A new virus transported by an aphid is creating havoc for the strawberry industry in Nova Scotia.
The virus, carried from plant to plant by aphids, causes the plants to wither and reduces the amount of fruit they produce.
“It dwarfs the plant down, is what it does,” says strawberry farmer Curtis Millen. “The plant just kinda gets smaller and smaller and the productivity on there is very poor.”
Farmers are cutting down thousands of the plants in the Great Village area, in an attempt to destroy every trace of the aphid’s food source - a costly process for the farmers.
Two markets will be affected by the virus - plants which are mostly exported to the United States, and those that are consumed locally. These are the berries harvested in June and part of July.
The small amount of fruit the diseased plant produces is safe to eat.
Heather MacDonald comes to Nova Scotia each year from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica to work in the strawberry fields.
The loss of crops will affect her and the hundreds of other local and migrant workers in the industry.
Nova Scotia Agriculture Minister John MacDonell says there should be some compensation.
“The task for us is to convince the federal government that 40 per cent of the industry is enough to trigger a recovery payment,” says MacDonell.
New Brunswick famers are paying close attention to the situation in their province.
“There haven't been any reports on any of the farms or the nurseries that that particular disease has hit our strawberries,” says New Brunswick Agriculture Minister Mike Olscamp.
The farms around Great Village are expected to deliver a crop in mid-August. However, there will be no U-picks operating in early summer.
Full production will not resume until next year.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw
