Smut: Sick to stomach

ISIS productivity board supervisor Bruce Quinn "felt sick" to his stomach when eight days ago he found sugarcane smut on a Childers property.

ISIS productivity board supervisor Bruce Quinn "felt sick" to his stomach when eight days ago he found sugarcane smut on a Childers property.

What started out as a routine plant inspection ended with vast tracts of Childers cane country under quarantine, people trawling fields in contamination suits and wide-spread anxiety as Isis and the cane industry grappled with the discovery.

"I was collecting little samples of cane to check for ratoon stunting disease but I found sugarcane smut instead," Mr Quinn said.

"I felt sick and right from that first find, I was worried about the consequences for the sugar industry." The response to Mr Quinn's discovery has been swift.

The first smut-infected stool was found last Friday on the Russo's family farm, DNA confirmation saw the property quarantined on Sunday as swarms of inspectors began surveying cane fields to determine the extent of the incursion.

"More than 50 people are already on the ground and hopefully by Monday we will have 100 inspectors trained and on the ground," Mr Quinn said.

"It's not nice work and inspectors have to wade through cane stalks and worry about wild pigs and snakes.

Originally published as Smut: Sick to stomach