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Monosporascus cannonballus is detected on two NT properties, marking the first cases in Australia.
The soil-borne fungus affects the roots of crops such as melons and cucumbers and can rapidly destroy plants if left untreated. The NT's Department of Agriculture and Fisheries says it will work with industry groups to help growers manage the disease, but it cannot be eradicated.
An exotic plant pest species capable of quickly "devastating" crops has been detected in Australia for the first time.a soil-borne fungus that causes root rot, according to Northern Territory Chief Plant Health Officer Sally Heaton. Heaton said the fungus had been found overseas in cucurbit plants such as pumpkins, squash, melons, cucumbers and gourds.
"If it's been left unmanaged … what they've seen is whole crops, mature crops, just suddenly die off," she said. Heaton said the NT Department of Agriculture and Fisheries was not sure how the disease arrived in Australia, but it could have been here for a long time.
"We were looking at them and looking at the fine roots, that's where we detected this fungal pathogen," she said. The pest has spread in multiple countries including the US, India, Taiwan, Japan and in parts of Europe and the Middle East. Heaton said the disease caused plants to look as though cannonballs were erupting out of their roots.
Melons Australia chief executive Johnathon Davey said the discovery was concerning and that it was causing "significant loss" for affected NT growers.
"We now need to really work with out growers to understand what the spread of this fungus is and start working with them on how to manage it," he said. "Providing fresh melons for Australian consumers is only become harder," he said. "We need to have a discussion about what does it look like for the general community in terms of pricing.
"If it becomes clearer how it got into the country or what that pathway was, we'd expect that there'd be a fairly substantial investigation. "NT authorities are not planning to impose biosecurity restrictions in response to the detections, but MsShe said the department would work with industry groups to assist growers, who already took biosecurity seriously.
Root Rot Disease Australia Biosecurity Threat Australia Nt Root Rot Disease Sally Heaton Nt Biosecurity
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