Soil research to help determine length of plant virus quarantine

Discovered at:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-01/soil-testing-funding-watermelon-virus…

Sites:

IBIS PH

Publish date:

Tue 2015-Sep-1

Author:

NT Country Hour

Channel:

Industry

Text (summary):

The Northern Territory Government has committed $426,000 to research Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus (CGMMV), the plant disease that wiped out much of the Top End’s watermelon industry.

The research aims to find out if CGMMV is still present in the soil of farms declared infected last year and how long the virus can live in soil without any host plant matter.

Minister for Primary Industry, Willem Westra van Holthe, said the results of the research are expected to inform how long the current quarantine zones around 25 Northern Territory farms will be in place.

“We don’t know a lot about this disease, so putting this money in now to get this soil sample testing done, is a critical next stage in getting some more understanding about [CGMMV],” Mr Westra van Holthe said.

“It gives us an opportunity to make sure, hopefully, by 2016 we can declare areas clear of the disease and let growers get on with what they do best.”

Original language:

English

Original title:

Soil research to help determine length of plant virus quarantine

Original text (summary):

Posted September 01, 2015 10:04:53

The Northern Territory Government has committed $426,000 to research Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus (CGMMV), the plant disease that wiped out much of the Top End’s watermelon industry.

The research aims to find out if CGMMV is still present in the soil of farms declared infected last year and how long the virus can live in soil without any host plant matter.

Minister for Primary Industry, Willem Westra van Holthe, said the results of the research are expected to inform how long the current quarantine zones around 25 Northern Territory farms will be in place.

“We don’t know a lot about this disease, so putting this money in now to get this soil sample testing done, is a critical next stage in getting some more understanding about [CGMMV],” Mr Westra van Holthe said.

“It gives us an opportunity to make sure, hopefully, by 2016 we can declare areas clear of the disease and let growers get on with what they do best.”

Issue(s) that this article relates to, if applicable.

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