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Citrus faces two-year watch
30 Jul 2004
Surveillance in Queensland's citrus industry will continue for the next two years following the recent citrus canker outbreak. Interstate and international markets for unaffected growers have been reinstated, while at Evergreen Farms the destruction of infected fruit and trees has razed the landscape.
The Department of Primary Industries is developing a $7 million two-year national surveillance program to restore Queensland's status as a citrus canker-free area. The Department is trialling the use of a satellite and light aircraft for monitoring purposes, employing a system that's already been used successfully in the peanut industry.
All fruit will have to be inspected, treated and certified; 120 new inspectors have been appointed. The Department is also developing protocols to allow growers to split treated fruit after inspection into different consignments for later sale, and will allow growers to use chlorine as a post-harvest treatment. For more information visit www.dpi.qld.gov.au/citruscanker or call 13 25 23.
Queensland Country Life, 29/7/04.
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