landscape design

Environment & SustainabilityPest and Diseases

Insects that transmit plant diseases

By Denis Crawford

Insects that spread plant diseases are known as vectors of that disease. It’s important to know that some insects are more efficient vectors than other others.

Insects which transmit plant diseases are mostly sap-sucking insects of the insect order Hemiptera.… Continue reading

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International Plant Propagation Society

Propagation at the King’s Park and Botanic Gardens

By Amanda Shade

The Kings Park and Botanic Garden nursery was established in 1962, several years prior to the opening of the Western Australian Botanic Garden (WABG). We grow roughly 50-60,000 plants annually for display in our many differently-themed collections within the WABG and wider parkland areas.Continue reading

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Business File

Making better business decisions

By John Corban

We are now settled into the new calendar year and it’s a suitable time to act on some important strategic decisions for your business, if you haven’t done so already. It might be that you are seriously thinking about hiring or removing a skilled worker, removing or adding a service, increasing charge out rates, improving a system in your business or buying an expensive piece of equipment.… Continue reading

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Careers

Do you speak my language?

By Daniel Fuller

Do you speak to everybody in the same way? If you do, you’re probably not an effective communicator, and you may be leaving money on the table. Especially when you’re in a job interview or pitching a potential client.Continue reading

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Plant PalettePlants

Violets – more than a pretty flower!

By Clive Larkman

Some plant families are small such as Ginkgoaceae which has only one genus and one species while others families, such as Asteraceae, have approximately 25 000 species. One of the largest families, Brassicaceae, consists almost entirely of edible plants and produces all those healthy green plants that most adults love and kids hate.… Continue reading

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Newsbuds

How can one fungus infect nearly all plants, vascular or not?

Two views of a common mould summarised from research by Ritu Singh, Celine Caseys and Daniel J. Kliebenstein in the news from the British Society for Plant Pathology, and also from Levantine Hill Wine articles.

If you observe signs of decay on your fruits and vegetables, accompanied by the growth of fuzzy grey-brown mould, chances are it is Botrytis cinerea.… Continue reading

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Newsbuds

Aloe vera uses you never thought of

The evolution of electric vehicles and low power electronic devices such as mobile phones drive the search for better longer lasting energy storage. The amount of energy and the rate at which you can use it depends on, among other things, the surface area of electrodes that make up the bulk of the system.… Continue reading

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Newsbuds

Hort Innovation Statistics 2022/2023

February saw the release of the Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook 2022/23. This annual compilation of statistics reflects the general health of Australian horticulture. From 2013 the horticulture industry has grown substantially overall but the industry growth has flattened out over the last couple of years.… Continue reading

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Editors editorial

Cyclones, storms, flood and bushfires – where will it end?

You could be forgiven for feeling confused about the weather events over summer. While we were expecting a dry hot summer due to an El Nino event, Australia was dealing with Cyclone Jasper in far north Queensland and a battering of storms and floods throughout the east coast.… Continue reading

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Pollination

Pollination – realising the potential

By John Fitzsimmons

Growing food at home has been trending in recent times. Many who started out with easily grown herbs and vegetables have advanced to perennial crops including fruit trees. However, the full reward from this step could be limited if pollination is not considered.Continue reading

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