Biosecurity Tasmania confirms Australia's first case of potato mop-top virus on Tasmanian farm
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The virus can cause rust-coloured arcs or streaks in potato flesh. (Supplied: Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania)
Potato mop-top virus has been found in crops on Tasmania's north-west, sparking the launch of an incident response team.
The virus, which has never been detected in Australia before, distorts and rots the skin and flesh of potatoes.
There are no food safety or human health risks associated with eating potatoes that have the disease.
However, the virus can significantly affect yield, meaning it could potentially have large impacts on growers and the agricultural industry.
Biosecurity Tasmania's chief plant protection officer Susanna Driessen said the virus was "previously exotic to Australia" and this was the first detection in the country.
Susanna Driessen and Gavin Pearce say the mop-top virus poses no risk to human health. (ABC News: Simon Farrell)
She said a farmer in north-west Tasmania came forward with a potato they were concerned about earlier this year, which was diagnosed with mop-top virus on July 18.
The disease was subsequently found across multiple potato varieties on that farmer's site, but it has not been detected in any further locations.
"What we are doing at the moment is … working with the grower to understand where material might have moved and also how material came onto the property," Dr Driessen said.
Risk mitigation measures have been put in place to attempt to contain the disease on the affected farm, but no wider restrictions have been placed on the industry.
Dr Driessen stressed the virus was a "plant pest" and that there are no risks to human health.
‘Early days’, but growers concerned
Leigh Elphinstone, a potato farmer on a property at Sisters Creek in north-west Tasmania, said it was too early to know what the impact on growers would be."It's just early days and at the moment, it is just a small detection.
"But it's just another risk that growers will have to take on in their business and manage some way or another."
Leigh Elphinstone says the detection is a concern to potato growers. (ABC News: Georgia Hogge)
TasFarmers chief executive Nathan Calman said the detection was "very concerning" and called for a "swift and strong response plan".
"It probably represents a significant failure in our biosecurity protocols," Mr Calman said.
"We need to contain the outbreak to the single farm it has been detected on."
He said tracing would be "absolutely vital" to ensuring the virus had not spread further down the supply chain.
Nathan Calman says the arrival of the virus may represent a "significant failure" in biosecurity protocols. (ABC News: Georgia Hogge)
What is potato mop-top virus?
The virus is spread by a soil-borne fungus vector called spongospora subterranea, which can cling to machinery and other materials.It can cause significant yield and quality reductions in potatoes and can cause internal rust-coloured rings or arcs within the vegetable flesh.
The disease's namesake, mop-top, refers to the stunting of the foliage, one of many symptoms of potato mop-top virus.
Common external symptoms include cracking and raised necrotic rings and lines. Tuber symptoms may be absent at harvest but develop during storage.
'Plan in progress', minister says
Tasmania's Minister for Primary Industries, Gavin Pearce — who is a potato farmer on the north-west coast — said an incident management team had been created.Mr Pearce, who is a part of the state's new cabinet sworn in on Monday, said he was briefed on the detection on Wednesday.
"I wanted this dealt with straight away and the department concurred with that," Mr Pearce said.
Biosecurity Tasmania is working to contain the virus to the affected farm. (Supplied: New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries)
Mr Pearce said Tasmania was known as the "potato capital" of Australia and he intended to "keep it that way".
Biosecurity Tasmania has asked farmers to be alert for unusual signs of disease in potato plants and stock, and report any potential diseases to the agency.
Tasmania produced the most potatoes in Australia during the 2023/24 season with 479 thousand tonnes of the vegetable grown on the island state, according to the Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook.
The industry is worth about $300 million each year in Tasmania.
Written by: Georgia Hogge and Monty Jacka, ABC News.
