Biosecurity update
An exotic plant pest called Vegetable Leaf Miner (Liromyza sativae) has been detected in the Torres Strait on Warraber Island, during routine surveillance carried out by the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy (NAQS). This pest has not previously been detected in Australia.
The Vegetable Leaf Miner is a fly-like pest which is a threat to fruit, vegetable and ornamental plants but is known to favour plant, bean and pumpkin plants as hosts.
The Leaf Miner was detected on a single mature tomato plant which was growing in a household garden. No other plants in the vicinity showed similar pest damage.
East TImor is the nearest country to Australia where this pest is present, and there are no human health concerns associated with this detection.
The Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests (CCEPP) met on August 28 and agreed that the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries will conduct further surveillance on Warraber Island and a number of nearby islands that are known to have susceptible host plants.
There are no signs of the pest from routine surveillance around Cape York and Darwin, or any other islands on the Torres Strait surveyed recently.
The CCEPP will meet again in early September to discuss the outcomes of the surveillance and determine the next course of action.
* Picture: www.PaDil.gov.au