Recently there have been two additional lines where contamination with velvetleaf has been detected. These are Bangor DNK-16UB114 and Troya DNK-16UB112, which brings the total number of known contaminated seed lines to six:

• Kyros DNK-16UB128
• Bangor DNK-15UB079
• Bangor DNK-16UB126
• Bangor DNK-16UB114
• Feldherr DNK-16UB131
• Troya DNK-16UB112

FAR says that these are seed lines sourced from Italy and imported by the same importer. All lines were certified as meeting our biosecurity requirements by Danish authorities.

The Ministry has issued direction to seed merchants directing them to contact all companies and farmers that they sold the contaminated seed lines to, requesting they return any seed they still hold.

The official hunt for the plants this season has been completed and in most areas any plants will now have been killed by frosts. FAR suggests that growers should remove and destroy by placing in an offal pit any velvetleaf plants they find. Growers are advised to view MPI’s information sheet for full details, but basically, if they spot velvetleaf, they should:

• Photograph it;
• Record its location so they can check the spot for seedlings next year;
• Double bag seed heads; remove and destroy the whole plant;
• Report the find to MPI 0800 80 99 66.

Management plans containing general guidelines have been drawn up for properties where velvetleaf have been found and workshops are planned over the next two months to help growers with ongoing management of infested areas.

For advice or reporting suspected velvetleaf detections growers are asked to phone 0800 80 99 66.