Managing Plant Pests and Diseases

Victorians enjoy clean and healthy local vegetable produce, amongst best in the world and we are very sensitive to chemicals being used on our food.

This high quality is prized by growers and validated by independant quality auditors.

Plant pests and diseases threaten vegetable quality and farm profitability.

When a significant crop problem is identified which is unlikely to correct naturally the grower may choose to apply a plant protection product to the crop.

Plant protection products are important tools in high volume food production systems.

They enable the grower reliably produce economic quantities of the high quality food we expect on our dinner tables.

Misuse of these same products would undermine consumer confidence in vegetables as clean, green and healthy foods.

This public concern for safe and healthy foods is protected by Government legislation regulating the safe use of all plant protection products in Australia.

In Victoria, our Department of Primary Industries regularly monitor Victorian fruit and vegetable produce for traces of farm chemical and other contaminants.

The RESULTS of many years of residue monitoring have concluded that Victorian grown produce is safe and clean.