Potato mop-top virus has been confirmed in north-west Tasmania, marking the first recorded case of the pathogen in Australia. The virus was found on a single property in the region after an industry member identified a suspicious potato and alerted Biosecurity Tasmania.
Primary Industries Minister Gavin Pearce, a potato grower from the north-west, announced the detection, which occurred on July 18. Pearce said he was informed of the finding the previous afternoon and called for immediate action. "We can't leave this even until next week, as far as I'm concerned, I wanted this dealt with straight away," he said. While the virus poses no risk to human health, Pearce noted that it can seriously affect potato production.
Biosecurity Tasmania's chief plant scientist, Susanna Driessen, said the finding involves an exotic pathogen never before identified in the country. "This constitutes the first detection of mop-top virus in Australia," she said. "It may not represent the site of introduction. We're quite early in the stage of this detection. What we're doing at the moment is working with industry, working with the grower to understand where material might have moved and also how potentially material came onto the property."
Pearce emphasised Tasmania's role in the potato sector. "Biosecurity is incredibly important to me; it's incredibly important to this state. It underpins our viability, and it underpins many industries that work very hard to achieve the results that they have," he said.
Biosecurity Tasmania is conducting tracing to determine the source of the virus and whether it has spread beyond the affected property. There are currently no interstate restrictions on the movement of Tasmanian potatoes to the Australian mainland.
Source: PulseTasmania