Literature review: Alternatives to copper for the organics industry
Project Summary
Full title:
Literature review and an Inventory of alternatives to copper for disease control in the Australian Organics Industry
Project ID:
03P29
Project type:
Research
Start date:
01/03/2003
Completion date:
30/06/2004
Project status:
Current
Project leader:
Dr Lukas VAN ZWIETEN, Wollongbar Primary Industries Institute
Lead agency:
NSW DPI
Locations:
Wollongbar Primary Industries Institute
Project Details
Objectives:
1. Review the literature on alternatives to copper for disease control in the Australian Organics Industry; 2. Produce an inventory of products available to the Australian Organics Industry; 3. Scientific evaluate current knowledge on desease control alternatives; and 4. Provide recommendations for future work in this area.
Methodology:
This 12 month project will be a thorough review of the literature on alternatives to copper for disease control and will be divided into several stages. The project will be conducted with a one-day a week professional officer employed to assist with this review. The review will also have input from a plant pathologist at NSW Department of Primary Industries Centre for Tropical Horticulture.
0-3 months: National Call for Expressions of Interest and literature gathering exercise.
A National Call for Expressions of Interest will be published in newspapers, and also in relevant Industry journals and magazines. This call for interest will ask providers of alternative technologies to supply information of products to NSW Agriculture for the review and inventory.
4-6 months: Evaluation of data provided, discussions with stakeholders, farmers who have trialed products etc.
This phase of the project is a continuation of the information gathering, and it will focus on evaluating data provided, contacting farmers in Australia who have trialed alternative products, and will include further communication with providers of technologies. During this phase, a Procite database of literature review will be developed, with the aim of having this database available to stakeholders. The database will contain abstracts of literature gathered, and full copies of documents will be kept at NSW Agriculture.
7-11 months: Compilation of literature review and Inventory of products available in Australia into report.
A report will be produced detailing the current state of knowledge on disease control in Organic Industries using non-copper based products, and will include an Inventory of products available in Australia. Where possible, data on the efficacy of these products will be included. This data will be evaluated and will draw conclusions on the potential for these products to be used in the Australian Organics Industry.
Month 12: Submission of report
Report will be submitted containing: A literature review on disease control options. Inventory of products available in Australia. Evaluation of data obtained on the alternative disease control options. Recommendations for future work. Procite database available on CD.
Industry relevance:
This project has direct relevance to all organic horticulturalists, as copper is the primary chemical used currently for disease control. The looming restrictions in Australian organic agriculture necessitate the evaluation of suitable alternatives, a process that will require several years. The consequences of no alternatives to copper upon its restriction could be devastating to the Industry. Benefits will initially be recognised in organic horticulture, but will flow to conventional agriculture as cost-effective and environmentally sound alternatives to synthetic chemicals are evaluated and eventually registered. Initial trials of alternatives on cereal and vegetable crops are promising, but little information is available for the use of these "alternative" products in the broader organics industry.
This literature review and product inventory will be extremely beneficial to the Australian Organics Industry, as it will provide an independent evaluation of products and will review knowledge to date on these products.
Target audience:
Producers Horticulturalists Plant Pathologists Companies providing products for disease control
The information contained in this web page is based on knowledge and
understanding at the time of writing. However, because of advances in knowledge, users are
reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to
check currency of the information with the appropriate officer of New South Wales
Department of Agriculture or the user’s independent adviser.
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)