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1/7/2026
Long term commitment to sustainability for Macadamia growers
A commitment to a healthy ecology amongst the soils and trees of the Macadamia Farm Management orchards, in the Bundaberg region of Queensland, is driving fertiliser and chemistry programs.
Macadamia Farm Management Agronomy and Sustainability Manager, Dr Chris Cannizzaro, said they were focused on using the best products on the market.
Dr Cannizzaro has a background in ecology, chemistry and genetics and is focused on the sustainability of the orchards.
He said part of that was implementing programs providing more flowers and resources for beneficial predators and pollinators.
“We're building over the years. It's a long, long commitment, but I'm happy to be part of it.”
“We all take it on as a personal responsibility. This is food that people are going to be eating and giving to their kids and their family. We do everything possible to make sure that it's the best, cleanest product available.”
He said, historically, more broad-spectrum insecticides were commonly used in macadamia orchards but different rates, different machinery, inconsistent application and overuse have left them exposed to resistance.
Dr Chris Cannizzaro, of Macadamia Farm Management, Bundaberg, QLD, said Transform insecticide targets spotting bug and works well within an IPM framework.
Dr Chris Cannizzaro, of Macadamia Farm Management, Bundaberg, QLD, said Transform insecticide targets spotting bug and works well within an IPM framework.
“For us, buffering that resistance from pest to the same chemistry comes in the form of sustainability, which is Integrated Pest Management (IPM).”
“We have chemistry that we use as well as employing beneficial insects, so we buffer between the two.
When a decision is made to apply a chemical, Transform® WG, from Corteva Agriscience, is the first one used because of its efficacy and ability to work within an IPM framework.
“Transform just works for our particular spray program,” Dr Cannizzaro said. “With our IPM system, we're able to spray and have peace of mind controlling those sap-sucking insects and leaving some of the predatory insects behind.”
“We have very high populations of green lacewings, lady beetles, soldier beetles and others so we try to minimise the intensity of the chemistry around that time of year to start off with a really good ecology of predatory insects. Transform allows us to do that.”
Dr Cannizzaro said macadamias, being a native tree, have native pests that are of concern.
“In the Bundaberg region, Banana-spotting bug is our main pest. It's in the orchards year-round. Their reproductive cycle increases with heat and humidity, so they're just a very tricky pest to control.”
“When we have a pest like spotting bug in egg and nymph stages, they can be predated upon whilst we still spray. In between those sprays, it gives us the best of both worlds. We're just trying to be responsible managers of the environment that we farm these nuts on.”
He said spotting bugs cause damage just after flowering at the pinhead or matchhead stage.
The orchards are scouted every two weeks in production to gauge the effectiveness of sprays and to determine pest pressure and beneficial insect numbers.
“We try to get a 21-day turnaround depending on chemistry and intensity of insect pressure, Dr Cannizzaro said. It's a difficult thing to navigate because there's a lot of variables. When we do our drop sheets, it gives us a better insight into what's around.
He said while the benefits of predatory insects for caterpillar pests were documented, the predatory story for sap sucking insects, such as spotting bug, were still a work in progress.
“For spotting bug, we will typically not take quite as many chances and will use chemicals for control where we can and also complement it with other beneficials.”
“We're trying to interrupt their life cycle. Parasitoids are non-discriminant, so they'll take out a pest whether it is resistant or not,” Dr Cannizzaro said.”
“It helps us clean the whole cycle up.
It is a critical time of year with pollinators buzzing around and different beneficial insects starting to build their numbers.
“That time of year is the most sensitive with our ecology because this is when the nuts start to develop and the pest pressure starts to increase.”
Sprays are typically applied between 6pm and 6am to minimise any impact on pollinators in orchards.
“It’s also better for re-entry for people when they're out and about on the orchard as well,” Dr Cannizzaro said.”
