New Zealand exports of capsicums and tomatoes, worth $40 million per year, were halted in June this year after what was thought to be a new species of Liberibacter was discovered to be affecting plants in a limited number of greenhouses.

A special commitment was made by Crop & Food Research to offer the intellectual input and diagnostic testing support to industry. This meant that laboratory facilities and procedures were required to meet specific government measures – a task that involved overcoming practical hurdles within tight timeframes.

Ken Robertson, senior business manager for the Fresh Tomato and Fresh Vegetable Product Groups, says the few months from the discovery of the disease to the re-opening of the Japanese export market was difficult for the greenhouse capsicum industry. The situation remains difficult especially for greenhouse tomatoes because the Australian export market remains closed to NZ-grown tomatoes and capsicums. “But it has been helpful to have such committed support coming from scientists at Crop & Food Research and that support is of course ongoing.”

“The intellectual resource and commitment to getting the testing service up and running has been fantastic,” Mr Robertson says.

Project leader at Crop & Food Research, Ian Scott, says he was impressed with the way staff had committed their energy and time to helping industry at short notice. “This is what New Zealand science is good at. We can be proud of the way we are so closely connected with industry, and that our skills can be directly called upon at this time.”

Dr Scott says the team involved included specialist plant breeders, molecular microbiologists, plant pathologists and entomologists, as well as business support staff.

“Before the identification of this strain of Liberibacter, our entomologists were already hard at work on new methods to control psyllids, which are now thought to vector this disease. I think our response underscores our broad capabilities.”

Dr Scott says the hard work will continue for the scientists who have begun testing batches of plant material from capsicum, tomato and potato.

This testing will help growers better manage the disease.

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