Tuesday, 23 May 2017 10:55

Rust never sleeps!

Written by  Pam Tipa
Myrtle rust. Myrtle rust.

Farmers in the Kerikeri region have been asked to assist in the Ministry for Primary Industries myrtle rust response.

All New Zealanders need to be concerned that myrtle rust could spread, says Mark Bateman, MPI’s regional controller.

“If it spreads it could decimate native plants and affect the honey industry, the feijoa industry and export industry,” he says.

It is an ongoing threat that could affect the livelihoods of people in and around the area, Bateman told a farming event in the Kerikeri region.

He told farmers if they saw myrtle rust they should not touch it, but instead photograph and report it, and MPI will do what needs to be done.

“There is a large army of biosecurity officers on the ground -- that large army is you.”

Bateman says myrtle rust found at a nursery in Kerikeri was reported by the nursery owner because he had seen information about it.

“This disease has now set in on Raoul Island and as a consequence we have teams working there; we had been anticipating potential airborne dispersion of the disease for some time,” he says.

“We don’t know if that is the pathway it has come through but we do know this nursery found some on its property so we sent a team in, isolated the property and put a restricted movement notice on it, then mounted a search around the area.

“We searched within a 500m radius of that property and found another sample which has turned out positive. Consequently we extended the search area to 500m around that.

“People are naturally concerned; they are raising issues and we are responding to them. But we don’t want you to think the number of samples we are sending implies the number of findings we are making.

“What it means is we are trying to be vigilant and doing what we need to do to ensure we prevent this disease from spreading.”

Bateman says they had taken samples from hidden regions of the country that could be susceptible to the windborne disease and also were tracking back to people who had visited the nursery.

The MPI response number for myrtle rust is 0800 80 99 66.

More like this

Farmers struggle with water and feed shortages

The drought in western parts of the North Island is reaching crisis point with many farmers from Northland to Taranaki having to truck in water and feed for their stock at great expense.

East Coast Expo delivers two action-packed days of events

The recent East Coast Farming Expo, held over two days at Wairoa, offered an insight into the current state of agriculture on the east of the North Island, at a time when the locals are remembering the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Featured

Farmers urged not to be complacent about TB

New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.

Editorial: Making wool great again

OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.

National

Machinery & Products

Farmer-led group buys Novag

While the name and technology remain unchanged and new machines will continue to carry the Novag name, all the assets,…

Buhler name to go

Shareholders at a special meeting have approved a proposed deal that will see Buhler Industries, the publicly traded Versatile and…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Make it 1000%!

OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…

Own goal

OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter