COLDBROOK, N.S. – Larry Lutz says the 2013 apple season has been difficult since the Canadian Food Inspection Agency quarantined four of his co-op’s orchards in May due to a suspected pest infestation.
The phytoplasma bacteria is known as APP and is virulent in Europe, but has never been detected in North American apple crops. But when trees started growing abnormally in the spring, Lutz says a CFIA pathologist concluded the trey may have come from an infected source.
“It was a suspected positive case and based on that they quarantined four of our growers and actually drew the health of some of our other apple trees into question as well,” he said.
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He says the ensuing months were fraught with uncertainty from buyers and importers who were afraid the potential infection could change the quality of the fruit, and the reputation of the growers themselves.
Lutz said the APP virus can only be spread through grafting, and said if the ‘mother’ tree is infected and it’s grafted to another seedling, all of the offspring will be infected.
After months of CFIA testing, however, it was determined the initial test results were faulty and APP wasn’t found anywhere along the supply chain.
“A total of 121 samples were collected and tested by the CFIA for APP and other phytoplasmas,” the CFIA said in a release to stakeholders. “The surveys found no symptoms of APP and the laboratory test results were negative for APP and other phytoplasmas.”
As a result, the quarantine on all four farms was lifted. The province’s new agricultural minister, Keith Colwell says he’ll meet with any farmers affected by the quarantine to ensure they get proper access to provincial and federal assistance programs.
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