AU: Survey fails to find papaya ringspot
Biosecurity Queensland is carrying out the checks to ensure that the disease has not spread north of an established quarantine area in south east Queensland, where the disease was first detected in 2001.
There are concerns that the disease could spread and bring an end to an industry that is valued at $25-$30 million per year.
Biosecurity Queensland officer Michelle Janes is encouraging residents with backyard papaya to have their plants checked for symptoms of ringspot.
"The symptoms of ringspot virus will present on leaves, fruit and stems," she said.
"The stems will have wiggly lines and marks darker than the normal colour, the fruit will have funny shaped rings or 'c' marks, green fruit will have dark green marks and ripe fruit will have yellowy browny marks."
"We record every papaya plant on the property, we record every plant we inspect, we take photographs, we take samples if necessary."
"We're also looking to see if there are any insects present that are carriers of this disease, in this case it's aphids, we're also looking for mealybugs, we're also looking for other problems like crown rot symptoms."
Source: www.abc.net.au
