APPS PORTAL
Pest & Disease Fact Sheets
The Australian production nursery industry faces a large and diverse range of pests and diseases. To assist growers in understanding these pests and diseases, a range of fact sheets have been developed by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and GIA, funded by Hort Innovation using nursery industry levy funds through projects NY11001 and NY15002.
The current range of pest and disease fact sheets are listed below.
Documents
| Title↕ | Description↕ | Updated↓ |
|---|---|---|
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Rhizoctonia | This fact sheet provides information on the life cycle, spread, disease symptoms and management of the fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia. | 5 Feb 2026 |
| Downy mildew in production nurseries (2025) | Downy mildews attack a wide range of plants and are responsible for leaf spots and blights, causing eventual plant collapse and death, and can cause considerable losses in nursery production crops. This fact sheet provides information on the symptoms, identification, host range, life cycle, spread, disease management and chemical treatment of downy mildew in production nurseries. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Powdery mildew: A myriad of nursery pathogens (2025) | Powdery mildew is a widespread and important disease of many nursery plants. This fact sheet provides information on symptoms, identification, host range, life cycle, spread, disease management, and chemical treatment of powdery mildew in production nurseries. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Disinfection guidelines for seeders and transplanters (June 2025) | This resource describes the types of seeders used in production nursery environments, and how seeders should be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly to help prevent the spread of pests and diseases. Included is a list of products currently registered as disinfectants for equipment (at the time of writing, June 2025). | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Disinfection guidelines for glasshouses and polytunnels (June 2025) | This resource discusses why disinfection is important and lists the steps involved in the disinfection process. Information is provided on managing risk areas and managing viruses in a glasshouse production environment. A list of registered products (at time of writing, June 2025) that can be used as disinfectants is included. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Fact Sheet: Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) | This fact sheet provides information on tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), including its host range, symptoms, transmission and management. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| An emerging endemic plant pest: chilli thrips (<i>Scirtothrips dorsalis</i>) (June 2021) | This fact sheet looks at the damage that can be caused by chilli thrips, and its host range, life cycle, and management strategies. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| <i>Botrytis</i> management in production nurseries (2025) | Botrytis fungi can cause severe damage in many nursery crops, especially those in the species complex Botrytis cinerea. The factsheet provides information on disease symptoms, life cycle, disease management, cultural control and chemical control. A list of products for use against botrytis relevant to production nurseries is included (those registered at the time of writing, 2025). | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Managing a plant fungus in nursery production (December 2020) | This Nursery Paper provides an overview of the symptoms, diagnosis, management and prevention of a plant fungus, using Thielaviopsis basicola (black root rot) as an example. This disease can be found worldwide and has been identified as a major problem in Australian production nurseries since 1993. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer: <i>Euwallacea fornicatus</i> (October 2022) | Polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) is a complex organism that carries the fungal disease Fusarium euwallaceae. Native to Asia, in August 2021 it was detected in Western Australia. This Nursery Paper describes the pest and reviews host plants, reproductive and non-reproductive hosts, symptoms in affected plants, insect phenology, monitoring of the pest and the prevention of pest spread. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Guava root-knot nematode (May 2023) | This Nursery Paper provides information on the life cycle, host range, symptoms, diagnosis, prevention and management of guava root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii, a plant-parasitic nematode that attacks the roots of a wide range of crops. The paper includes images of the pest and of affected plants. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest ID tool redesigned and relaunching (May 2024) | Identifying and managing pests, diseases and weeds quickly is vital to maintaining a profitable plant production business. The Pest ID Tool has been developed by Nursery & Garden Industry. Queensland (NGIQ), with support from Greenlife Industry Australia, Plant Health Australia and nursery levy funds through Hort Innovation. Upgrades and expansion have made the resource even more valuable for nursery plant producers. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| To dip or not to dip: Foot baths (June 2024) | This Nursery Paper explains why hygiene is the most basic platform for ensuring pest and disease-free growing areas and producing the best quality stock for sale to customers. Nursery hygiene issues in the propagation and production phases can cause problems that persist for the lifespan of the plants, which may be several decades in the case of woody species. Topics covered include successful foot bath implementation, disinfectant chemicals, vehicle baths, | 3 Feb 2026 |
