Plant Diseases

While cancer doesn't affect plants like it does us, it can have costly implications for farmers and other growers.

An agronomist says the dieback is the single biggest problem threatening the sustainability of the Darwin mango industry, especially those growing Kensington Pride mangoes.

A live toad, holy water from the Ganges and an aphrodisiac made from donkeys are among the more unusual items detected at Australian airports and mail centres.

A "heartbreaking" stand of "skeletons" along one of the Sunshine Coast's most popular scenic drives is sobering evidence that bunya pine dieback is spreading, while a team of experts search for ways to save the iconic trees.

Genetically modified cavendish bananas that are nearly immune to a devastating fungal disease have been given approval for commercial production and human consumption in Australia.

Queensland growers are on high alert this week with devastating floods increasing the possible spread of Panama TR4 fungal disease — the greatest threat to banana production worldwide.

Queensland scientists say artificial intelligence can play a role in feeding the world by helping farmers produce more sustainable and profitable plants.

Robert Magarey has spent his career looking for solutions to diseases that threaten Australia's sugar industry, finding the greatest reward in helping growers.

A plan to produce vegetable oil for biofuel could see a Queensland town recrowned the sunflower capital, after disease and market pressures wiped them from the landscape.

The  Australian wine industry is future-proofing itself by collecting the most valuable grape varieties and storing them in high-security labs similar to doomsday vaults.

Red blotch disease, which hasn't been found in Australia before, leads to poor wine grape harvests as some bunches never ripen.

Some Australian native plants — including paperbarks, lilly pillies,  eucalypts and bottlebrush —  are grappling with their own pandemic as the exotic myrtle rust fungus spreads. 

A fungal disease that affects bananas is found at 29 locations across the Northern Territory, with authorities yet to identify a pattern behind its spread.

The same technology used to detect COVID-19 in humans is being used by mushroom growers for the early detection of diseases, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

Australian dragon fruit farmers have formed their own growers' association to try and tackle a range of issues, including the rise of overseas imports.

After two years of COVID-19 we understand all too well the hard work done by pathologists, but their plant counterparts are also working hard, to protect our food and fibre.

Though the plums are ripe, this organic farmer's summer fruit harvest looks a little different this year. Could La Nina and the resulting warm weather be responsible?

Home fruit growers in southern Queensland and Northern NSW are urged to be on guard for signs of the world's most damaging banana disease after a rapid rise in infections.

A new state-of-the art quarantine facility on Queensland's Sunshine Coast is fast-tracking imports of alternative banana varieties in a bid to tackle disease threatening the banana industry.

The Templeton family, fourth-generation farmers who almost lost everything to a pest called pythium, turn to extreme cleaning — with the help of a $250,000 washing machine from Italy — and are recognised for their efforts.