Issue 3 | May 2023

ADSW 2023: Implementation through connections

Themed ‘Implementation through connections’ the hybrid Annual Surveillance and Diagnostics Workshop (ADSW) workshop was held at the QT Hotel in Canberra 9 – 11 May.

The program consisted of presentation sessions, panel discussions, workshops and a field day, which allowed diagnosticians and surveillance practitioners to come together and share knowledge and learnings.

From a poll carried out at ADSW 2023, 94% rated the event as excellent or above average, also rating networking, collaboration and knowledge sharing as key benefits of attending. Also of note, 73% of delegates indicated they would be interested in attending Surveillance or Diagnostics residentials, whilst bioinformatics, taxonomy and pathology were identified as the top three key training needs.

PSNAP members can access all ADSW 2023 presentations after logging into the members portal.

Residential: Detecting Varroa using eDNA

Francesco Martoni from Agriculture Victoria presented on his 2022 Surveillance Residential on early detection of varroa mites by eDNA surveillance at ADSW 2023.

This residential project aimed to join a team of researchers from CSIRO, Australian National University (ANU) and the Ministry for Primary Industry (MPI) New Zealand to explore the use of eDNA sampling techniques for the early detection of Varroa mites in beehives, comparing eDNA analysis with morphological counts thorough traditional techniques (e.g., sugar and alcohol shakes).

“I worked in the field in New Zealand across a number of apiaries collecting samples from beehives and testing for the presence of Varroa mites using a number of techniques. I also learnt how to identify the mites and gained a basic understanding of beehive structure and beekeeping techniques and tools, such as identification and handling of the queen, handling of frames and smokers, and sampling of broods/honey/pollen.”

View the presentation.

2023 Surveillance Residentials now open

The Subcommittee on National Plant Health Surveillance (SNPHS) is pleased to announce applications for the Surveillance Residential Program are now open to all Plant Surveillance Network Australasia-Pacific (PSNAP) members.

Surveillance Residentials are funded by Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and allow plant health surveillance professionals to spend time in another workplace or location, or to participate in relevant activities that improve the national capability to detect exotic plant pests.

Please note: This funding is not open to DAFF staff. Commonwealth DAFF staff are encouraged to speak to their line manager regarding potential placements.

Online ILO training goes live

Plant Health Australia (PHA) recently launched a new e-learning Industry Liaison Officer (ILO) program consisting of an online ILO course and face-to-face ILO workshop.

The program is designed to improve response readiness of industry representatives that may be called on to work in the incident management structure during a response, and to understand their roles and responsibilities.

Expert Register Survey

Plant Health Australia (PHA) are sending a survey to all PSNAP members to ensure your details are current and correct. The aim is to improve the current expert register which will allow PHA to source expertise by region and/or disciplines for professional development training, and assistance with diagnostic topics and protocols. The updated experts register will be available on the PSNAP website.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could complete this 3-minute survey before 30 June 2023. Please access the survey via the button below.

Take the survey.

About the Network

The Plant Surveillance Network Australasia-Pacific (PSNAP) enables members to communicate about plant pest surveillance. It acts as a coordination point for surveillance professionals and practitioners to strengthen surveillance capacity and capability across Australia, New Zealand and the nearby region.

The National Plant Biosecurity Surveillance Professional Development and Protocols Projects are coordinated and delivered by Plant Health Australia and are funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.