| How to reduce pest and disease pathways into your nursery (December 2024) | Plant pests are an everyday part of running a plant production nursery. Even the most careful grower can experience an incursion. Managing pathways into to your business is more important than ever with Australia experiencing more and more biosecurity threats each year. This Nursery Paper looks at how pests get in, and the processes of reporting emergency plant pests and implementing a biosecurity system. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Nematodes | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Nematodes | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Two Spotted Mite | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Two Spotted Mite | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Scarab Beetle | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Scarab Beetle | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Leaf Beetles | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Leaf Beetles | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Western Flower Thrips | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Western Flower Thrips | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Silverleaf Whitefly | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Silverleaf Whitefly | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Scale Insects: Hard and Soft Scale | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Scale Insects: Hard and Soft Scale | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Scale Insects | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Scale Insects | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Green Peach Aphid | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Green Peach Aphid | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Glassy Winged Sharpshooter | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Glassy Winged Sharpshooter | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Gall Producing Insects | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Gall Producing Insects | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Cycad Blue Butterfly | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Cycad Blue Butterfly | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Asian Citrus Psyllid | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Asian Citrus Psyllid | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Aphids | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Aphids | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Mealybug | Mealybugs are a specific type of scale insect fromthe family Pseudococcidae. They often secrete athin covering of mealy wax across their body, hencetheir common name. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Phytophthora ramorum | This fact sheet reviews the biology, host range, symptoms, distribution and potential impact of the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum on Australian greenlife production. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Fungal Leaf Spot | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Fungal Leaf Spot | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Phytophthora | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Phytophthora | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Gummy Stem Blight on Cucurbit Transplants | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Gummy Stem Blight on Cucurbit Transplants | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Dutch Elm Disease | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Dutch Elm Disease | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Colletotrichum | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Colletotrichum | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Alternaria | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Alternaria | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Fact Sheet: Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) | This fact sheet provides information on tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), including its host range, symptoms, transmission and management. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Huanglongbing (HLB) (June 2022) | Australia is increasing its biosecurity for an incurable plant disease that has crippled citrus-producing regions around the world and is posing an ever-growing threat to our local citrus industry. Huanglongbing (Chinese for yellow shoot disease), or HLB is a lethal, rapidly spreading, bacterial disease of citrus. Currently, it is not found in Australia, however HLB is endemic in many of our northern neighbours. This Nursery Paper provides information on the host range of the pathogen and describes symptoms in the leaf, fruit and whole tree in affected plants. Diagnosis, prevention, quarantine, eradication and management are also considered. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Watch out for red imported fire ants (October 2023) | This Nursery Paper lists the exotic ant species that represent a threat to Australia, and explains why fire ants pose the most serious threat to our biosecurity status, because they move and colonise quickly and have significant environmental, social and economic impacts. The characteristics, dispersal, life cycle and management of fire ants are discussed, and maps of biosecurity treatment and surveillance plans are provided (accurate at the time of writing, October 2023). | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Expanding emergency measures for <i>Xylella fastidiosa</i> (February 2024) | The Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has updated protocols to handle the threat of Xylella fastidiosa, a significant bacterial pathogen, in imported nursery stock. Effective December 2023, regulatory measures are enforced for plants within the Simaroubaceae family to mitigate the risk of Xylella. This Nursery Paper discusses how the disease spreads and how growers can protect themselves. Also included is a case study on Xylella fastidiosa with Dr Fiona Constable of Agriculture Victoria. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Management Plan - Vascular Wilt and Crown Rot Disease Management Plan for Production Nurseries | Vascular wilts and crown rots (including heart rot) are among the most destructive plant diseases that occur in production nurseries. They are very important because their presence can go undetected for relatively long periods, they almost always result in plant death and fungicides cannot eradicate infections. Environmental conditions that favour plant growth also favour these pathogens. In this management plan the biology of each disease and the symptoms they cause will be described, including non-pathogenic disorders that sometimes cause similar symptoms. In particular, the differences between vascular wilt and crown rot pathogens are outlined. Detailed strategies are provided to reduce risk of entry into the nursery and break the life cycle should an infestation occur. