Western Australian Viticulture Industry Biosecurity Plan

Summary

Current situation

Western Australia (WA) is fortunate to be free of a range of organisms that can impact on the production of grapes (Vitis vinifera) that are found in other locations around Australia. This assists the viticulture industries in WA, and the general community, to produce grapes at lower costs and with reduced chemical inputs than might otherwise be the case. The absence of certain organisms can also be beneficial in maintaining or developing markets.

There are protocols in place that control the import of organisms into Western Australia that have been developed to minimise the risk of harmful exotic organisms entering the state. However, because of the high level of produce and people movement, they can never be 100% guaranteed effective. Therefore, industries and supporting organisations need to be monitoring for incursions and be prepared to be able to deal swiftly and effectively should any occur.

There are a lot of exotic organisms that may be found in association with grapevines that are found in other states of Australia. Over 250 exotic organisms were identified in a Policy Review for importation of table grapes into WA from other Australian states in 2015. However, the level of economic impact these exotic organisms may have on the WA viticulture industry varies considerably and managing incursions of exotic organisms can be a costly exercise. Therefore it is important that the viticulture industries are aware of what potential threats they may face and the potential economic impact these threats pose to their industry.

Western Australian Viticulture Industry Biosecurity Plan

The Western Australian Viticulture Industry Biosecurity Plan (WAVIBP) has been developed to build biosecurity preparedness within the WA viticulture industry. The aim is to identify and categorise the potential pest threats based on their establishment and spread potential, economic impact, and a final industry rating of concern. This will provide both the industries and supporting organisations, including government, with data on what exotic organisms to focus on, and assist in decision making about what steps should be taken should an incursion occur.

As a result of the pest risk assessment, six exotic organisms from the potential pest threats where rated as high priority pest threats to the WA viticulture industries, and a further 39 were rated as priority pest threats, these are listed in Table 1.

The WAVIBP was developed by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia, in consultation with the viticulture industry in Western Australia. It is part of an overall project to increase biosecurity preparedness within the WA viticulture industry, 'Surveillance and diagnosis for pests and diseases in the WA grape industry', which in turn is part of the state wide 'Boosting Biosecurity Defences' project, supported by Royalties for Regions funding.

Further detailed information on the 45 exotic organisms identified as priority pest threats to the Western Australian viticulture industry can be found in the Western Australian Viticulture Industry Biosecurity Manual.