When: Monday 26 August 2024

Time: 8.00am departure and return approximately 4.30pm.

Depart: Peppers Salt Resort and Spa

Cost: $130 AUD

SOLD OUT

Join us to learn more about the crops and their problematic pathogens, the soils and the interactions of the three in the subtropical and spectacular Tweed Valley in the shadow of Wollumbin (Mt Warning). We will visit sugar cane, banana, avocado and sweet potato farms and hear how growers are managing the constraints of soil-borne diseases.

First stop will be Cudgen Road Farms (https://cudgenroadfarms.com.au/). The Prichard Family are third generation farmers and have a long history of collaboration with researchers. Mr Matthew Prichard will talk about the history of the farm and the soilborne diseases they are managing including root knot nematode and scurf. Dr Graham Stirling will discuss his trials examining the effects of organic amendments on nematode populations in the soil.

Our second visit with be a Sunshine Sugar approved seed plot site where cane planting material is grown to supply growers. The cane has been rotated with soybeans and we will hear about how soybeans are improving nitrogen fixation and soil health as part of a rotation with cane. We will also talk with the Sunshine Sugar agronomists to learn how the cane industry is managing the endemic oomycete pathogen, Pachymetra.

After lunch we will visit an avocado farm with a long history of management of Phytophthora root rot and a banana farm to hear how they are managing their soilborne disease constraints.

The 26th August bus tour will depart at 8am and return by 4:30pm and will include lunch. Make sure you have a hat and comfortable, closed in shoes as there will be some walking involved and shoes must be suitable for a foot bath.