A new year is well and truly upon us, and Farm Biosecurity matters and issues continue apace.
Welcome to Farm Biosecurity’s February 2010 newsletter…
Focusing on: Vineyards, harvest and biosecurity
The national winegrape harvest is underway across Australia, though not in every vineyard.
In response to the 2010 vintage’s very low price outlook: it is expected that 6000ha to 8000ha of vineyards will be left un-harvested, or abandoned.
This presents major biosecurity risks as diseases and pests can creep in unnoticed and spread to neighbouring properties. It is vital that wine producers who continue their harvest plans and vineyard operations are not compromised by these risks.
Plant Health Australia’s executive director, Greg Fraser, urges growers and vineyard managers to be especially vigilant for pests and disease.
“Biosecurity risks escalate as the season progresses and as more vineyards are left unmanaged.
“Clearly, it’s beholden upon everyone to increase their biosecurity awareness and report anything unusual.”
Greg Fraser says the risks of people moving around vineyard properties are underestimated. It is important for farm managers to:
• check property perimeters and crops regularly for ay unusual changes
• keep records of visitors and the origins of new plant materials to allow trace back of disease, pest or weed incursion
• have good signage to inform and direct visitors
• ensure all staff members understand all biosecurity procedures and how to recognise and report diseases, pests and weeds.
Developing issues
Mealybug in Queensland cotton
The Solenopsis mealybug (Phenacoccus solenopsis) has been found in cotton crops in Emerald, Queensland.
Any sightings need to be reported immediately – it is a ‘reportable disease’. Early detection and reporting are key elements to controlling the pest. CALL 13 25 23
Solenopsis mealybug could become a major pest. They are generally spread from infested plants and weeds via air, water, insects, birds and animals, and on equipment, vehicles and clothing.
Appearance: Mealybugs are small, sucking insects with a cottony appearance related to aphids. Female adults are around 4 mm long, oval-shaped and covered by a waxy coating giving them a mealy appearance. Nymphs or ‘crawlers’ are smaller, but similar in appearance. Males are small aphid-like winged insects. Mealybugs form dense, white, waxy colonies on stems, shoots and leaves. The female mealybug is not active and cannot fly. Juvenile mealybugs can crawl from one plant to another.
Control: There are no registered insecticides for control of mealybugs on cotton in Australia. Your local department officer will advise on control measures.
Biological control agents are active in Australia, though they have not contained infestations. Farm hygiene is important to minimise spread of this pest.
If you think that you have seen Solenopsis mealybug, contact the DEEDI Call Centre on 13 25 23 (free call) or the national Exotic Plant Pest Hotline 1800 084 881.
Solenopsis mealybug (Phenacoccus solenopsis) on a branch
Solenopsis mealybug on a leaf
Warehouse Beetle in Tasmania
The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) is dealing with a suspected case of Warehouse Beetle (Trogoderma variabile) in the State’s north east.
Warehouse beetle is a relatively serious pest not recorded in Tasmania prior to this detection.
Larvae submitted to DPIWE’s entomologists have been provisionally identified as Warehouse Beetle. Samples will be further examined by the CRC for Plant Biosecurity in WA using latest DNA techniques.
The larvae were reported to DPIPWE by a quick thinking householder who saw them emerge from a dried snake bought from the United States via EBay a year ago. The householder placed the dried snake in a sealed bucket and spraying the area with a household insecticide.
Quarantine Tasmania officers and DPIPWE entomologists have conducted a thorough inspection of the residence and have found no evidence of insect spread. As a precaution, the house has been fumigated and a series of beetle traps set up in and around it.
Warehouse Beetle has become established in some grain growing areas of NSW, VICT and SA since 1977. It is also present, but uncommon, in QLD and WA.
Warehouse Beetle attacks stored grains, seeds and foodstuffs. It can trigger allergic reactions and gastric upsets, particularly in infants and asthmatics.
For more information: Biosecurity and Product Integrity, DPIWE Hobart
Biosecurity developments and member news
The new Farm Biosecurity ‘secure your farm, secure your future’ brochure has just been printed and is now being distributed Australia wide through our industry and government networks. Keep an eye out for it!
The brochure is aimed at emphasising how implementing sound biosecurity practices can protect farms from pests and diseases, and ensure continued market access for Australian produce.
It highlights that there are some simple things that can be done to protect against pests and diseases. It asks people to think about five key risks areas and consider which measures can be used. The risk areas are:
- Product movement
- People movement
- Vehicles and equipment
- Feed and water
- Pests and weeds
Please feel free to contact us to arrange delivery of extra copies to members or stakeholders … call Animal Health Australia on 02 6232 5522.
