The Western Australian community has rallied to support surveillance efforts for the insect pest the tomato potato psyllid (TPP).
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development senior research officer Ian Wilkinson said more than 1000 home gardeners had registered their interest in taking part in spring surveillance.
“We have had a great response from the Perth and regional communities in response to our calls to host a surveillance trap and support our important horticultural industry,” Dr Wilkinson said.
TPP is a tiny insect which feeds on a range of host plants, including potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, goji berries, capsicums, chillies, tamarillos and sweet potatoes. It was found in Western Australia for the first time earlier this year.
Department officers began deploying traps in home gardens last week, with the spring trapping program to run throughout November.
The targeted surveillance area extends from the shires of Gingin and Chittering in the north, across the Perth metropolitan region and down to Mandurah and the Shire of Murray in the south.
Dr Wilkinson reminded vegetable growers, the nursery industry and home gardeners that restrictions remained in place on the movement of host plants around the state.
“We have simplified these quarantine measures, which are aimed at minimising the risk of spread into horticultural production areas in regional Western Australia where the pest has not been found to date,” he said.
Host plants must not be moved outside the Quarantine Area into the following locations without prescribed chemical treatment: Ravensthorpe, Gnowangerup, Jerramungup, Irwin, Northampton, Carnarvon, Greater Geraldton, Chapman Valley, Wyndham-East Kimberley, Albany, Broomehill-Tambellup, Morawa, Shark Bay, Three Springs, Broome, Esperance or Mingenew.
The Quarantine Area includes the Perth metropolitan area and local government areas of August-Margaret River, Beverley, Boddington, Boyup Brook, Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Brookton, Bunbury, Busselton, Capel, Carnamah, Chittering, Collie, Coorow, Cranbrook, Cuballing, Dandaragan, Dardanup, Denmark, Donnybrook-Balingup, Gingin, Harvey, Kojonup, Mandurah, Manjimup, Moora, Murray, Nannup, Narrogin, Northam, Pingelly, Plantagenet, Toodyay, Victoria Plains, Wagin, Wandering, Waroona, West Arthur, Wickepin, Williams, Woodanilling, and York.
More information on TPP, quarantine requirements and a map of the Quarantine Area is available from the department website agric.wa.gov.au/tpp