Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Chief Plant Health Officer Dr Anne Walters says banana freckle has been detected at 12 new sites across the Top End

Transcript

NT Chief Plant Health Officer Dr Anne Walters says banana freckle has been detected at 12 new sites across the Top End · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, if you've lived in the territory for a little while,
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: you will know that banana freckle is something that's obviously
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: been a concern and the Northern Territory government say that
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  Speaker 1: they are continuing surveillance for plants which have been infected
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  Speaker 1: with banana freckle or that could have been after the
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  Speaker 1: detection of the disease at twelve new sites. Now joining
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  Speaker 1: me on the line to tell us a little bit
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  Speaker 1: more about the situation is the Northern Territory's Chief Plant
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  Speaker 1: Health Officer, doctor Ann Walters. Good morning to you, Anne, Sorry,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: let me just try that again. Good morning to you Anne.
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  Speaker 2: Hello, how you going?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah pretty well? Thank you so much for your time
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  Speaker 1: this morning. And can you tell us a little bit
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  Speaker 1: more about where the banana freckle has now been located.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we now have founded at twenty nine sites
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  Speaker 2: across the Northern Territory, the majority of the sites at
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  Speaker 2: Bachelor and Rum Jungle, but we've also found it in
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  Speaker 2: Fly Creek in Marika and on the Tiwei Islands.
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  Speaker 1: And tell us what this means, you know, for the
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  Speaker 1: banana industry right now in the territory.
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  Speaker 2: Well, what it means is that this is obviously a
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  Speaker 2: significant test of bananas, and whilst it doesn't affect the
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  Speaker 2: quality of the fruit, it can reduce the yields of
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  Speaker 2: the production. It can also affect the look of the
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  Speaker 2: bananas and make them less palatable. And so from an
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  Speaker 2: industry perspective, what we're trying to do is make sure
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  Speaker 2: that this doesn't spread to other areas, so that we
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  Speaker 2: can actually protect our industry and ensure that our bananas
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  Speaker 2: continue to look the way that they do in the shops,
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  Speaker 2: mass and yellow, but also so that our growers can
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  Speaker 2: continue to enjoy the production and yields that they currently.
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  Speaker 1: Get in So twenty nine sites now and I know
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  Speaker 1: that you know these is obviously showing that it's a
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  Speaker 1: bit more widespread than what was initially thought.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct. So initially when we were sort of
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  Speaker 2: planning around this, we really thought it was sort of
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  Speaker 2: localized to the Run, Jungle and Bachelor region, and more
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  Speaker 2: recently we found it in other areas. What's really interesting
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  Speaker 2: about this infestation or this incursion of banana freckle is
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  Speaker 2: that it seems to be at really low levels in
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  Speaker 2: most of the locations that we're finding it. So in
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  Speaker 2: some places we're finding only one or two plants that
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  Speaker 2: are infected or very few plants, and where it is
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  Speaker 2: there is infection, it's quite mild infection. So it suggests
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  Speaker 2: that we caught it early. But what it does ask
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  Speaker 2: about is how it's moving or how it's spreading into these.
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  Speaker 1: Areas, and so what you know at this stage what
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  Speaker 1: action has to be taken.
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  Speaker 2: Well, what we did. There's the way the plant bi
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  Speaker 2: security system works is that there's a national committee made
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  Speaker 2: up of my position in other locations as well as industry,
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  Speaker 2: and they get together and they talk about what we
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  Speaker 2: need to do. So met and they discussed that when
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  Speaker 2: we thought it was sort of localized to the Rum,
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  Speaker 2: Jungle and Bachelor region, and we came up with a
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  Speaker 2: plan to that, and then of course when we found
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  Speaker 2: it more widespread, we really have to go back and
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  Speaker 2: revise that plan and have a look at what the
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  Speaker 2: best approach is for the Northern Territory community, for Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory growers, but also the national industry.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean what impact could it have, if you know,
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  Speaker 1: on on Northern Territory growers if it does continue to spread.
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  Speaker 2: Well, the thing I guess that we're really concerned about
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  Speaker 2: is whilst our banana industry is quite small at the moment,
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  Speaker 2: there is interest in expansion and as you know, we're
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  Speaker 2: all interested in economic development in the Northern Territory and
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  Speaker 2: what we're really not keen to see is having a
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  Speaker 2: disease that will potentially affect the ability of businesses to
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  Speaker 2: expand in the future.
