This article is from page 36 of the 2007-10-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
WITH Bluetongue and Foot and Mouth still a very real risk for Irish farmers, the focus this week turned to the tillage sector, with the discov- ery of Brown Rot in potatoes grown HOMO UKMOCOLUNNIB MYA
Brown Rot is caused by the bacte- rium Ralstonia Solanacearum and results in yield losses in host plants and the rotting of tubers.
The disease poses no risk to human or animal health and was initially detected in water samples taken as part of the Department of Agricul- ture’s routine control programme at a potato packing premises and traced back to a farmer supplier.
All potato stocks on the farm were sampled and, to date, there is one confirmed positive. In addition, re- lated potato samples from two other potato packing plants have been con- firmed positive.
Holding notices have been issued to the grower and the packers involved to prevent movement of potentially infected stocks. All stocks have been isolated under department supervi- sion pending the taking of the appro- priate disposal action.
The normal source of infection for Brown Rot is infected seed or through infected water.
As part of the further investiga- tion, extensive sampling and testing by the department of possible linked
sources of infection is on-going. Meanwhile, the IFA has called for a firmer focus to be put on Bluetongue and Foot and Mouth by the Depart- ment of Agriculture.
“The source of this outbreak of Bluetongue in northern Europe last August remains unknown. However, one possibility being examined by the EU Commission is the transportation of infected midges in cargos which arrived in or around the Maastricht area before the first reported case,’ said Irish Farmers’ Association Pres- ident, Padraig Walshe.
“As Ireland’s island location 1s fur- ther north and west in the Atlantic, it provides a potential barrier that the Department of Agriculture must
actively harness in a determined strategy to keep this country Blue- tongue free. Keeping Ireland Blue- tongue free is a huge prize for the livestock industry that the minister must strive for.”
As the prevailing winds from an easterly and south-easterly direction account for less than 25 per cent of the winds recorded, this significantly reduces the risk of wind borne spread of the disease to Ireland.
Mr Walshe called for the reinforce- ment of FMD precautions and said the list of banned products should be extended to cover products carrying higher risks, including livestock feed such as hay and straw from Britain as well as used farm machinery.