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Australia’s potato capital is facing a threat never before seen in the country
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Australia’s potato capital is facing a threat never before seen in the country

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4 minutes, 38 seconds Read

Stuart Applebee has been growing potatoes in Tasmania’s north-west for decades.
The Potato Mop Top Virus (PMTV) isn’t the first illness he’s faced, but it was a blow to hear that it has found its way into his condition.
“As with any new virus, it is quite worrying knowing that you are probably the first state to be detected with it in the country,” he told SBS News.
“Once we learned a little bit more about New Zealand and some of the other countries involved, that probably softened my own thoughts a little bit.”

Potato mop virus does not pose a threat to human health, but it can damage the skin and flesh of potatoes and affect crop yields.

The potato mop virus attacks the skin and flesh of potatoes and affects crop yields. Source: Delivered / Tasmanian Government

The species was first discovered on a farm in northwestern Tasmania in July, which was also the first time it has been found in Australia.

Pre-planting testing in Tasmania destroyed 1,700 tonnes of contaminated seed potatoes, prompting calls for a federal aid package for affected farmers. Concerns also remain about how it got here.
“The most worrying thing about the Mop Top raid in Tasmania is that this is not only the first time the virus has been detected in Tasmania, but also the first time it has been detected in Australia,” TasFarmers CEO Nathan Calman said.
“Its presence here represents a failure of our national biosecurity protocols, but also of our state biosecurity protocols.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry told SBS that the current government has pledged an additional $2 billion to fund the country’s biosecurity system since coming to power.

“Australia has a world-leading national biosecurity system, which is critical to our economy, environment and way of life,” they said.

How did it get here?

Efforts to date to trace the source indicate that PMTV may have been in Tasmania for up to two years.
Australia’s Chief Plant Protection Officer, Gabrielle Vivian-Smith, was questioned this week in estimates about the raid by Tasmanian Senator Richard Colebeck.

“It’s not known exactly how it got into Australia, it could possibly have entered through a number of different routes,” she said.

A man rubs a dog's belly in the middle of a meadow.

Stuart with his dog Ziggy in a field where he is going to plant his potatoes. Source: SBS news

A spokesperson for Biosecurity Tasmania said PMTV has been detected at multiple locations, including cultivation sites, a research site and storage facilities.

The only detection of PMTV on the mainland to date has been in seed potatoes in cold storage in Victoria.
That state, as well as NSW and South Australia, have imposed restrictions on the movement of raw potatoes and production equipment from Apple Isle.
The National Management Group – the decision-making body for national programs for the eradication of exotic plant pests, animal diseases and the environment – ​​decided last month that PMTV was not eradicable in Tasmania.
Zarmeen Hassan is Biosafety Manager for the highest representative body for the potato industry, AUSVEG.

She said if the disease has been in Tasmania for two years, there are concerns it has already spread to the mainland.

“So far we know it’s only in Tasmania, right? We don’t actually know if it has spread to the mainland,” she said.

“If the disease has not spread to the mainland, the industry and government will obviously want to work to contain the disease.”

Learning from New Zealand

Across the Tasman, they have been dealing with PMTV for seven years, after it was found at a South Island processing plant in September 2018.
New Zealand also found it could not be eradicated, but management has been going well so far.
“We don’t see any lost revenue, we don’t see anything, but they do call it the sleeping sickness,” said Kate Trufitt, CEO of Potatoes New Zealand.
“So something we need to be aware of is that something could happen in the future.”
New Zealand is investigating potato varieties that are resistant to mop.

Trufitt said cleaning machinery when moving between farms, crop rotation and improving soil health were key in preventing the disease.

The vector: powdery scab

A well-known vector of PMTV is another disease that occurs in potatoes: powdery scab.
“That spreads the virus and allows it to settle in the crops,” Nathan Calman, CEO of TasFarmers, told SBS News.
The Tasmanian Government is investing $200,000 in a research program into powdery scab and PMTV.
“We’ve looked to our friends across the pond in New Zealand, who have told us that the key to mopping up top management is tackling powder scab,” Tasmania’s Minister for Primary Industries Gavin Pearce said.
Hassan said powdery scab occurred in most growing areas.

“If that’s the case, then [PMTV] could be further than Tasmania. We don’t know, it’s a bit of an unknown at the moment.”

“Developing a soil test to detect powder scab and mop tops is critical, and work is underway.
“There is currently no protocol and methodology for soil testing in Australia, which is being worked on.
“But the planting season is starting now so it won’t be available this planting season; it will be available for next season.”
Tasmania is busy planting the next potato crop, but persistent rain means the ground is still too wet for some, including Applebee.
Despite these and other challenges, he can’t imagine doing anything differently.
“There is no better feeling than growing a crop of anything – it could be carrots, potatoes, peas – and knowing full well that it is of the highest quality,” he said.

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