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  Speaker 1: Right So at this point in time, I guess you know,
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  Speaker 1: from your perspective and certainly from the Northern Territory Government's perspective,
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  Speaker 1: it is a real sort of monitoring the situation and
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  Speaker 1: keeping an incredibly close eye on.
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  Speaker 2: It that's correct, and coming up with the best approach
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  Speaker 2: that we possibly can for industry and.
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  Speaker 1: For our community and for those out there listening who
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  Speaker 1: maybe haven't been in the territory for a very long time.
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  Speaker 1: Banana freckles we have had an impact in the past,
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  Speaker 1: haven't we.
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  Speaker 2: We have, and we had a huge eradication program between
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  Speaker 2: twenty thirteen and twenty nineteen to eradicate banana freckle, and
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  Speaker 2: that involved removal of a lot of banana plants across
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory. Some people obviously were very reluctant to
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: lose their plant, which we understand and obviously what we
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  Speaker 2: need to do now is very sensitive about the issues
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  Speaker 2: of the past as well as making sure that we
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  Speaker 2: can protect the industry and our farmers for the future.
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  Speaker 1: Is it quite like a nervous time now for the
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  Speaker 1: department and also for those growers.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's a time where we feel, really we feel
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  Speaker 2: that it's very important that we make a good decision
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  Speaker 2: and a decision that we keep in mind the best
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  Speaker 2: interests of everyone. And it is a really difficult situation
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  Speaker 2: because obviously we want to make sure that we do
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  Speaker 2: the best for our industry but also the best for
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  Speaker 2: our community, and it's not always clear that the two
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  Speaker 2: are aligned.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it makes it tough, but I know that I'm
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  Speaker 1: sure that you guys are all working very closely together
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  Speaker 1: to try to make sure that it's the best possible
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  Speaker 1: outcome for the territory as well.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, that's the key thing for us at this point
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  Speaker 2: in time.
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  Speaker 1: Just before I let you go, I mean, is there
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  Speaker 1: anything for us, as you know, as people who enjoy
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  Speaker 1: bananas that we need to sort of be aware of
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  Speaker 1: or anything that we need to keep it eye out for.
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  Speaker 2: Well, the thing that would be fantastic from our perspective
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  Speaker 2: is that we would love for people to go out
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  Speaker 2: and have a look at their banana plant. Banana freckle.
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  Speaker 2: The key factor with it is it's like small brown
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  Speaker 2: or black spots on the plants. But the thing is
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  Speaker 2: if you run your finger over, it feels like sam paper,
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  Speaker 2: and that's one of the factors. So often that it's
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  Speaker 2: very smooth, that in this case you will feel like
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  Speaker 2: it's rubbing your finger over sam paper. If you see
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  Speaker 2: those symptoms, it would be fan classic. If you could
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  Speaker 2: report them to us on one eight hundred, you're eight
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  Speaker 2: four eight eight one. Alternatively, if people would like to
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  Speaker 2: let us know that they're banana plants are free haze
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  Speaker 2: ban ua freckle, that information is also really valuable to
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  Speaker 2: us because it means that we know where it's not
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  Speaker 2: and that can help us with our strategy. So people
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  Speaker 2: want to give us a call or alternatively email us
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  Speaker 2: at plants via security at MP dot DO dot au.
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  Speaker 2: Any information that we can get will be really valuable.
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  Speaker 1: And just on the fact I know that you'd pointed
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  Speaker 1: out a bit earlier that you know what's been interesting
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  Speaker 1: at some of the locations where it has been located,
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  Speaker 1: that it's on some of the plants, but not all
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  Speaker 1: of them. Is that unusual.
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  Speaker 2: The thing about banana freckle is that it tends to
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  Speaker 2: be on Cabindish varieties, but it will also be on others.
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  Speaker 2: I think what we're seeing though, is that it might
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  Speaker 2: be on one plant that's a cavendish and there's other
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  Speaker 2: cavendishes next to it, and it's not on that. So
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  Speaker 2: what its like is that where we found it really early,
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  Speaker 2: which is great in terms of eradication or whatever management
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  Speaker 2: approach we decide on, because the sooner you can find something, obviously,
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  Speaker 2: the better it is to manage it. So it's a
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  Speaker 2: really positive sign for us. But it's interesting as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, Northern Territory Chief Plant Health Officer, Doctor Anne Walters,
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  Speaker 1: we really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much
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  Speaker 1: for having a chat with us.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, it's such a pleasure.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you.