Myrtle Rust Project extension

The ANPC is pleased to announce that the NSW Department of Planning and Environment has funded an extension to the ‘Safe Custody for Native Guava’ project for the next 6 months, with the aim to:

• Continue monitoring already-dispersed Native Guava (R. psidioides) collection.
• Ensure continued integration of Qld’s dispersal and monitoring activities with those in NSW.
• Send new lineages of Native Guava to partner garden dispersed collections.
• Collate monitoring data and suggest updates to monitoring methods.
• Communicate progress and lessons.
• Trial sharing of Scrub Turpentine (Rhodamnia rubescens) lineages to partner gardens.

ANPC Project Manager Chantelle Doyle is coordinating this project and can be contacted on this email.

Read this Botanic Gardens of Sydney blog piece written by Chantelle to find out more about how ‘genetics is helping to save plant species decimated by myrtle rust’ dated 28 July 2023.

Thank you to all our partner organisations for their generous support and commitment to this project:

• NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE).
• Queensland Departments of Environment and Science and Agriculture and Fisheries.
• Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan (ABGMA -Science Education & Conservation Division and the Horticulture Management Division).
• Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah.
• Australian National Botanic Gardens.
• Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden.
• Lismore Rainforest Botanic Gardens.
• Research Centre for Ecosystem Resilience, Botanic Gardens of Sydney.
• Booderee Botanic Gardens.

Main image: Members of the Myrtle Rust Project steering committee at the Myrtle Rust Conference in June 2023:
Front (L-R): Amelia Martyn Yenson, Stephanie Chen, Chantelle Doyle, Karen Sommerville, Peter Gould.
Back (L-R): Bob Makinson, Veronica Viler, Geoff Pegg, Craig Stehn, Fiona Giblin, Tracey Menzies.
(Not present: Ian Allen, Tony Auld, Jason Bragg, Damian Butler, Michael Elgey, Chris Fernance, Jo Lynch, Ash Filipovski, Toby Golson, John Hodgon, Phil Hurle, Zoe Knapp, Tex Moon, Ryan Newett, Cathy Offord, Angela Verner, Marion Whitehead, Damian Wrigley, Samantha Yap). 

Images: Native Guava ex situ collections at Australian Botanic Garden Mt Annan. Credits: Veronica Viler (L) and Nathan Emery