Foreign bacteria threaten the fruit basket of South Africa

A FOREIGN bacterium called Bactrocera Envadens (BI), which attacks citrus fruit has been detected in the Mopani and Vhembe district.

Speaking during a land care campaign held in Ngove village, Giyani last Wednesday, Khazamula Baloyi, deputy manager of the department of agriculture’s crop production section for the Mopani area, explained that the bacterium was first detected in Kenya in 2003 and later reported in several other African countries including South Africa, in Limpopo only, last year.

Baloyi said the department planned to erect redlines (veterinary cordon fences) in order to place all areas affected by the bacteria under quarantine.

“One would need a permit to move fruit from one point to another. We will erect roadblocks where we will confiscate fruit for which farmers do not have the correct permits,” he warned.

He urged farmers to obtain permits that would indicate that their products had been checked and were free from the bacteria. He said the presence of the bacteria was indicated in the Vhembe district last year, but had not yet been officially confirmed in the Mopani district. “We are in the process of declaring its presence in Mopani,” he said.

Baloyi further said Tzaneen was the highest infested area followed by Maruleng, while Giyani was the lowest infested area.

He added that last month another foreign bacterium called the Grain Chinch Bug, which used to attack grains but now moved on to citrus fruit, had been detected in the Mopani district, and had caused some losses so far.

“Those who exported their products last month have already experienced some losses, since we had oranges rejected in the USA and pears rejected in the UK because they were found to contain this bacteria,” he said. “As we speak, there are some areas in Mopani that are under quarantine in order to prevent it from spreading,” he said.

Speaking about land care, Mopani acting mayor Pat Nkanyane said it was important that people understood land management. “We must ensure that our people clearly understand the dangers of unsustainable agricultural practises.”