ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The Ministry of Agriculture through the Indonesian Quarantine Agency (Barantin) destroyed thousands of banana seedlings that were positively infected with a disease from the Philippines.
“This destruction was carried out in the context of protecting agricultural biological resources. The imported banana seeds were entered legally but after a quarantine inspection they were positive for carrying dangerous bacteria,” said Head of Barantin Sahat M Panggabean, Saturday (11/11/2023).
Sahat explained that as many as 20,000 banana seeds entering from the Philippines had been accompanied by a quarantine certificate from that country.
However, from the examination carried out when entering Indonesia, it was found to be positively infected with the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv syringae.
“This bacteria is included in the dangerous group and does not yet exist in Indonesia. This bacteria is called quarantine plant pest organism category A1, as regulated in Minister of Agriculture Regulation Number 25 of 2020 concerning Types of Quarantine Plant Pest Organisms,” explained Sahat.
Sahat added that his party also carried out quarantine treatment measures to eliminate this dangerous bacteria before it was destroyed.
“Next, we will send a notification of non-compliance (NNC) to the country of origin, so that the same thing doesn’t happen in the future,” said Sahat.
This NNC is intended as a form of strong notification from the Indonesian government regarding the quality of the quarantine authority’s guarantee of the country of origin regarding the fulfillment of the health aspects of the commodities sent.
The bacteria tested using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method by Quarantine officials are pathogens of the Gram-negative bacteria group which has a very wide host range, reaching 87 types of plants. This bacteria can attack chilies, oranges, rice, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes.
“You can imagine that if this bacterium managed to enter Indonesian territory, the types of plants that could become its hosts would become threatened,” concluded Sahat. (AT Network)
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