After discovering myrtle rust on a shrub in her garden, one Te Puke resident wants more to be done to to let the public know about the fungus.
The resident, who does not wish to be named, says she was pretty sure it was myrtle rust when she saw small yellow dots on the leaves of a Lophomyrtus [ramarama tree].
"I was fairly sure when saw it - I've seen the warnings of it and I've gardened for a long time. I looked at it on the tree and I thought, yeah. [The dots] were on the leaves first, then under the leaves, then it spread to the stalks - it's only on the new growth."
She reported her suspicions to the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) but was unable to immediately send a photograph for verification. The shrub has now been removed and there are restrictions on what can be taken from the property.
MPI incident controller, myrtle rust response, David Yard, says any delay did not compromise the response of management of the site.