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2022 Beyond Myrtle Rust news

  1. Report on fungicide management for myrtle rust in nurseries released

    A report titled “Risk-based fungicide management for myrtle rust in nurseries” is now available on the MPI-run myrtle rust website. We talked with Rob Beresford about the details of the report and what this might mean for myrtle rust management in nurseries. 
    Potted Lophomyrtus plants (left) and my...

  2. Australasian Myrtle Rust Conference

    Save the dates! Wednesday 21 - Saturday 24 June, 2023

  3. Multitudinous biota associate with Lophomyrtus plants

    Diseases that impact trees also impact the biotic communities living on, in and around those trees. A recent study on the associated biota of the [Lophomyrtus] genus has revealed how little we know about the vast communities these plants support.

  4. Fungus-eating fungus found on myrtle rust: your sightings wanted!

    Have you seen this mycoparasite?

  5. PhD student on the hunt for mycoparasites

    PhD student Dan Cu is underway with the Beyond Myrtle Rust team. She will be investigating the fungal communities living on the leaves and in the leaf tissue of Myrtaceous species in hopes of finding fungi that are antagonists of myrtle rust.

  6. Trans-Tasman collaboration key for tackling myrtle rust: NZ sits on new Australian working group

    Critically endangered Australian native Rhodamnia rubescens showing the consequences of myrtle rust. Image: Geoff Pegg

    The federal government in Australia has recently formed a new working group to help with efforts to combat the plant disease myrtle rust. The group’s work is urgent - the causal ag...

  7. Myrtle rust on iNaturalist: observations on the increase

    iNaturalist continues to play an important role in tracking disease developments across New Zealand and an increase in reports is expected as the weather warms up. We review reports from last season, as researchers, gardeners, and keen myrtle-rust spotters gear up for the next.

  8. Rātā vines: beautiful and vulnerable

    Metrosideros is a genus in the Myrtaceae family that has about 50 species, found mostly in the Pacific region. In New Zealand, the most well-known Metrosideros are our large trees, including the iconic pōhutukawa (M. excelsa), northern rātā (M. robusta) and southern rātā (M. umbellata). However, hal...

  9. Sexual, heterothallic, and tetrapolar - oh my!

    A recent study by Australian and Brazilian researchers has found Austropuccinia psidii, the fungus that causes myrtle rust, likely uses a mode of reproduction that could lead to rapid evolution of the pathogen. This, in turn, could increase the threat myrtle rust poses to Myrtaceae species.

  10. Exciting developments in Beyond Myrtle Rust research

    May 2022 marks the five-year anniversary of the arrival of myrtle rust in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Beyond Myrtle Rust research programme began in 2018, just over a year into the incursion. The programme has built on pre-incursion research from both Australia and New Zealand and has provided a solid...

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