Myrtle rust beats fight to contain it

The battle against the spread of myrtle rust in New Zealand has been lost, the Ministry for Primary Industries has announced.

The discovery of the windborne fungal disease in the Tasman region at the top of the South Island meant it was beyond containment, the ministry said on Friday.

Spokeswoman Catherine Duthie said the effort to limit the spread of the disease had been significant, however had proven futile.

‘‘When myrtle rust was first discovered on mainland New Zealand in May last year, we said it would be a challenging disease to contain and eradicate but we would give it a good crack,’’ she said.

‘‘There has been an enormous operational effort over the last 11 months but the windborne nature of the disease means that containment has not proved possible,’’ Duthie said.

More than 540 infected sites have been identified across the North Island and top of the South Island.

Myrtle rust can cause serious damage to plants such as po¯hutukawa, ma¯nuka, kanuka and ra¯ta and can kill mature trees.

The first outbreak of the disease occurred in Northland in May 2017, before spreading to Taranaki, Te Puke and Auckland.

Since then, more than 95,276 plants have been inspected and more than 5000 plants have been removed and destroyed.

The Government spent $9 million in 2017 to control the spread of the disease.

Duthie said MPI’s efforts would now move to research.

The agency has committed $3.4m over the next two years for projects focused on ways to treat myrtle rust and seed banking.

Department of Conservation officers have prioritised the collection of seeds from plants susceptible to myrtle rust for storage at the New Zealand Indigenous Flora Seed Bank in Palmerston North.

Despite a shift in focus, members of the public were still encouraged to report any possible cases to the biosecurity hotline on 0800 80 9966.