{"id":711191,"date":"2026-06-02T21:43:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T21:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/711191\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T21:43:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T21:43:18","slug":"mango-twig-tip-dieback-spreading-in-the-nt-as-more-trees-get-bulldozed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/711191\/","title":{"rendered":"Mango twig tip dieback spreading in the NT as more trees get bulldozed"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 mango trees have been bulldozed in the Northern Territory as growers struggle with a fungal disease called mango twig tip dieback (MTTD).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The disease has affected farms across the Greater Darwin region, with the famous Kensington Pride (KP) variety appearing to be one of the more susceptible cultivars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It has been estimated that up to 90 per cent of KP orchards<\/a> in the Darwin region have some level of infection.<\/p>\n

Australian Mangoes chief executive Trevor Dunmall said it had become a serious issue for the industry.<\/p>\n

“To see mango trees looking so sick, it would make you cry,” he told ABC Rural.<\/p>\n

“We drove past some orchards, where trees are bulldozed up and ready to burn … so you can’t get more serious than that.”<\/p>\n

At present, MTTD outbreaks have been confined to the Greater Darwin region, but Mr Dunmall said the entire industry was watching closely.<\/p>\n

“Our researchers indicate the pathogens that are linked to MTTD are endemic across many regions,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“But why the symptoms are expressing in such a serious extent in Darwin is what the research is focusing on, and then the aim is to find management solutions.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

In its 2025 budget, the NT government committed $1 million over two years to fund an integrated research program to combat MTTD.<\/p>\n

Some early results from that research were presented at a field day in Berry Springs in front of a large crowd of growers.<\/p>\n

\"Growers<\/p>\n

Mango growers gather to hear the latest research on mango twig tip dieback (MTTD). (ABC Rural: Matt Brann)<\/p>\n

What is killing mango trees?<\/p>\n

For a long time, the cause of the mango twig tip dieback was a mystery.<\/a><\/p>\n

But researchers now know it is a plant disease linked to Botryosphaeriaceae fungi and plant stress.<\/p>\n

“The disease affects young shoots, twigs and branches, resulting in canopy thinning, reduced flowering and yield,” said the NT Department of Agriculture’s progress report.<\/a><\/p>\n

“Early detection and pruning out of infected twigs can reduce spread and minimise yield loss.”<\/p>\n

It said the dieback was increasing across Darwin orchards in both young and mature trees and “affecting multiple cultivars (varieties)”.<\/p>\n

\"Needles<\/p>\n

Research into MTTD has included injecting trunks with encapsulated fungicides. (ABC Rural: Matt Brann)<\/p>\n

The department said the disease was difficult to manage once established in an orchard and the bad news for growers was it seemed no single control method would be effective.<\/p>\n

“MTTD is a complex stress-driven disease which will require integrated management and continued research,” growers were told.<\/p>\n

In its presentation, the department asked growers to consider the following:<\/p>\n

Reassess high-stress floral induction practicesAvoid pruning during humid and wet conditions if feasibleProtect vulnerable flushes, particularly during the wet season\"a<\/p>\n

Mango twig tip dieback can stop a tree bearing fruit and eventually kill it. (ABC Rural: Daniel Fitzgerald)<\/p>\n

Tracking spores using AI<\/p>\n

It is understood MTTD is spread via spores produced on leaves, dead twigs and branches of infected trees, which are then dispersed by wind and rain splash.<\/p>\n

Various experiments are taking place in the NT to try to better understand the disease and how to control it.<\/p>\n

One trial involves the real-time monitoring of airborne spores using a unit from Australian agtech company, BioScout.<\/p>\n

“So we are doing lab-grade analysis on pathogens and spores, but outside in this mango orchard in real time,” BioScout’s Charles Simons said.<\/p>\n

“It’s automated microscopy that can tell a farmer what diseases and pathogens are floating around your farm, and what are the risks to your crop.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Close<\/p>\n

BioScout has installed one of its automated disease detection units in a mango orchard impacted by MTTD. (ABC Rural: Matt Brann)<\/p>\n

He said the artificial intelligence within the technology had now been trained to detect spores associated with MTTD.<\/p>\n

“We can now detect the spread of that spore across a farm and alert farmers to say, ‘Don’t prune today or maybe you need to spray something,'” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I know there’s no fungicide for this (MTTD) at the moment, but things can change quickly.”<\/p>\n

Mr Simons said the money spent by farmers on fungicides was increasing globally, with growers often spraying to stop a disease that might not be in the crop.<\/p>\n

He hoped his company’s technology could help and felt confident mango growers would get on top of the MTTD issue.<\/p>\n

“I think this battle can be won,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s going to take some time, but there’s some exceptional young farmers in the NT, and we’ve just got to better understand it (MTTD).”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 mango trees have been bulldozed in the Northern Territory as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,345732,5249,128752,8112,14942,258356,137,107452,345731,345735,8867,345736,248924,345734,337,345733,53481],"class_list":["post-711191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bioscout","tag-darwin","tag-dieback","tag-disease","tag-fruit","tag-fungal-disease","tag-health","tag-mango","tag-mango-twig-tip-dieback","tag-mttd","tag-northern-territory","tag-nt-department-of-agriculture","tag-orchards","tag-plant-health","tag-research","tag-spores","tag-yields"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}