Mango Trees Are Dying from a Fungal Disease in the NT

ABC Rural

Topic: Plant Diseases

Wed 3 Jun 2026 at 6:31am

Up to 40,000 mango trees have been cut down in the last two years because of a disease.

In short:

A fungal disease is spreading across mango farms in the Darwin area of the NT.

The head of Australian Mangoes says the disease is a big problem for the industry.

What's next?

A research program is starting to give some answers to farmers, but more research is needed.

Between 30,000 and 40,000 mango trees have been cut down in the NT because of the disease.

The disease has affected many farms in the Greater Darwin area, and one type of mango tree is more affected than others.

It's thought that up to 90% of one type of mango farm in the Darwin area has some infection.

The head of Australian Mangoes said the disease is a serious issue for the industry.

He said it's very sad to see mango trees looking so sick.

The disease is currently only in the Greater Darwin area, but the whole industry is watching closely.

Researchers think the disease is linked to pathogens that are found in many areas.

They want to know why the disease is so bad in Darwin and how to manage it.

The NT government has given $1 million to research the disease over two years.

Some early results from the research were shared with a large group of farmers.

Mango farmers met to hear about the latest research on the disease.

What is killing mango trees?

For a long time, no one knew what was causing the disease.

Now researchers know it's a plant disease linked to a type of fungi and plant stress.

The disease affects young parts of the tree, making it thinner and reducing fruit.

If farmers find the disease early and cut out the infected parts, it can help.

The disease is getting worse in Darwin and is affecting many types of mango trees.

Researchers have tried injecting trees with special medicine to fight the disease.

The disease is hard to control once it's in a farm, and there's no one way to stop it.

Farmers were told that the disease is complex and will need many ways to manage it.

The department asked farmers to consider some things:

The disease can stop a tree from bearing fruit and eventually kill it.

Tracking spores using AI

The disease spreads through spores that are carried by wind and rain.

Many experiments are happening in the NT to understand the disease better.

One trial is using a special unit to monitor spores in the air in real-time.

The unit can do lab-grade analysis of pathogens and spores outside in the orchard.

It's automated and can tell farmers what diseases are in the air and what the risks are.

A company called BioScout has installed one of its disease detection units in a mango farm.

The AI in the technology can now detect spores linked to the disease.

The technology can detect the spread of the spore and alert farmers to take action.

There's no medicine for the disease yet, but things can change quickly.

Farmers are spending more money on medicines, but they might not be spraying the right thing.

The company hopes its technology can help, and it's confident farmers will get on top of the disease.

The battle against the disease can be won.

It will take time, but there are many young farmers in the NT who can help.

ABC Rural RoundUp newsletter

Wed 3 Jun 2026 at 6:31am

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