ID :
167157
Thu, 03/10/2011 - 12:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/167157
The shortlink copeid
Myrtle rust threatens 2500 native species
SYDNEY (AAP) March 10 - Scientists are baffled by a mysterious fungus that is turning the leaves of Australia's gumtrees yellow and covering them with red-ringed pustules.
Myrtle rust was first discovered at a central NSW nursery last April but it has since spread south and to the north as far as south-east Queensland.
It has infected at least 50 native Australian species so far, including bottle brush and other members of the Myrtaceae family, but the figure could climb as high as 2500.
With Australia's multi-million-dollar tea tree and lemon myrtle industries at risk, the race is on to figure out how to deal with the South American fungus.
Canberra's Australian National Botanic Gardens attracted 40 of the country's top plant and fungal scientists on Thursday to brainstorm the problem.
The biggest issue is to find out for sure whether the damage is more than cosmetic.
Already two endangered tree species have been infected, and scientists fear they could be first on a hit list.
"At the moment it looks like it doesn't kill them, but it has killed (trees) in a nursery situation," the gardens' director Judy West told AAP.
"But we don't know how this is going to behave in nature, so that's part of what we're trying to understand."
So far, scientists can tell that hot and humid conditions help spread the rust, which is airborne and can also be transferred via a person's clothes.
Spraying has proved to be effective in the past, but has also killed native rusts, which are a needed part of Australia's ecosystem.
"So if we start spraying willy nilly around the fields and natural bushlands, we're going to lose a lot of the advantageous fungi," Dr West said.
Australians are being asked to help out by alerting authorities if they spot a potential infection of myrtle rust and monitoring its behaviour.
It is important not to pick a sample, which could spread the rust, but to take a photo instead, Dr West said.
Myrtle rust has caused serious damage to the timber industry in South America.
Myrtle rust was first discovered at a central NSW nursery last April but it has since spread south and to the north as far as south-east Queensland.
It has infected at least 50 native Australian species so far, including bottle brush and other members of the Myrtaceae family, but the figure could climb as high as 2500.
With Australia's multi-million-dollar tea tree and lemon myrtle industries at risk, the race is on to figure out how to deal with the South American fungus.
Canberra's Australian National Botanic Gardens attracted 40 of the country's top plant and fungal scientists on Thursday to brainstorm the problem.
The biggest issue is to find out for sure whether the damage is more than cosmetic.
Already two endangered tree species have been infected, and scientists fear they could be first on a hit list.
"At the moment it looks like it doesn't kill them, but it has killed (trees) in a nursery situation," the gardens' director Judy West told AAP.
"But we don't know how this is going to behave in nature, so that's part of what we're trying to understand."
So far, scientists can tell that hot and humid conditions help spread the rust, which is airborne and can also be transferred via a person's clothes.
Spraying has proved to be effective in the past, but has also killed native rusts, which are a needed part of Australia's ecosystem.
"So if we start spraying willy nilly around the fields and natural bushlands, we're going to lose a lot of the advantageous fungi," Dr West said.
Australians are being asked to help out by alerting authorities if they spot a potential infection of myrtle rust and monitoring its behaviour.
It is important not to pick a sample, which could spread the rust, but to take a photo instead, Dr West said.
Myrtle rust has caused serious damage to the timber industry in South America.
