Apple industry biosecurity awareness
Current situation
The threat of fire blight in apples has always been a concern for the Australian apple and pear industry. This fear has been heightened since the Federal Government recently approved apple imports from New Zealand.
Minister Hodgkinson met with representatives of the NSW apple industry, NSW Farmers Association and Biosecurity NSW to formulate a plan to effectively reduce the risk of exotic pests and diseases being introduced into the local industry, yet comply with World Trade Organisation rules.
On 24-26 October 2011 three workshops were held in the key NSW apple production areas, Orange, Bilpin and Batlow, to heighten the awareness of biosecurity threats for the industry and improve on-farm biosecurity to reduce the risk of exotic pests and diseases entering, establishing and spreading. Presentations at the workshops explained the appearance of symptoms on apple trees and the best times to look, national biosecurity response structures and resources available, including the "Orchard Biosecurity Manual" produced by Plant Health Australia and Apple & Pear Australia Limited. Awareness posters for three key pests, Fire blight, European canker and Apple leaf curling midge were presented to growers for immediate use in their sheds and as a tool to teach staff and contractors coming onto the property the symptoms to watch for and how to report suspect detections.
Resources
| Title | Released | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Biosecurity apple industry presentation | 27 Oct 2011 |  3.4 MB |
| Flyer - Apple leaf curling midge | 27 Oct 2011 | 1.2 MB |
| Exotic pest alert: Apple leaf curling midge (Primefact: 1158) | 13 Mar 2012 | |
| Flyer - European canker | 27 Oct 2011 | 1.2 MB |
| Exotic pest alert: European canker (Primefact: 1160) | 13 Mar 2012 | |
| Flyer - Fire blight | 27 Oct 2011 | 1.4 MB |
| Exotic pest alert: Fire blight (Primefact: 1161) | 13 Mar 2012 |
Links
Plant Health Australia - www.planthealthaustralia.com.au
Apple and Pear Biosecurity http://www.planthealthaustralia.com.au/go/phau/biosecurity/apple-and-pear
Farm Biosecurity - www.farmbiosecurity.com.au
Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) - www.apal.org.au/