Myrtle rust reaches the Chatham Islands
A conspicuous new record has appeared on the Myrtle Rust Reporter map - the first find on the Chatham Islands. The sharp-eyed and regular iNaturalist poster Lloyd Esler recorded the find. In doing so, he expanded the known range of the problematic fungus that causes myrtle rust, Austropuccinia psidii, by approximately 800 kilometres. There is, however, a twist to this tale - the fungus is occupying a weed. Said weed, Ugni molinae or Chliean guava, is good for making jam but is busy destroying sensitive ecosystems. Given the rapacious nature of this plant, and the lack of naturally occurring Myrtaceae on the islands, we may be looking at a very unusual situation whereby myrtle rust results in an overall environmental win. If you would like to learn more about this, and to hear researcher Peter de Lange talk about the find, check out these links:
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2204/S00388/myrtle-rust-found-on-the-chatham-islands.htm
The far-flung nature of the disease had it reported from another island in April - Aotea (Great Barrier) near Auckland - this time on nursery pohutukawa. This disease loves nursery conditions - especially wet leaves. A reminder - if you want to raise vulnerable seedlings, it's best to find a way to water them without getting the leaves wet.
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Lloyd Esler's (@lloyd_esler) observation is at https://inaturalist.nz/observations/109933128 along with some interesting comments
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