Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) has received a Psa-V positive test result on Hort16A and male vines on a kiwifruit orchard in New Zealand’s Whangarei region, the first confirmed case of Psa-V on an orchard in the region.
All growers in the region have been informed of the situation by KVH and advised of best practices going forward. KVH stated that it would hold a meeting for Whangarei growers next week and would carry out extensive monitoring in the region at the weekend. There are 49 orchards in the Whangarei region totalling around 144ha.
Chief executive Barry O’Neil expressed his disappointment at the new find. “Whangarei growers and the regional committee have done a fantastic job at keeping Psa-V out of the region for more than four years,” he said. “The fact Whangarei is located between two positive regions, and is only now being confirmed with Psa-V, is testament to the highly proactive approach they have taken over the last few years.
“However, it has been a cold, wet winter, and spring is always a nervous wait as we start to see what effect the winter has had on orchards. This spring, KVH has had reports of more widespread infection in all positive regions – worse than the last couple of years – so this result in Whangarei is not entirely unexpected.”
O’Neil pointed out that the disease had probably been in the area for some time, based on the symptoms of dieback and exudate. “Every grower in every region should be proactively monitoring their vines and maintaining a robust spray programme this spring to protect their orchards as much as possible,” he advised.
