Kiwifruit growers on alert

Reports of Psa have increased, so kiwifruit growers have been encouraged to check the weather forecast and get a protective spray on before a high-risk event hits.

Reports of Psa in Bay of Plenty orchards this spring are higher than previous years on challenged sites, industry leaders say, and nationally there has been a 4 per cent increase.
However, the numbers of positive orchards in the region "won't necessarily have changed much, as Psa has been widespread in the Bay of Plenty for some time now", said Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) communications manager Lara Harrison.

Figures to September 2015 showed 2738 orchards had been identified with Psa-V and 87per cent of New Zealand's kiwifruit hectares were on an orchard identified with Psa-V. Last year's statistics revealed 2562 orchards identified with Psa and 83 per cent of the country's kiwifruit hectares.

Cold and wet locations had accounted for the increase and last month KVH received a Psa-V positive test result on Hort16A and male vines on a kiwifruit orchard in Whangarei, which was the first confirmed case of Psa-V on an orchard in the Whangarei region.
KVH advice to all growers was to continue with a spray programme throughout spring, cut out and dispose of infection where possible and always maintain good hygiene practices, Ms Harrison said.

Bay of Plenty growers should also be on the alert over Labour Weekend.
"Historically, the Bay of Plenty has seen a high-risk weather event around Labour Weekend which can result in Psa symptom expression shortly after. Therefore growers should be keeping an eye on the forecast for heavy rain and/or other high-risk weather and get a protective spray on prior to these events."

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc president Neil Treblico said it was particularly concerning for growers who had Psa over the last two years "and are seeing more of a spread".

"So growers are seeing the symptoms of Psa and obviously they need to be out there removing Psa material and putting protective sprays on."

However, windy weather could make that difficult and stronger wind and rain enabled it to spread, which could damage young shoots and create a wound in the site for Psa to get in, he said.

But it was too early to know what type of an impact it would have after flowering and "by December we should have a better idea," he said.

"I think the majority of orchards in the Bay of Plenty will be fine, but there will be some areas that could have issues.

"The industry has recovered from Psa but it is has not gone away... and this is one of the years that it is going to be more prevalent."

Growers just needed to be vigilant, he said.