Papaya disease alert

PAPAYA growers in Perak have been advised to follow good agricultural practices recommended by the state Agriculture Department to avoid the spreading of papaya dieback disease.

Department director Ariffin Abd Latif said among the practices was to use healthy papaya seeds and seedlings and to check the trees regularly.

Farmers, he added, should also destroy infected trees immediately.

“Papaya dieback disease is the most serious and can cause damage to trees and fruit yield loss of up to 100%.

“This disease is a threat to Malaysia’s papaya crop industry,” he told reporters after handing over compensation to 10 papaya growers throughout Perak whose plants were affected by the disease.

The growers each received between RM2,405 and RM25,000 for voluntarily destroying their crop.

Earlier in his speech, Kinta district agricultural officer Sharifuddin Yunos said papaya farmers could face a fine up to RM10,000 if they failed to destroy the infected trees under Section 11 of the Plant Quarantine Act.

One of the recipients Teh Choon Hui said he was reconsidering whether to plant papaya trees again after allowing the department to destroy his trees in May.

Teh, 51, said he lost almost RM300,000 when 5,000 papaya trees in his 4ha farm in Kampung Pisang, Chemor near Ipoh had to be destroyed.

He said he could get good income from selling papayas.

“During good times, I could earn RM3,000 daily,” he said.