The vine disease Psa has been described as a "9/11" of the kiwifruit industry. Every kiwifruit grower, whether their orchard had Psa or not, had been affected by the outbreak which has irrevocably changed the industry. This is the belief of a 22-strong group of growers, consultants and representatives of post-harvest operators, who have visited the Psa-affected region of Latina in Italy. "Psa is the 9/11 of the kiwifruit industry. Nothing will ever be the same again," said Carlos Verissimo of Patamuhoe, Auckland. "Before I visited Italy, I had questioned some of the of the hygiene measures we were being asked to carry out but have changed my mind after what I've seen here," he said.
"We have to do everything we can to stop its spread," said Mr Verissimo as he and the party visited yet another Latina orchard where vines were dying from Psa. The sense of shock at the level of destruction caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa) he had seen on Italian orchards was shared by others in the party. After two days of talking to some of the worst affected growers, the party conceded New Zealand orchardists could not be complacent about Psa and think that their orchard practices and growing conditions would shield them from the worst the disease could do.
Even in the few days they had been away from New Zealand, secondary Psa-V symptoms were confirmed for the first time in a Hayward orchard in Te Puke and preliminary tests showed the most virulent form of the disease was also probably present in orchards in Paengaroa, Pongakawa South and Gisborne and Nuhaka (between Gisborne and Napier). That news will only increase the uncertainty about the future which has seen orchard values drop and sales slow dramatically, trends unlikely to reverse until solutions are found to manage the disease. Mark Ericksen, a kiwifruit grower of Hawke's Bay, who worked in Latina four years ago helping establish 300ha of Zespri Gold kiwifruit orchards, was dismayed at what he saw and how hard the loss of vines and income was on growers.
"New Zealand growers have got to take this seriously. There is too much at stake," he said. Many of the growers admitted they had thought growing conditions on the heavy, former wet-land soils of Latina, the management practices of Italian growers, plus the fragmented nature of the industry may have made their vines more susceptible to Psa. Elaine Fisher is visiting Italy as a guest of Zespri and Kiwifruit Vine Health.
"We have to do everything we can to stop its spread," said Mr Verissimo as he and the party visited yet another Latina orchard where vines were dying from Psa. The sense of shock at the level of destruction caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa) he had seen on Italian orchards was shared by others in the party. After two days of talking to some of the worst affected growers, the party conceded New Zealand orchardists could not be complacent about Psa and think that their orchard practices and growing conditions would shield them from the worst the disease could do.
Even in the few days they had been away from New Zealand, secondary Psa-V symptoms were confirmed for the first time in a Hayward orchard in Te Puke and preliminary tests showed the most virulent form of the disease was also probably present in orchards in Paengaroa, Pongakawa South and Gisborne and Nuhaka (between Gisborne and Napier). That news will only increase the uncertainty about the future which has seen orchard values drop and sales slow dramatically, trends unlikely to reverse until solutions are found to manage the disease. Mark Ericksen, a kiwifruit grower of Hawke's Bay, who worked in Latina four years ago helping establish 300ha of Zespri Gold kiwifruit orchards, was dismayed at what he saw and how hard the loss of vines and income was on growers.
"New Zealand growers have got to take this seriously. There is too much at stake," he said. Many of the growers admitted they had thought growing conditions on the heavy, former wet-land soils of Latina, the management practices of Italian growers, plus the fragmented nature of the industry may have made their vines more susceptible to Psa. Elaine Fisher is visiting Italy as a guest of Zespri and Kiwifruit Vine Health.
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