Glitterbug
Putting our hygiene habits in a new light is ‘Glitterbug’.
Similar in principle to invisible ink, Glitterbug powder is a fluorescent compound that glows under certain light from a torch. But its more than a novelty or a party trick.
After, say, a human hand comes in contact with Glitterbug, the compound is then spread around to all the surfaces that that hand touches – just like a virus, a bacteria or a fungi spore.
It is an excellent way of showing just how ‘bugs’ can be spread around via people movement and why biosecurity is therefore so important. This will be demonstrated by the Farm Biosecurity program and will be utilised at an upcoming conference.
The following two pictures display the concept: an apparently ‘clean’ hand proven otherwise with the torch.
Under normal light the hand looks clean, under black light a little more is apparent
New Nut Industry biosecurity Plan (IBP)
Australia’s $350 million nut industry has strengthened its protection against exotic plant pests and diseases with the release of the revised Nut Industry Biosecurity Plan.
The Nut Industry Biosecurity Plan was developed by Plant Health Australia (PHA) in partnership with the Australian Nut Industry Council, the Australian Government and state governments.
The Plan includes the latest scientific research and pest intelligence to identify the highest risk pests to the industry, such as Navel orangeworm, Chestnut blight and Leaf scorch (transmitted by Glassy winged sharp shooter).
PHA works with many agricultural industries to help develop and implement Industry Biosecurity Plans through surveillance strategies, diagnostics protocols, contingency plans and training.
More information about the 21 Industry Biosecurity Plans currently in place is available on the PHA website at www.planthealthaustralia.com.au.
Farm Biosecurity Weekly Media Snapshot
Local news…
Fruit fly checks near Mildura
Road blocks were set up on the Victoria-NSW border near Mildura to prevent the spread of fruit fly. An outbreak of Queensland fruit fly was discovered in Mildura a month ago.
Dr Andrew Sanger, from Industry and Investment NSW, says they will be targetting trucks carrying wine grapes.
"Because we're in the middle of wine grape harvest and the grapes are leaving the production areas near Mildura and travelling to wineries in the MIA and elsewhere, we want to make sure that fruit fly which are present over at Mildura at the moment don't get transported into areas free of fruit fly."
Paying the price for lice
Complacency in the sheep industry has led to an increase in the number of sheep infested with lice. Lice cost the national sheep industry more than $120 million a year through reduced wool quality and production, and chemical control.
The manager of South Australia's sheep lice program, Kym Hebberman, says farmers need to check and treat their stock to prevent lice spreading to neighbouring properties.
"While sheep are infested with lice and they're out there rubbing and biting, they're obviously not eating. We want them out there happy and content and doing what they do best, and grow wool or put on meat, and if you've got any distractions to that, you're not going to get your economic return."
Cane toad found in Kununurra
In the WA Kimberley, there's concern that the cane toad population has advanced following the discovery of a cane toad in the Kununurra suburb of Lakeside on Sunday night. Sharon McLachlan, from the Kimberley Toad Busters, says the cane toad was a female, 13.5 centimetres in size and was carrying lots of eggs.
"It is worrying. At this stage, we are not sure whether the toad was actually a hitchhiker. It could have come in on removal vans, but then again it could be the very front line of toads."
To the relief of the Kimberley Toad Busters, the toad doesn't appear to have released any eggs, but there's concern that it was found near a waterway.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news
Upcoming events…
Global Biosecurity 2010
Organised by the AB-CRC, together with the CRC for Plant Biosecurity and Invasive Animals CRC, the Global Biosecurity 2010 Conference: safeguarding agriculture and the environment will be held at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre from 28 February to 3 March.
The event will explore:
- the drivers behind biosecurity
- understanding risks to address biosecurity issues
- accessing the right information at the right time
- policy, regulation and operation procedures
For more information or go to www.globalbiosecurity2010.com
FMD Symposium 2010
The next International Symposium and Workshop on FMD will be held in Melbourne from 12 – 14 April, 2010. The theme is ‘FMD – Integrating Science and Management’.
The meeting will cover four key areas:
- the biology of the FMD virus
- advances in diagnostic technology and their application to FMD eradication or control
- vaccines and their application
- surveillance and monitoring during and outbreak
For more information go to www.FMD2010.com.au
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For more information on Farm Biosecurity visit www.farmbiosecurity.com.au