Description
Download the Summary of Proceedings of the Australasian Myrtle Rust Conference here [PDF link]
The Australasian Myrtle Rust Conference 2023 (AMRC2023) was the latest in a series of national
and trans-Tasman events to bring together those involved in responding to the threat of Myrtle
Rust plant disease in the region. Most previous events, and this one, have been primarily organised
and driven by the Myrtle Rust ‘community of concern’, comprising plant health and plant pathology
researchers, biodiversity conservation researchers and practitioners, and (particularly in Aotearoa
New Zealand) First Nations stakeholders.
The exotic fungal disease Myrtle Rust, first detected in Australia in 2010 and in New Zealand in 2017,
is attacking many species in the plant family Myrtaceae. This family is of fundamental ecological
importance in both countries, is a rich repository of biological and genetic resources, and is an
intrinsic element of our national and cultural identities.
In Australia, close to 50 native plant species are known or suspected to be declining towards
extinction, some catastrophically, as a result of this disease. In New Zealand, all indigenous species
of the family have been placed on the ‘Threatened’ list. An unknown number of associated species of
flora, fauna, and fungi is affected in both countries.
Further strains of the same disease are known to exist overseas. These pose a further threat, and
are recognised as a national biosecurity priority in both countries. As too, at the domestic level in
Australia, is prevention of entry of Myrtle Rust to the mega-diverse south-west of Western Australia.
The biological threat process in both countries is broadly similar.
AMRC2023 was intended to enhance trans-Tasman communication and knowledge transfer about this common threat, and
met that aim. It also showed that institutional responses in the two countries have both similarities
and differences. This report summarises the national update talks at the conference, and the
presentation summaries show much of what is going on in some detail.
Download the Summary of Proceedings of the Australasian Myrtle Rust Conference here [PDF link]
