A Hawai'i-based scientist says Hawai'i has strict quarantining procedures to stop the spread of a disease wiping out local native trees.
Dead and alive ōhi'a trees on Hawai’i island. Photo: Supplied / JB Friday
The fungal disease known as Rapid 'ōhiʻa Death has affected around 74,000 acres of 'ōhi'a forests in the last decade.
The fungus behind the plant disease, Ceratocystis fimbriata, causes a tree's leaves to turn black and fall off, and can kill a tree in a matter of days.
There are fears the disease could spread to other trees in the same plant family across the Pacific.
Staining typical of the disease rapid ōhi'a death. Photo: Supplied / JB Friday
Lisa Keith, who's part of the team researching the disease said there was no evidence the disease had spread further afield.
"The Hawaiian Department of Agriculture was actually very proactive in getting an inter-island quarantine in place. So any material, any 'ōhiʻa wood would need to be treated to kill the fungus or tested before it was transferred off island."
