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

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.

"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.

"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