stem ends, very immature or overmature flowers and poorly presented product. A draft document for waratah was generally well regarded by participants.

Israeli insights

Brian Shannon, flower grower and president of the Flower Association of Queensland, shared his impressions of the Israeli cut flower industry gained during a recent overseas study tour. This tour was possible through an International Specialised Skills Institute overseas fellowship from the Department of  Employment, Science and Training (DEST) and funds from Horticulture Australia. A key aim of the trip was to gather more information on waste water treatment and reuse, use of water-efficient irrigation technology, information on improvements to labour and input efficiencies and how new technology could improve yield and quality. Brian visited trials at a research station and also the Netafim Israel production facility. He presented a range of facts and figures about the Israeli wildflower industry  and also described the organised 3-year program of evaluating new varieties, where ‘all the crop management, irrigation, nutrition and transport and packaging issues have already been worked out when the grower gets the plants of the new product’. He noted that Israeli technology used to measure leaf turgidity is going to be trialled in Queensland. On an Israeli farm, this approach allowed a 25% reduction in water and nutrient use in the foliage crop being grown.

Industry development

Industry challenges and future priorities were also debated at the 2008 conference. In his talk, inaugural President of WildFlowers Australia (WFA) Tim Bailey put the case that building a national proactive Australian wildflower industry organisation (WFA) is the key to leading the industry forwards. He encouraged industry members to strongly support this new national industry body which has wasted no time in developing a business plan and website, building its membership base and starting projects that will give participants value for money. He gave several examples of ‘runs on the board’ in less than one year of operation. Participation in IFEX 2007 in Japan gave each member who was involved a great experience, with new contacts and insights into Japan as well as a significant cash benefit by leveraging their funds through several government grants. Currently WFA is promoting the national TAFE floristry competition, which has been revitalised and has the support of commercial sponsors. It is also working to include wildflowers in the floristry curriculum.

Native flora licensing

The challenges of wildlife licensing were addressed by Brendon Neilly from the Wildlife Licensing and Management Unit of the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change. Brendon introduced the key features of the new plan to manage native flora licensing in NSW. He noted that it also has to meet the requirements of Commonwealth agencies. Public comments on the draft plan offered over 130 suggestions and 90 of these have led to changes or corrections in the final document. The plan aims to reduce the impact of licensing on commercial native flower growers by focusing on the ‘high risk’ areas and species and simplifying procedures. The key features of the new plan, which will take the industry to 2012, are consistent guidance for industry and regulators, education of the industry and consumers, and links to national guidelines and approaches.

Domestic marketing

The ‘ins and outs’ of selling on the domestic market were discussed by a panel of three marketing experts. Sydney Flower Market wholesaler Craig Scott explained why florists like to buy at that market. ‘Buyers come looking for supply, reliability, a diverse product selection and choice, quality, good prices and information’, he said. Craig described a typical ‘night at the markets’ where growers may work from 10 or 11 pm to get ready for a round of competitive trading early the next morning. He noted that his best suppliers put a great deal of effort into their presentation and bunching, ensuring stems in the bunch are level, flowers are at the correct maturity and bunches firmly tied. 

Selling flowers in Melbourne is somewhat different to Sydney, and Peter Brooks from folia australia shared his insights. The Melbourne market is less buoyant than Sydney, with wildflowers making up a very small percentage of total flower sales to florists. Peter gave a quick history of the flower market in Melbourne and hinted at big changes yet to come due to the proposed relocation of the Melbourne Flower Market. Currently flowers are sold through this central market where there are about 34 wholesalers, and also through other wholesalers located in suburban Melbourne and more outlying areas. In the Flower Market, there is intense competition between wholesalers, and sometimes there may be several wholesalers between the grower and the end florist, with all in the chain needing to make a profit. Large quantities of a particular flower may be difficult to sell profitably and Peter advised growers in this position to sell to several wholesalers. ‘Wholesalers try to match your product to their customers and this is being challenged all the time, especially in a market environment like the Melbourne Flower Market’, he said. ‘It is difficult to sell wildflowers at high prices and there are price barriers that are hard to break through, because florists need to be able to sell the finished bunches or arrangements at a 200 mark-up’, he added.

