Kauri under attack

By Germaine Greer In Current Affairs

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28th January, 2012
The initials PTA should strike dread into the hearts of all New Zealanders. They still stand for Parent Teacher Association, but everyone should be aware that since 2008 they also stand for Phytophthora taxon Agathis, a pathogen dedicated to annihilating the iconic North Island tree: the New Zealand kauri. So far no common name for the disease has stuck; some call it kauri dieback, others kauri collar rot. Even PTA is a provisional name for an organism that is still to be ratified as a separate species of Phytophthora, the plant destroyer. Every kauri ...

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