A Hayward green kiwifruit orchard south of Waihi township, close to the key growing region of Waikato, has been infected by Psa, according to Stuff.co.nz.
New Zealand kiwifruit growers in Te Puke, 70km from Waihi, have been fighting the disease since November last year, but Richard Glenn, a coordinator for Kiwifruit Vine Health, said growers in Waikato were 'rocked' by the discovery last week.
Waikato has more than 100 kiwifruit orchards and a NZ$1.5bn (€903m) export industry.
The region's growers have responded with various biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of vine contamination and Glenn believes that Waikato has one advantage over Te Puke in the fight against the disease: its orchards are scattered over a wider area.
In Te Puke, the Psa outbreak is now considered a 'crisis' by New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers president Peter Ombler, with 259 orchards infected with the particularly virulent Psa-V strain.
Zespri, meanwhile, reports that Psa-V infections are being found in 17 Te Puke orchards a week.
Across the country, 353 orchards (10.6 per cent of the total) have tested positive for a strain of Psa.
