Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Indoor environments
These conditions require careful choice of plants that tolerate
low light and dry conditions of low humidity produced by air conditioners. Many
rainforest plants such as the dumb cane (
Dieffenbachia
spp.) are suitable as indoor
plants. However, to overcome the low light conditions it is necessary to rotate or
replace plants in the indoor environment to maintain their longevity. This can be
done on a programmed basis with the plants being grown outside or in heated glass-
houses and then moved inside for a period. in winter. enabling plants to survive an
environment where they would not normally grow.
Cut flowers
People across the globe have enjoyed a wide range of Australian native
flowering plants, often available through the cut flower trade. Such plants may
be grown in their native country or countries with similar climates and then air-
freighted to destinations sometimes with a considerably different climate, or to fill
in during the opposite growing season in either hemisphere.
Many native Australian flowers grow best in mild winters (2 to 18
o
C) and warm
to hot summers (24 to 35
o
C). These plants grow mainly on sandy or friable soils in
the field on a broad scale making them more economical to grow in comparison to
greenhouse grown material. The main cost is the freight that contributes approxi-
mately a third of the cost. The main flower species are Geraldton waxflower (
Cha-
melaucium
spp.),
Banksia
spp. and the kangaroo paw (
Anigozanthos
spp.), with
the major foliages being Christmas bush (
Ceratopetalum gummiferum
), emu grass
(
Podocarpus drouynianus
) and koala fern (
Caustis blakei
).
Considerable research has been expended on selecting, breeding, and maximis-
ing production and postharvest quality. Each species has been shown to have spe-
cific production and postharvest requirements. In terms of selection and breeding
there are now over 100 cultivars of Geraldton wax which have been produced from
natural populations and cultivars developed as well as deliberate crossing within
species, between species and also between genera.
The production requirements for Geraldton wax include:
• Need for short days and cool temperatures (10°C) to flower
• Propagation from cuttings
• Production of long stems and terminal flower heads
• Low susceptibility to pests and pathogens, or methods available to treat pests and
pathogens and
• Good vase life and respond to an allowable anti-ethylene treatment.
In order for growers and exporters to achieve the best production of quality flow-
ers a number of manuals and technical notes have been produced. For example the
Production of Premium Waxflower by Seaton and Poulish (
2010
) and the Banksia
Production Manual by Parlevliet (
2009
) document every stage in the production
system from selecting the right growing mix, propagating quality plants, and ap-
propriate nutrition, irrigation, pest and disease management and postharvest treat-
ments. These documents are themselves a form of intellectual property and some
producers are protecting these by copyright, where sufficient novelty is apparent by
patents (Dixon and Ogier
2007
).
