2021-04-13 05:35:26 GMT2021-04-13 13:35:26(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
CANBERRA, April 13 (Xinhua) The potentially devastating citrus canker plant disease has officially been eradicated from Australia.
Citrus canker damages citrus fruit it infects and causes unripe fruit to fall to the ground.
The disease was found in Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory (NT), in April 2018, 14 years after Australia s last outbreak in Queensland where it destroyed 500,000 citrus trees.
It has now been eradicated after more than 6,000 plants were destroyed and a national ban was implemented on NT citrus products.
Anne Walters, the NT s Chief Plant Health Officer, said eradication of the disease was a big win for the industry.
Citrus canker plant disease gone from Australia after NT eradication
The early detection of citrus canker has been a big help to eradication efforts.
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Citrus canker has officially been eradicated from Australia, three years after the plant disease was discovered in the Northern Territory.
Key points:
The disease was first found in the NT in April 2018
6,000 citrus plants were destroyed in efforts to eradicate the disease
The bacterial disease causes brown spots to form on citrus fruit, leaves to drop and unripe fruit to fall on the ground, and is easily spread by infected fruit and leaves.