Banana freckle outbreak worsens, experts consider national response plan

Federal authorities are working on a containment plan which is expected to be released within a month.

The disease is so far contained to properties within the Batchelor-Rum Jungle region about 100 kilometres south of Darwin.

The official biosecurity position is that the outbreak is "still technically feasible to eradicate".

Officials are keen to prevent the devastating response which following the last outbreak in 2013.

That outbreak resulted in a Territory-wide destruction of all banana plants in the biggest plant disease response ever seen in Australia.

Questions are now being asked on whether the decision to declare the NT free of the devastating disease in 2019 was premature.

Since the first cases were confirmed earlier in the month, biosecurity officials have been sweeping the surrounding district checking on other plants.

The total of confirmed cases quickly rose to three and now to 10.

A Territory-wide call to the public to send in "crook" looking banana plants has also resulted in a good response but no further cases have been found as a result of that call which is ongoing.

Quarantine restrictions have been established to stop bananas or banana plants leaving the Territory.

Queensland, which produces about 90 per cent of the nation's bananas, are keeping watch on developments.

The immediate response is to continue checking nearby properties to determine the size of the outbreak.

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A national response is being drafted and then funding will have to be approved to set the response in motion.

The initial infected banana tree was planted after the Territory had been declared banana freckle free.

Biosecurity officials said after the first detection the outbreak was not believed to be connect to the 2013-2019 outbreak which close almost $30 million to clean up.

Back then 43,589 properties were involved in a NT-wide surveillance program with more than 500,000 banana plants destroyed on 9500 properties.

Most of Australia's bananas today are grown in Queensland, where the industry is valued at about $600 million.

Banana freckle cannot be eradicated by the use of chemicals, the banana plants have to be removed to get rid of the disease.