We conducted a risk analysis for the release of the rust fungus Puccinia spegazzinii for the biological control of the weed Mikania micrantha.
We conducted the risk analysis in two key steps:
- Released the draft report of the risk analysis for the release of Puccinia spegazzinii for the biological control of Mikania micrantha on 13 December 2019, via Biosecurity Advice 2019-P16 for a 60 day consultation period, closing on 12 February 2020.
- Released the final report of the risk analysis, on 28 May 2020.
We undertook this risk analysis to assess the proposal by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QDAF) to release the rust fungus Puccinia spegazzinii for the biological control of Mikania micrantha, commonly known as mile-a-minute weed, in Australia.
The final report recommends that the release of P. spegazzinii should be permitted, subject to standard quarantine conditions associated with the import and release of biological control agents.
The final report determined the overall risk associated with the release of P. spegazzinii to be Negligible. A risk estimate of Negligible achieves Australia’s appropriate level of protection (ALOP).
The assessment of risk to off-target plants included consideration of the testing methodology used and the plant species test list, including non-target species tested in described experiments. The biology of P. spegazzinii and the results of non-target testing carried out overseas prior to release of the biological control agent in several other countries was also considered.
Puccinia spegazzinii has been satisfactorily demonstrated to be highly host specific to M. micrantha. The proposed fungal agent is considered to successfully complete its life cycle only on Mikania micrantha and M. cordata, and no spore-producing lesions have been observed to develop on other tested non-target plant taxa.
The application and supporting documents from QDAF that were provided to the department have been included with the final report.
The published application report may not meet Australian Government accessibility guidelines as it has not been prepared by the department.
Download application
| Document | Pages | File size |
|---|---|---|
Application for the release of Puccinia spegazzinii for the biological control of Mikania micrantha PDF |
173 | 5.6 MB |
Download final report
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, May 2020.
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for help.
Download draft report
Department of Agriculture, December 2019.
| Document | Pages | File size |
|---|---|---|
| Draft risk analysis report for the release of Puccinia spegazzinii for the biological control of Mikania micrantha PDF |
34 | 13.4 MB |
Draft risk analysis report for the release of Puccinia spegazzinii for the biological control of Mikania micrantha DOCX  |
34 | 8.3 MB |
If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for help.
Next steps
Publication of the final risk analysis report represents the end of the risk analysis process. Following the risk analysis process, if the department approves release of the biological control agent, the applicant will be contacted and informed of the release process and provided with conditions of release.
Keep Informed
Subscribe to news and notices
Subscribe to receive notices about plant biosecurity policies.
Contact us
For more information, email imports or phone 1800 900 090 (option 1, option 1).