Diseases of kava and noni, Pacific Islands

August 2011. What pests and diseases have been found in south Pacific countires asked Samoa.

Guam said that Phyllosticta morindae and Physalospora morindae reported on Morinda citrifolia; nothing is reported on Piper methysticum. THere is also a very comprehensive lists of oests and diseases of both kava and noni on the Plant Doctor website Scott Nelson, University of Hawaii. There are detailed fact sheets on kava dieback, kava root-knot nematode, noni root-knot nematode and black flag of noni, as well as many other publications profiling these two crops, and an image gallery of many minor pests and diseases. See: sites.google.com/site/scotnelson/.

SPC, the Secretariat for the Pacific Community, mentioned the organisation’s Pest List Database which should contain records for several south Pacific countries. In addition, the ACIAR projects on kava dieback in the late 80s through to 1994 resulted in a Technical Report No. 46: Kava (Piper methysticum) in the South Pacific. As for noni, contact SPC for news of recent records, including reports of a phytoplasma-associated disease.