Seeka Kiwifruit Industries has revealed that only a small portion of its overall kiwifruit supply area has been impacted by the aggressive, Italian strain of the Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa) vine infection.
According to Michael Franks, chief executive of the New Zealand-based kiwifruit packer, nine of the group's orchards covering some 88ha have been confirmed with the Italian Psa infection – 3 per cent of its total supply area, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Mr Franks told the publication that none of Seeka's long-term lease orchards were located in the current Italian isolate zone.
'We are working with Kiwifruit Vine Health Authority to implement an aggressive containment strategy in response to the detection of the Italian isolate on our suppliers' orchards,' he explained. 'This strategy essentially sees an ongoing detection process, and vines or orchard removal where the Italian isolate of Psa is confirmed, with a commensurate compensation package paid to the orchardist.'
Orchards infected with the Italian isolate are concentrated east of Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty, the site of the original Psa detection in November last year.
Of the 126 orchards currently testing positive for Psa, at least 25 are reportedly infected by the Italian strain of the disease, which wreaked havoc on that country’s kiwifruit industry last year.
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