Development of contingency plans for use against exotic pests and diseases of trees and timber

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Abstract
In Australia, native and introduced trees are at risk from many exotic diseases, both known and unknown. To exclude these diseases effectively, quarantine must be based on sound biological principles. The influence on quarantine of several biological factors is discussed; those considered include life cycle of the pathogen, alternate hosts, methods of introduction, the lag period between introduction of a pathogen and its detection, deficiencies in disease records, taxonomic resources for identification and others. The close relationship between quarantine measures for agricultural, horticultural, forestry and native plants, and the need for co-ordination in these fields, is stressed. Case histories of the initial detection and spread of several introduced tree diseases are analysed to show difficulties which can arise in early detection of outbreaks and proposed eradication campaigns. Whilst contingency plans for disease outbreaks must be developed, it is concluded that the cheapest and most effective control measure is disease exclusion by quarantine. In Australia more stringent quarantine measures are needed to achieve this goal.