Australia remains free of the devastating citrus disease, called citrus greening, despite it being fairly widespread through Asia and South America.
The bacterial disease, spread by a tiny psyllid insect, causes fruit to shrivel and turn bitter, and was also found near Los Angeles in 2012.
The Australian citrus industry is worth $450 million at the farm gate and $1 billion at retail (source: Citrus Australia Limited).
Australian research is helping countries like Indonesia and Laos with biosecurity.
Professor Lester Burgess, of the Crawford Fund, says citrus greening has to be kept out of northern Australia, in particular.
“It represents a particular risk, particularly if the insect vector that transmits the pathogen, the psyllid, were to enter Australia.
“The tip of Cape York is very close to Papua New Guinea, and the Darwin region is very close to East Timor.
“We’ve been very fortunate that it’s not been detected in Australia to my knowledge and we can thank the North Australian Quarantine Strategy staff for keeping such a close watch out for it.”
The disease causes a yellowing of the leaves, and a darkening of the veins, and in China it’s called Yellow Dragon disease.
Professor Burgess says it’s extremely difficult to stop the spread of the psyllid insect, and it’s a focus of the pre-border biosecurity aid projects.
Australians gain experience working with Asian experts in recognising disease symptoms, of all sorts of exotic diseases; like the fungal ‘mal secco’ or drying disease, which is particularly difficult to diagnose.
As Laos tries to develop its vegetable, coffee and citrus production, for export through Asia, this work of controlling the spread of diseases is vital.
Source: ABC.net