It’s that time of year when the mangoes are starting to come off the trees. We have several research activities on our commercial orchards this year so the next few months are busy in the Plant Industries side of things.

There are a number of field days happening in the near future for the cattle, pastures and cropping folk, so don’t forget to have a look at those.

Finally, it has been a dry year and it looks like the wet will be a late one. There have already been a number of fires around the place so keep your eye on the SecureNT fire advice and as always, take care.

Cheers

Chelsea Moore

Editor

On the back of a particularly poor wet season, the Northern Territory (NT) rural area is as dry as tinder. There have been a number of bushfires in the Darwin and Katherine rural areas that have burnt paddocks and orchards. Several mango properties in the Darwin rural area have been affected, many with minor or peripheral damage, but at least one grower has reported significant damage to their crop.

With the recent bushfires throughout the Berry Springs, Lambells Lagoon and the Arnhem Highway region affecting properties and mango orchards in the area, it is a good time to assess what resources are available to growers affected by bushfires.

PalmCow is a research project our agriculture researchers are leading to improve smallholder beef supply and livelihoods through oil palm-cattle integration in Indonesia.

“This project will provide us (DPIR staff) with experience in cattle production under plantations. It will give us insight into grazing management under forestry plantations in the NT.”

Arthur Cameron, Principal Pastures Agronomist has been helping people learn to identify gamba grass for years. In a new video on identifying gamba grass, he explains what to look for and the features that make it stand out.

An incursion of Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) has recently been detected on two properties in the greater Darwin region. Primary producers should be aware of this and check any new plants they find on their properties. As with any weed management, early reporting of a suspected Siam weed infestation is essential to successful control and eradication efforts.

Have you got an import permit and/or plant health certificate?

The outlook for October to December 2019 indicates that:

• drier than average conditions are expected across most of the NT for the remainder of 2019
• warmer than averagedays and nights are likely for almost the entire NT.

Scientists in the Northern Territory have made a significant advance towards understanding the cause of resin canal discolouration (RCD) in mangoes. RCD had stumped scientists and growers for decades, who until now had not had any clues about its cause.

The More Profit for Nitrogen (MPfN) project provides a valuable opportunity for university students to have a hands on experience in tropical horticultural research. This is critical to producing future science leaders with experience in tropical production systems.

Researchers have been studying flowering in mangoes in the Northern Territory (NT). The goal is to develop ways to extend the harvest window for fruit, which currently is only five to seven weeks.

Understanding flowering is an important management tool for growers in the NT, particularly the Darwin region. When it comes to domestic mangoes, Darwin has the earliest harvesting region in Australia, with premium prices reflecting the demand for the fruit

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Regional Livestock Bisoecurity Officer 08 8999 2034
Livestock Biosecurity Officer 08 8999 2030

Katherine

Regional Livestock Biosecurity Officer 08 8973 9767
Livestock Biosecurity Officer 08 8973 9765

Tennant Creek

Principal Livestock Biosecurity Officer 08 8962 4458
Livestock Biosecurity Officer 08 8962 4492

Alice Springs

Senior Field Veterinary Officer 08 8951 8181
Regional Livestock Biosecurity Officer 08 8951 8125

Department of Primary Industry and Resources

www.nt.gov.au