The complexities of supermarket flower retailing were discussed by Greg Lamont from Lynch Flowers. Greg stressed that the key criteria for flowers in this sector are their availability, vase life, decorative value, uniformity and price. Lynch Flowers has established a small supply base of approved growers and they work with the growers on innovation, product development and feedback. With wildflowers it is important to have enough volume, so Australian native and South African flowers are combined. The key lines include several types of foliage, bud wax, Thryptomene, Leucodendron, Leucospermum, Proteas, Banksias and waratahs. It’s a tough business because there is a high level of ‘wastage’ and Australian supermarkets set high margins for fresh flowers. Greg outlined the various aspects of quality that growers must address, from variety and cultural practices, through stage of harvest, to postharvest handling, packing, storage and transport. Lynch Flowers have written specifications for all products they buy, but still there are problems, for example, overmature flowers are sent or the product ‘arrives as compost due to transport problems’.

The panel speakers then fielded a diverse range of questions from the floor. These ranged from ‘are there instances of Australian and South African natives being imported from overseas?’ (answer, yes, occasionally), to ‘is domestic cut flower consumption increasing and what efforts have been made to increase purchases?’ (the overall impression is ‘yes, sales are growing and as the volume and variety of wildflowers on offer increases, so does demand and consumption’) and ‘how likely is it that we will see a flower auction in Sydney?’ (unlikely, as florists are used to seeing and touching the product).

Workshops

NSW DPI postharvest specialist Dr Jenny Ekman discussed vase life trials and other post harvest issues at the conference, giving growers tips on the best 'do it yourself' approaches.

Two ‘workshops’ presented by NSW DPI researchers completed the conference program. Dr David Nehl, who recently joined the Department’s main plant health diagnostic laboratory at Camden, spoke about ‘the who’s who and what’s what of pathogens and their symptoms in plants’. David discussed typical symptoms of the major fungal pathogens affecting wildflowers, covering Pythium, Phytophthora, black root rot and anthracnose as well as bacteria, viruses and nematodes. He noted that while ‘diagnosis is the first step in disease control’, and is very important, ‘disease is a manmade problem, because monocultures favour pathogens and it’s people who move pathogens and hosts’. David’s presentation also raised awareness of DPI’s diagnostic testing service which helps growers identify the cause of crop problems and he explained the best ways to send off a sample for testing.

Dr Jenny Ekman introduced the audience to vase life trials, emphasising why they could be useful and how they should be set up.  Reasons for doing such trials are many, but a common one is to compare different varieties grown for their vase life, because ‘if your product doesn’t have a reasonable vase life after cutting, you haven’t got much’.  A trial also lets growers test a new piece of equipment or a new postharvest solution. And ‘if your wholesaler rings up with complaints, you might want to check - is it your fault or someone else’s’, Jenny said. She also demonstrated a typical vase test set-up, noting ‘whatever you do, do the same thing every time’, ‘do a little trial first as a practice run’ and ‘do at least 10 samples with the same treatment’. She gave examples of ‘what to measure or compare’, like water uptake over time, or the weight of the stem over time.

Further information

Plans are already underway for the 2009 conference which is scheduled for the weekend of February 21-22. Copies of the 2008 proceedings are available for $27.50.

You may register your interest in the 2009 conference or purchase a copy of the 2008 proceedings by contacting Bettina Gollnow, Development Officer (Floriculture), PMB 8, Camden NSW 2570, phone 02 4640 6437, email: bettina.gollnow@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Evening of flower magic completes the conference

Delegates at the 2008 NSW Wildflower Conference were treated to an evening showcasing the best of flower design thanks to Sydney florist Gail Anderson. The conference dinner, hosted by NSW Department of Primary Industries, presented a great opportunity for the growers, marketers, researchers and allied traders attending the conference to see their product converted into art. The courtyard garden of the Campbelltown Arts Centre was a wonderful venue for this demonstration.

Author: Bettina Gollnow, Development Officer (Floriculture), Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute