Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Honey producers concerned about myrtle rust impact on manuka

Samantha Motion
By Samantha Motion
Regional Content Leader·Bay of Plenty Times·
8 May, 2017 07:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

If you believe you have seen a myrtle rust infection, take a photo and contact MPI on 0800 80 99 66. Avoid touching the plant. Photo supplied

If you believe you have seen a myrtle rust infection, take a photo and contact MPI on 0800 80 99 66. Avoid touching the plant. Photo supplied

Bay of Plenty honey producers are taking a wait-and-see approach to news that fungal disease myrtle rust had been found in Northland.

The Ministry for Primary Industries said on Friday that the disease had been found at a plant nursery in Kerikeri - the first discovery of its kind on the New Zealand mainland.

Yesterday the ministry said rust-like symptoms had been observed at a second Kerikeri plant nursery. Initial test results were negative for the disease but could be a false negative result.

A third property is also being tested.

"We're dealing with a very fluid situation here," ministry director response Geoff Gwyn said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Given the ease with which this fungus can be spread by the wind, on contaminated footwear and clothing and on tools, our staff are following stringent protocols to avoid spreading the disease."

The disease has the potential to seriously affect manuka, pohutukawa, rata, feijoa and guava plant species, among others, the ministry said.

Scott Coulter, chief executive of Te Puke-based manuka honey producer Comvita, said last week it was too soon to speculate on the potential impact on the industry.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We understand when myrtle rust arrived in Australia in 2010 there were concerns about the impact it might have on honey production. However, to date there seems to have been no effect."

Stock in the publicly listed company fell 9.4 per cent on Friday.

Neil Mossop, the owner of Tauriko's Mossop's Honey, said there were "a lot of unknown factors" at this stage.

Nobody knew how myrtle rust would behave in the New Zealand climate and soils, or whether it would impact nectar production or new plant growth, he said.

Mr Gwyn said the disease, present in many locations around the world, was known to have different effects on plants from country to country and location to location.

A team of 70 from the ministry, Department of Conservation, AsureQuality and the Northland Regional Council were in Kerikeri over the weekend.

They are inspecting the area around the initial infection, tracing customers of the nursery, and encouraging people to be on the lookout for the disease.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty TimesUpdated

'All sorts of destruction': Tornado strikes Hamilton, thunderstorms buffet upper North Island

29 May 10:05 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Years of friendship: Trio celebrates milestone birthday together

29 May 06:24 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Dad raises thousands in 24-hour golf marathon for daughter with rare disorder

29 May 03:41 AM

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'All sorts of destruction': Tornado strikes Hamilton, thunderstorms buffet upper North Island

'All sorts of destruction': Tornado strikes Hamilton, thunderstorms buffet upper North Island

29 May 10:05 AM

Civil Defence warned Waikato weather remains 'highly dynamic'.

Years of friendship: Trio celebrates milestone birthday together

Years of friendship: Trio celebrates milestone birthday together

29 May 06:24 AM
Dad raises thousands in 24-hour golf marathon for daughter with rare disorder

Dad raises thousands in 24-hour golf marathon for daughter with rare disorder

29 May 03:41 AM
Arts festival to become annual event

Arts festival to become annual event

29 May 01:35 AM
Explore the hidden gems of NSW
sponsored

Explore the hidden gems of NSW

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP