Projects

RD&E and Capacity Building Projects

Demographic mapping across gardening communities to inform urban and periurban plant biosecurity engagement strategies (PBSF044) COMPLETE

Spotted lanternfly biology, ecology and awareness in the Australian environment (PBSF039) COMPLETE

Remote sensing and machine learning applications for urban forest biosecurity surveillance (PBSF030) COMPLETE

Workshop: tracking and forecasting of pest and pathogen movements (PBSF028) COMPLETE

Urban plant biosecurity: Using a foundational approach to understand emerging risks, support resilient cities and safeguard rural industry (PBSF027) COMPLETE

Ornamental and Asian vegetable plants as entry pathways for viruses (PBSF024) COMPLETE

Strengthening the weakest link in peri-urban Medfly suppression (PBSF022) COMPLETE

Boosting biosecurity awareness and action in the freight and logistics industry (PBSF015) COMPLETE

Updating Charles Darwin University’s ‘ENV521 – Community Engagement for Biosecurity and Natural Resource Management’ unit (PBSF014) COMPLETE

National Masterclasses to Improve Biosecurity for Control of Soil-borne Diseases on Strawberry Farms (PBSF013) COMPLETE

Pursuing sensitive limits of biochemical geographic discrimination as generic tool for high risk pest Plants (PBSF010) COMPLETE

Myrtle Rust

Indigenous artistic and linguistic interpretation of Myrtle Rust and it’s impacts for community awareness (PBSF043) COMPLETE

Development of RNAi vaccines for in-field protection of vulnerable Australian ecosystems and industries against myrtle rust (PBSF042)

Proactive pre-border vigilance against exotic strains of myrtle rust (PBSF033)

Impact of myrtle rust infection on community composition and ecological function (PBSF038) COMPLETE

Using metabolites as biomarkers for the identification of innate resistance to myrtle rust across the Myrtaceae (PBSF037) COMPLETE

Quantifying impacts of exotic myrtle rust and endemic pathogens in highly disturbed forests (PBSF036) COMPLETE

Myrtle Rust in Western Australia: surveillance plan and testing preparedness (PBSF035) COMPLETE

Exploration of RNAi vaccines as a novel control for Myrtle Rust in critically endangered Australian taxa (PBSF034) COMPLETE

Environmental Biosecurity – Adding a Cultural Context (PBSF031) COMPLETE

Fire and rust – impact of myrtle rust on regeneration of fire damaged Myrtaceae and associated ecosystems (PBSF029) COMPLETE

Expanding environmental biosecurity capacity to protect unique ecosystems on K’gari (Fraser Island) (PBSF025) COMPLETE

Developing molecular ‘fingerprinting’ of myrtle rust disease to facilitate strategies in monitoring and control (PBSF023) COMPLETE

Enhancing community capacity to assess the impacts of myrtle rust on rainforest Myrtaceae in ecologically and culturally significant lowland subtropical rainforests (PBSF020)

Resolution of disease epidemiology and detection of genetic and genotypic diversity in Australian populations of myrtle rust (PBSF018)

Myrtle Rust Masterclass – Community Awareness (PBSF009) COMPLETE

Expanding environmental biosecurity capacity to protect our unique ecosystems (PBSF012 COMPLETE)

Expanding Indigenous communities biosecurity surveillance and monitoring capacity to care for country and to protect country from pest and diseases (PBSF011) CLOSED

Plant Epidemiology: host susceptibility to Myrtle Rust (PBSF004) COMPLETE

Commercial Projects

The Foundation owns two key pieces of commercial Intellectual Property, and consistent with it’s Purpose, aims to have the IP developed for enhanced biosecurity outcomes and commercial return to the Foundation.

The Davren™ Technology Package is being developed by a specialist spin-off company Davren Global Pty Ltd, wholly owned by the Foundation, and funded under the Research Agreement PBSF001.

Pestpoint™ is licensed to Checkpoint Pty Ltd, co-developers of the IP.

Supporting the commercial development of the Davren™ technology package (PBSF001)

International Projects

The Plant Biosecurity CRC invested in multiple international research and capacity building projects that were ultimately of benefit to Australia. In particular the PBCRC invested in Indonesia, building off investments made by it’s predecessor, the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity.

The PBCRC’s Foundation Chairman and a current Director of the Plant Biosecurity Science Foundation has provided a history of these investments.

The Foundation is continuing to fund projects in Indonesia, enhancing the capacity of this key neighbour, reducing risk to our shores and improving our knowledge of biosecurity threats.

Indonesia’s Decentralized and Local Responses to COVID-19: Implications for Bilateral Biosecurity Engagement with Australia (PBSF040)

Indonesia’s Decentralized and Local Responses to COVID-19: Implications for Bilateral Biosecurity Engagement with Australia (PBSF040)

Reversing the impact of Banana blood disease in Indonesia (PBSF016) COMPLETE

Regional Master Classes in Plant Biosecurity (Indonesia)(PBSF006) COMPLETED

Biosecurity Planning workshop, Indonesia (PBSF003) COMPLETE

Sponsorships

2021 ‘International Year of Fruit and Vegetables’ Queensland DAF Hermitage Research Facility Schools Plant Science Competition (PBSF032) COMPLETE

Celebrating the International Year of Plant Health with the NSW DPI Biosecurity Warrior (PBSF026 – COMPLETE)

2020 ‘Plant Health’ Queensland DAF Hermitage Research Facility Schools Plant Science Competition (PBSF021) COMPLETE

Katharina Belt: Early Career Scholarship to attend the Australasian Plant Pathology Society Conference (PBSF019) COMPLETE

Crawford Fund Annual Conference (PBSF017) COMPLETE

Myrtle Rust Masterclass – Community Awareness (PBSF009) COMPLETE

Burnett Mary Regional Biosecurity conference (PBSF008) CANCELLED due to COVID-19

2019 ‘Pest Invaders’ DAF Hermitage Research Facility/Customer Support Officer and Competition Coordinator (PBSF007) COMPLETE

Australasian Plant Pathology Society 50th Anniversary Conference: Strong Foundations, Future Innovations (PBSF005) COMPLETE

Capacity Building Projects – PhD students

Detection and prevention of scab disease in Asian and European pears (PBCRC62050)

Psyllid microflora- Implications for Liberibacter disease surveillance and pest control (PBCRC62116)

Epidemiology, impact and management of myrtle rust in lemon myrtle plantations (PBCRC62118)

Probiotic diets to increase Queensland fruit fly male performance as part of the sterile insect technique (PBCRC63083)

Ecological impacts of invasive fungus in Australian native plant communities (PBCRC62117)

Curtailing and managing exotic fungal spore incursion into Australia (PBCRC62042)

Perceptions and behaviours of Vietnamese farmers towards biosecurity threats in Australia (PBCRC64139)

Evaluating chlorine dioxide and ozone to control insects in stored grain (PBCRC63052)

New, non-chemical technologies to protect grain during storage and transport (PBCRC63058)

Understanding the mechanisms of dust-induced insect death and biological effect (PBCRC63060)