Pest and Disease Damage Workshop

Janet McDonald has been working with the Department of Agriculture, Forest Health Surveillance (FHS) team since 1998 conducting pests and disease surveys in forestry plantations throughout Queensland. Janet was part of the team of researchers who set up FHS systems in the South Pacific Islands and most recently in south-east Asia. She was responsible for establishing FHS systems in the sandalwood plantations in the Ord River Irrigation Area near Kununurra WA. After twenty years of experience conducting pest and disease surveys and collecting samples in the field, Janet is now looking forward to sharing her knowledge with industry professionals.

“Quite often the agent causing the problem will have been and gone but it’s the symptoms they leave behind that are important.”

“Damage to a tree can be occurring underground but the symptoms are showing above ground. You just need to know how to recognise them”.

“Simple techniques can be used in the field, for example, knowing the difference between chlorosis caused by toxicity or nutritional disorder”.

Topics to be covered during the workshop include: