Eight Central Otago orchards affected by biosecurity scare

Alan Pollard.

Eight Central Otago stonefruit orchardists have been affected by a biosecurity scare involving imported plantings, but industry figures say it is too soon to estimate the cost of the episode.

It involves apple and stonefruit plant material imported from Clean Plant Centre Northwest in Washington State, the United States, since June 2012.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) announced on Tuesday significant record keeping failures at the facility had been found and it could not be certain imported plant material was free of pests and diseases.

About 47,500 plants and small trees at 32 nurseries, importers and growers nationally have been affected.

No major pests or diseases had been found on affected apple plant material, but more testing was required for lower-risk apple pests and diseases, and for affected stonefruit material, an MPI statement said.

No sign of disease in Central Otago has been announced.

Pipfruit New Zealand chief executive Alan Pollard said he did not yet know how many affected apple trees were in Central Otago.

Affected apple plantings in New Zealand are able to be contained and monitored, but affected stonefruit plantings must be destroyed, unless they can be contained in suitable facilities.

This would be difficult, and meant the affected stonefruit material in Central Otago would most likely need destroyed, Summerfruit New Zealand chief executive Marie Dawkins said.

Most of the affected trees were in the North Island, but eight orchards in Central Otago had been affected, Ms Dawkins said.

Of the eight orchards, seven had only ''test trees'' for new varieties, but one had significant plantings of a new variety and would need to destroy those trees.

''That will be a major blow to that grower,'' Ms Dawkins said.

She did not want to name the Central Otago growers or say how many trees were affected in Central Otago, and said it was not possible to estimate the financial loss suffered by the grower with significant plantings, or the cost to the broader Central Otago fruit industry.

The major loss would be one of potential earnings from the new varieties that were being tested, Ms Dawkins said.

''Our [Summerfruit New Zealand] growth plan is based on regular new material, so we've lost the opportunity to build on potential new varieties. It won't stop the industry from growing, but it is a blow to the industry.''

Summerfruit New Zealand vice-chairman Roger Brownlie said growers were frustrated at the work involved to destroy trees, but accepted the need to rule out any biosecurity risk.

But he also said ''we're [orchardists] a resilient lot. This will just be a blip, hopefully''.

MPI said it would supervise any containment process and destruction of plant material, and would ''consider claims for the direct cost of lost plant material''.

pam.jones@odt.co.nz