Myrtle rust at Booderee
Myrtle rust on willow myrtle (Agonis flexuosa) | Dr Louise Morin, CSIRO
Helping prevent the spread of myrtle rust
If you think you've found myrtle rust in your own backyard take a photo of the plant and send it to the NSW Department of Primary Industries at biosecurity@industry.nsw.gov.au. If you're in Queensland you can ring the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries on 13 25 23.
It's important not to take a cutting from your garden and bring it in to us to check - this can spread the disease. If you have myrtle rust, talk to your local nursery about available treatments.
If visiting Booderee there are also a few precautions you can take - clean your shoes after entering or exiting the park, wash your clothes, hat and backpack before visiting other natural areas and leave your vehicle in a designated car park.
At Booderee we're maintaining our good horticultural practices in the Botanic Gardens, monitoring and reporting on the distribution and abundance of the disease and the species of plants which are infected. The Gardens are in a good position to contribute to the nationwide effort of halting the spread of the disease by recording the reaction of plant species to myrtle rust.
Having such a good scientific plant collection in place means we are able to pass on our observations to other institutions and industry, as part of the collective effort to build our understanding of myrtle rust.
So what is myrtle rust?
Myrtle rust is an exotic fungal disease that affects plants in the Myrtaceae family. This family includes a wide range of native plants, such as eucalypts, bottle brush and tea trees. Myrtle rust spores are easily spread by wind and through human and animal contact.
For more information on myrtle rust click here.
http://www.anbg.gov.au/chabg/myrtle-rust/index.html
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