As the impact of New Zealand's Psa outbreak on production of licensed kiwifruit variety Hort16A – marketed as Zespri Gold – continues to be felt, growers in the country are facing a tough decision over whether or not to switch their production to new varieties, according to Auckland-based fresh produce marketer Turners & Growers.
The group has sought to draw attention to the plight of those growers currently battling the bacterial disease Psa-V, which export marketer Zespri itself admits has thrown down an enormous challenge to the entire New Zealand kiwifruit business.
According to Turners & Growers, its own proprietary yellow-fleshed kiwifruit ENZAGold is 'growing well' in the so-called Psa Red Zone near Te Puke, in New Zealand's North Island, despite apparently having its roots in the same orchard as a stricken plantation of Hort16A.
'Metres away on the same orchard a crop of ENZAGold kiwifruit is growing well with little sign of the infection that has decimated the Bay of Plenty’s gold kiwifruit crop,' said the company in a statement.
'This orchard is the first in New Zealand to show the impact of Psa-V on the two varieties growing side by side.'
T&G managing director Jeff Wesley, an empassioned backer of a recent campaign to remove Zespri's near-monopoly on kiwifruit exports from New Zealand, believes the Psa crisis could lead to a dramatic drop in Zespri Gold supply, forcing the country to concede ground to its competitors in international markets.
'When there's a void, someone will fill it,' he told journalists. 'There will be a lot of big overseas players rubbing their hands together right now, if New Zealand Gold kiwifruit is off the shelves for too long another country will fill that space and we'll be left on the sideline.'
He added: 'Every year that passes, and we are talking in years, it'll be harder for New Zealand kiwifruit to get back in.'
Wesley said he believed that allowing kiwifruit growers to graft over to a range of different varieties, which he claims show potential to be resistant to Psa-V, is the only way forward.
'We have three commercially proven varieties that have an established and fast-growing market around the world and ENZAGold will increase production this season from orchards in the Red Zone.
Premature prognosis
However, Zespri maintained that any move to abandon Hort16A – for example in favour of Gold3, a new gold variety which has shown promise in terms of its resistance to Psa-V – was premature.
David Courtney, a senior communications advisor at Zespri, said there was 'still some way to go' until any final decisions could be made, both on the future of Hort16A and on the new gold varieties.
'What is certain is talk about the end of Gold is misplaced, as there is both a viable Hort16A crop in low Psa-V infection, or no detected Psa-V infection, parts of NZ, and there are new Gold varieties showing promise in having some tolerance to Psa,' he observed.
While it is widely accepted that the future of Hort16A in the Te Puke area is limited, due to Psa-V, and while many growers in the area are considering cutting out their Hort16A either prior to, or immediately after the 2012 harvest, Zespri insists no snap decisions will be made.
'It is premature to be talking about a straight 'swap' from one Gold variety to the next as there are many market considerations that need to be taken into account to ensure large-scale production of any new Gold variety is as commercially successful as the original Gold variety,' Courtney told Eurofruit.
'As is usual for this cooperative industry, no decision will be made without extensive consultation within the industry.
'Ultimately it will be for individual growers to decide what is best for their orchard, no one can be made to either cut out their original Gold or to accept new varieties.
'Even if the new Gold varieties do prove to be a pathway out of Psa-V, it will be at least three years until the industry is again producing crop volumes at levels similar to those prior to the impact of Psa-V.'
Golden opportunity?
The huge question evidently facing kiwifruit growers in and around Te Puke is whether or not to keep faith with Zespri and its promise to find a way out of the Psa crisis, or to embark on new plantings of non-Zespri varieties in the hope that deregulation comes along in time for them to sell that new fruit.
'Decisions this winter will be critical to the survival of many kiwifruit orchardists,' said Wesley. 'If they can't graft over to new gold varieties this year, they may not survive.
'We have plenty of vine stock, which in most cases can be grafted directly onto the grower's existing rootstock and be producing within two years.'
Among the Red Zone vines spotlighted by Turners & Growers' media statement, grower David Marshall is reportedly considering his options, apparently prompted by the contrasting fortunes of his orchard's Psa-ridden Hort16A and thriving ENZAGold.
'When I look at these two varieties growing here side by side, I can see the past and what could be the future. I'm one of the lucky ones with a viable gold variety to harvest this year. Other kiwifruit orchardists in this areaneed that ray of hope.'
His production of ENZAGold is said to be increasing. In line with projections, the size of the crop in its second year is going to leap from 6,000 to 14,000 trays per hectare.
In the meantime, Marshall estimates he will lose 50 per cent or more of his Zespri Gold crop to Psa.
'It's absolutely heart-breaking to see all the hard work and investment in the Zespri Gold going to waste, but on top of that, I have all this beautiful fruit right next door and it's doing so well, but growers cannot freely export it.'
Despite Turners & Growers' clear concerns over the future of yellow-fleshed kiwifruit in Te Puke and the surrounding area, it remains to be confirmed either way whether or not Hort16A's future outside of that area is indeed at risk.
Courtney added: 'There is a view within the industry that it may need to consider proactively cutting out the original Gold variety in the Te Puke area to reduce the Psa-V threat to other kiwifruit varieties in surrounding orchards.
'In other areas of the country with low Psa-V infection, or no detected Psa-V infection, it is likely growers will continue to farm through, which will help Zespri meet the strong market demand for Gold kiwifruit.'
Video: Turners & Growers talks to kiwifruit growers in Te Puke about the Psa crisis affecting production of Hort16A…
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