Did you know that nuts are fruits?

Macadamia nuts (Queensland nut, bush nut, bauple nut) are indigenous tree nuts to Australia and have a subtle, butter-like flavour and creamy texture. They are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre, yet low in carbohydrates and sugar.

Macadamia nuts boast healthy monounsaturated fats and are a great source of antioxidants.

Production of macadamia nuts in Australia is expanding from northern New South Wales, south-eastern Queensland to other regions such as central Queensland, which is now the dominant growing area of Australian macadamias.

Macadamia is the most successful Australian native plant developed as a commercial food crop. It is a member of the Proteaceae family with three species being cultivated for commercial production: Macadamia tetraphylla, M. ternifolia and M. integrifoIia.

These sub-tropical trees originate from coastal areas of northern NSW and south-east Queensland and natural hybrids of all species can be found near the NSW-Queensland border.

Commercial plantings are generally of the species M. integrifolia. The oil content of kernel regularly exceeds 72 per cent, which is the highest for any oil-yielding nut. The nuts are eaten raw, dry roasted as a snack food, used in bakery products, ice cream, confectionery products and in the restaurant and food service industries.

In 2020, the Australian Macadamia Society estimated the farm gate value of macadamia production to be $293m, with a five year average production of 46,000 tonnes.

Australia’s macadamia is sought after world-wide with 75 per cent of production exported overseas.

NSW DPI macadamia development officer, Jeremy Bright, based at Wollongbar supports the macadamia industry and growers with expert advice to establish more sustainable orchard systems and to maintain quality nut production.

Jeremy has worked with growers to drive the expansion of macadamia production by around 25 per cent with new macadamia enterprises developed on floodplains in the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed coastal areas.

Jeremy works with macadamia growers to develop strategies to protect orchards from pests and diseases and to help them to prepare their orchard to be more resilient to climate change. This work could not be achieved without the support of the world class NSW DPI entomology team based at Wollongbar Primary Industries Institute.

A range of information is available on the DPI website.

Jeremy has authored a variety of management and growing guides, including the popular Macadamia plant protection guide.

The guide provides information on insect pests with illustrations for easy identification and explanations of risk periods and crop damage.

A section in the guide offers macadamia growers suggestions for integrated approaches to manage pests and diseases, including responsible targeted pesticide use.

The 2021-2022 edition of the guide contains a feature article on the concept of integrated orchard management, looking at how canopies, orchard floors and drainage are managed and the benefit this approach can have on pest and disease control.

The guide also provides an update on the Integrated Pest Management Program that started in 2017 to test combinations of biological, cultural and chemical controls on commercial farms and NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Centre for Tropical Horticulture Alstonville research station.

The guide is available free to macadamia growers and is distributed to all macadamia processors within Australia.

Copies can be collected from NSW DPI offices at Wollongbar and Coffs Harbour, the Australian Macadamia Society, Local Land Services and selected rural retail stores across NSW.

For information on macadamia production or to get a hard copy of the Macadamia plant protection guide, please contact Jeremy Bright on jeremy.bright@dpi.nsw.gov.au