Updated Olive SARP report now available

The latest Strategic Agrichemical Review Process (SARP) document for the olive industry has been published on the Hort Innovation website, following a review of the current threats and management options.

The olive industry SARP was last updated in 2020, via a process which identifies and updates diseases, insect pests and weeds of major concern to the industry, including potential new risks.

Against these threats, available registered or permitted pesticides are evaluated for overall suitability in terms of IPDM, resistance, residues, withholding period, efficacy, trade, human safety and environmental issues. This is not a comprehensive assessment of ALL pests and control methods used in olives but prioritises the major problems. Where tools are unavailable or unsuitable, the process also aims to identify potential future solutions.

Allocation of the major pests into high, moderate and low categories also identifies the industry’s current priorities, to help determine the highest priority gaps in the olive pest control strategy. The high priority issues in the 2025 SARP are listed as:

Diseases: Anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.), Olive Peacock Spot/Olive Leaf Spot (Spilocaea oleagina)

Insects: Olive Lace Bug (Froggattia olivinia)

Weeds: Flaxleaf Fleabane (Conyza bonariensis)

Note: Exotic plant pests not currently present in Australia are not addressed in the report.

The results provide the olive industry with a clear outlook of gaps in existing pest control options, and treatment options for the future that the industry can pursue for registration with chemical companies, or via minor-use permits with APVMA for clearly identified crop protection needs.

You can download the Olive SARP 2025 here.

The updated Olive SARP was produced as part of the multi-industry project Regulatory Support & Response Co-ordination (MT20007), funded by Hort Innovation using industry research and development levies and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.