Agriculture Victoria has fast-tracked new accreditation processes to help horticultural businesses with market access requirements after a new detection of tomato potato psyllid (TPP).
Victoria's Chief Plant Health Officer Dr Rosa Crnov confirmed that TPP was recently detected in a home garden in Melbourne's northern suburbs, and outside of the current restricted area on the Bellarine Peninsula.
'The new detection occurred outside the restricted area, indicating that the pest may be present beyond the previously identified area.'
'We've worked with industry to develop a new arrangement, helping businesses to maintain interstate market access,' Dr Crnov said.
Agriculture Victoria is co-hosting a webinar with Nursery and Garden Industry today at 2 pm to help guide businesses through the changes.
The webinar, along with information and resources, will also be available on the Agriculture Victoria website for businesses to access.
TPP is a small insect that feeds on solanaceous hosts such as tomato, potato, eggplant, chili and capsicum, and was detected in Victoria for the first time on 12 November 2024 on the Bellarine Peninsula.
A restricted area has been in place since the initial detection in November 2024 to contain the pest from spreading further into other areas of Victoria.
TPP is established around Perth in Western Australia.
TPP can spread a serious plant disease known as 'zebra chip' in potatoes when it is infected with the Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso) bacterium. CLso has not been detected in Victoria, or anywhere in Australia.
Report any unusual plant pest or disease immediately using our online reporting form
