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Rotten mangoes cause headaches for NT growers
Australia
Saturday 10 November 2007
Melbourne fruit wholesalers are being forced to reject and even dump thousands of rotten mangoes from the Northern Territory.
Heavy rain and humidity near Darwin has caused ripening mangoes to break out with the fungal disease anthracnose and stem-end rot, up to a week after they have been picked.
Kire Karevski from HolmanFresh said much of the produce is being down-graded, with some of it being thrown out.
"Initially we thought it might be isolated, but now as the season's progressed over the last couple of weeks, the problems have really started to show up and they've become more and more serious," he said.
"We're getting in very high percentages, we're getting up around the 30 to 40 per cent mark now with anthracnose through it.
"There's not a lot you can do. You either sell it very quickly and cheaply or you dump it".
Heavy rain and humidity near Darwin has caused ripening mangoes to break out with the fungal disease anthracnose and stem-end rot, up to a week after they have been picked.
Kire Karevski from HolmanFresh said much of the produce is being down-graded, with some of it being thrown out.
"Initially we thought it might be isolated, but now as the season's progressed over the last couple of weeks, the problems have really started to show up and they've become more and more serious," he said.
"We're getting in very high percentages, we're getting up around the 30 to 40 per cent mark now with anthracnose through it.
"There's not a lot you can do. You either sell it very quickly and cheaply or you dump it".
