Protecting our borders from plant pests and diseases
[ 19/03/2009 ]
A project team, led by the Northern Territory Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources (RDPIFR), has established a remote diagnostic system in the Timor Leste capital, Dili, to help protect Australia’s northern borders from exotic plant pests and diseases.
The activity, partly funded by the Australian Government through AusAID, also brings together expertise from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS), Charles Sturt University and the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food.
“The new system allows pictures of unknown pests and diseases taken through microscopes to be electronically sent to the Northern Territory for identification,” project leader and RDPIFR plant pathologist Dr Peter Stephens said.
“While helping Timor Leste, this increased diagnostic capability can potentially act as an early warning system for Australia, letting us know what new exotic pathogens are close to the Australian shoreline.
Dr Stephens and his team have been in Timor Leste passing on their skills and knowledge to help farmers identify plant pests and diseases that could affect the nation’s food crops.
"The project aims to reduce crop losses and increase food security in Timor Leste, while at the same time bolstering Australia’s defences against exotic pest incursions", Dr Stephens said.
"This is being achieved by helping farmers identify the pests that are destroying their crops, which in turn allows them to identify and use the most efficient method for control.
“Choosing the wrong method, possibly due to mis-diagnosis of the pest, allows it to proliferate, potentially causing destruction of the crop.
“For subsistence farmers in Timor Leste, where alternative sources of income are often not available; crop failure for whatever reason can have a devastating effect on their lives.
“Our team has just returned from conducting 3 workshops on maize and tomato pests in Same, Ainaro and Alieu.
“Pocket sized pest and disease booklets of crops that are gaining in significance to the Territory will also be made available to local farmers,” Dr Stephens said.
Further workshops will take place next month to help farmers in East Timor identify pests and diseases in rice.