The
              Report

No. 71: Broombrush Baeckea Wildflowers - Commercial Prospects


The full report
This is a summary of a published RIRDC report titled ‘Broombrush Baeckea – Prospects for Cutflower Commercialisation ’ (99/161,DAV-102A) by Anthony T.Slater, Institute for Horticultural Development.
Phone: 03 9210 9222, Fax: 03 9800 3521, Email: Tony.Slater@nre.vic.gov.au.
The full report is available in hardcopy  and dowloadable (under Wildflowers and Native Plants)
on this site.

Evaluation trials at sites around Australia reveal the wildflower Baeckea Behri (also known as broombrush baeckea )has good prospects of being grown as a new commercial cut flower.

The research was undertaken by Anthony Slater of Victoria ’s Institute for Horticultural Development in a project funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC). Commercialisation of wildflowers is one of the fastest growing industries in Australia.

They are now cultivated in all states,and Australia ’s annual wildflower production is worth around $30 million to growers. One of the key strategies for this industry to be successful,is identifying new fresh products and on-going development of these.

These trials at a range of sites around Australia considered local climatic conditions,soil types and management practices in the commercial performance of Baeckea Behri.

The project was part of RIRDC ’s Wildflower and Native Plants Program, which aims to improve the profitability,productivity and sustainability of the Australian wildflower and native plant industry.

The Study

The objective was to commercially evaluate superior clones of Baeckea Behrii on selected flower farms throughout Australia to support the development of this species as a new cut flower crop.

This was to be achieved by:
 


Twenty-nine growers in Queensland,NSW, Victoria,Tasmania,South Australia and Western Australia signed testing and non-propagation agreements developed by Daratech,a commercial arm of Agriculture Victoria.

Testing sites ranged from Cairns in northern Queensland to Hobart in Southern Tasmania and Quindalup in south west Western Australia. Each received eight elite clones of the wildflower to propagate.

Growers at each site completed questionnaires on survival,growth,and performance of the Baeckea cultivars.The data was then analysed to evaluate success of each site.

As indicated on the map,the sites are quite different,with plants grown in a range of soil types and climatic conditions.

These details were collected for each site,as well as the details on how the plants were cultivated, to help explain variations in flowering time, growth rates and yield in different geographical regions of Australia.

The Results

Generally, the plants survived better at sites with well-draining acid soils and moderate rainfalls. But there were exceptions due to other local factors,including management practices,local soil nutrient levels,or the presence of undetected pests and disease problems.

When plants survived,better growth was seen where there were warmer temperatures,and the plants were fertilised and irrigated over summer.

But flowering appeared affected by the changing day length,as plants at sites north of the NSW/ Queensland border did not flower as well as plants at more southern sites.

Flowering time is probably temperature dependent.Plants flowered in southern Queensland and northern NSW in early to mid October,in southern NSW and northern Victoria they flowered in late October to early November.

At sites in southern Victoria,plants flowered in late November to early December.

This delay in flowering with the colder temperature will allow the market to be supplied for an extended season by growing plants at a range of suitable sites where the average temperature varies.

Summary

The evaluation trials indicate that Baeckea Behrii can be a viable wildflower crop in suitable parts of the temperate regions of Australia.

Preferring slightly acid,well draining sandy soils,Baeckea Behrii responds to warmer temperatures with good growth rates and is relatively frost tolerant.In these areas the crop will also respond to the sound management practices of supplementary irrigation and fertiliser application.

Baeckea Behrii is unlikely to be a viable wildflower crop in Northern Australia due to a poor flowering response,or in wetter and colder regions due to poor survival and slower growth.

The wildflower is also sensitive to nutrient deficiencies caused by alkaline soils. Where the growth rate is slow,the crop may still be viable under a biannual harvesting system if it flowers at a time of market demand.

Good selections of Baeckea Behrii are considered desirable by parts of the domestic and export markets.Its wider use due to promotion and familiarity with the product will extend the range of myrtaceous fillers into December.

The grower network used in this research provided a valuable indication on the performance of this crop around Australia.But it was limited by the research experience of the participating growers,and the remoteness of the sites.

While similar trials would be beneficial for other crops,better results would be obtained if the remote trials could be supported by a local researcher.These researchers could provide assistance with selecting trial sites,setting up the trials and data collection.

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