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Viruses: Protect your nursery from virus diseases | This fact sheet describes viruses, how they are spread, how they can be identified and how they can be managed in plant crops. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheets - Cucumber mosaic virus in Adenium (Desert rose) | Pest and Disease Fact Sheets - Cucumber mosaic virus in Adenium (Desert rose) | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Snails and Slugs in Nursery Production | This Nursery Paper discusses the life cycle, habitat, integrated pest management and biosecurity associated with snails and slugs in the Australian nursery industry. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Southern Red Mite | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Southern Red Mite | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Flatmites in Production Nurseries | Flat mites are small and tend to go unrecognised by many nursery managers despite causing significant damage. This fact sheet discusses their life cycle, host range, spread and management. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Eriophyid Mites in Production Nurseries | This fact sheet discusses the impact of eriophyid mites on production nurseries and provides information on their biology, dispersal, host range, damage and management, and their role as vectors in the spread of plant diseases. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Preventing disease in production nursery propagation areas | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Preventing disease in production nursery propagation areas | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Endophytes and Latent Pathogens - Implications for the Nursery Industry Nursery Paper 2017 | Endophytes are fungi that reside in living plant tissue for all or part of their life cycle, without causing any apparent or detectable symptoms of disease.Although generally benign, some have the ability to develop into aggressive pathogens and cause a range of symptoms including dieback, cankers or fruit rots, when trees or plants are stressed. These types of endophytes are usually referred to as latent pathogens. Endophytic latent pathogens are an important biosecurity concern, since they can be moved undetected in plant material and once introduced into a new area, may move onto other hosts and cause disease epidemics. In this Nursery Paper we examine endophytes in more detail and consider their potential future impact on the industry. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Avocado Nursery Diseases | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Avocado Nursery Diseases | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Thrips | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Thrips | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Exotic Invasive Ants | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Exotic Invasive Ants | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Managing Wood-Boring Insects in Production Nurseries | Managing Wood-Boring Insects in Production Nurseries | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - True Bugs | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - True Bugs | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Pythium | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Pythium | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Fusarium | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Fusarium | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Whitefly Pest Management Plan for Production Nurseries | Whitefly Pest Management Plan for Production Nurseries | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Management of Broad Mite & Cyclamen Mite in Production Nurseries | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Management of Broad Mite & Cyclamen Mite in Production Nurseries | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Edema and Intumescence | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Edema and Intumescence | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Biological Control in Production Nurseries Nursery Paper 2022 | This Nursery Paper investigates the use of biological control methods for the management of insect and mite pests in the production of nursery crops. | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Managing Predator and Parasite Populations in Production Nurseries | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Managing Predator and Parasite Populations in Production Nurseries | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Factsheet - Managing Disease Transmission into Production Nurseries | Pest and Disease Factsheet - Managing Disease Transmission into Production Nurseries | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Pierces Disease | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Pierces Disease | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Huanglongbing (HLB) | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Huanglongbing (HLB) | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Fireblight | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Fireblight | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Bacteria | Pest and Disease Fact Sheet - Bacteria | 3 Feb 2026 |
| Invasive Plant Risk Assessment Tool - WEB LINK | The Invasive Plant Risk Assessment Tool is an initiative of Nursery and Garden Industry Australia (now Greenlife Industry Australia), which aims to educate all consumers about invasive plants and the level of invasive plant risk. IMPORTANT NOTE: Information provided by the Invasive Plant Risk Assessment Tool has not been updated since its original development in 2013. The tool should be used as a general guide only and checked against other sources that provide current and accurate information. | 20 Jan 2026 |