Potato disease outbreak sparks plea for help in Australia

The potato industry at Thorpdale, in west Gippsland, is calling for help from the state and federal governments over a disease outbreak.

 

 

A property at Thorpdale has been found to have potato cyst nematode (PCN) and a freeze has been put on trade from the area.

 

 

Thorpdale produces seed potatoes used by growers around Australia to plant their crops.

 

 

John Hodgkin from the Thorpdale branch of the Victorian Farmers Federation says the Government has to step in and manage the issue.

"It is quite possible PCN is in all the states of Australia, it's just they haven't been looking for it, so they haven't been testing for it there whereas because of our seed industry and our responsibility nature of our seed industry we have been testing for it here and that's how we've found it," he said.