The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

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 / The Country

Passionfruit growers lose up to 80% of crop to Fusarium disease

RNZ
23 Feb, 2022 11:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

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

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
A passionfruit flower. Photo / Susan Murray - RNZ

A passionfruit flower. Photo / Susan Murray - RNZ

By Sally Murphy of RNZ

Some of the country's passionfruit growers have lost up to 80 per cent of their crop due to a plant disease.

Fusarium - also known as passionfruit wilt - is a fungus that infects the plant through the roots, travels up the plant stem and cause the leaves to yellow, killing the plant.

NZ Passionfruit Growers Association president Rebekah Vlaanderen said the disease had been more prevalent in the last two years due to warmer weather.

"It was first discovered here in 2015 but we think it's probably always been here, it's pretty common overseas," Vlaanderen said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"With the warmer weather, it's really taken hold in some orchards, especially in the Bay of Plenty some have lost up to 80 per cent of their plants whereas others only have a couple of plants affected.

"It's pretty devastating for some growers because once the disease is in the soil it's hard to get rid of it - even if you plant new plants they tend to die"

There were some passionfruit varieties that were resistant to the wilting disease, she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"As an association, we are looking at different root stocks, we have ten growers in Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Taranaki trailing different plants this year so we will know within the next six to 12 months if they have worked."

Despite the disease, there would still be a good supply of passionfruit on supermarket shelves - as more would be sold on the domestic market due to the high cost of sending the fruit to overseas markets, she said.

"I think we have an even split so 50 per cent will be exported and 50 per cent will be sold on the local market just because freight costs are still quite high, it's not as bad as it has been because there's more space on planes but yeah, still a bit expensive."

- RNZ

Discover more

International demand growing for NZ wine

21 Feb 11:45 PM

Red letter day! Kiwifruit season starts with sweet milestone

23 Feb 07:00 PM

Blue Willow Blueberries' sweet succession plan

23 Feb 04:30 PM

Otago Farmers Market plans to grow the growers

22 Feb 04:30 PM
Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

From gumboots to storybooks: Farming with a twist of magic

The Country

Dave the lamb first to take up ferry's 'add a sheep' option

The Country

Regenerative farming family’s paddock to plate butchery


Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

From gumboots to storybooks: Farming with a twist of magic
The Country

From gumboots to storybooks: Farming with a twist of magic

Emma Nowell transforms life on the land into art, children's stories and games.

25 Aug 12:23 AM
Dave the lamb first to take up ferry's 'add a sheep' option
The Country

Dave the lamb first to take up ferry's 'add a sheep' option

24 Aug 11:59 PM
Regenerative farming family’s paddock to plate butchery
The Country

Regenerative farming family’s paddock to plate butchery

24 Aug 10:25 PM


Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet
Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

10 Aug 09:12 PM
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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • 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