Agriculture Minister David Carter has visited kiwifruit growers and industry leaders in the Bay of Plenty as two more orchards are sealed off under threat of the disease PSA.
One of the orchards is next door to the one in Te Puke where PSA – also known as kiwifruit canker – was first identified. The third is close by.
It’s yet to be confirmed that the disease has spread.
Zespri manager Carol Ward says MAF officials sealed the orchards off as a precaution.
“This second orchard hasn’t been confirmed positively as PSA, but there’s a high degree of probability and MAF have considered it prudent to also place that under restrictive notice. So it is highly likely that it is more than one orchard, but beyond that, we just don’t know.”
David Carter says the key message for growers now is good orchard hygiene.
“What we’re also looking at is a very responsible orchardist who’s already initiated some precautionary measures like the disinfecting of the feet of anybody who arrives on the property, the disinfecting of any of the tools, the loppers, the secateurs, and equipment like that that’s used on the orchard in normal day-to-day management.”
Mr Carter says the results of tests on samples from the latest orchards will be known by Thursday.
“There has now been a third property quarantined. It is 10kms away from the original two properties that was quarantined. We only have a positive confirmation of PSA on one of those three properties, but by the end of the say I’d expect to either have a positive or negative PSA reading on the other two properties that have been quarantined.”
The discovery of the canker has sent shockwaves through the kiwifruit industry and led post-harvest companies Seeka and Satara to suspend trading on Monday.
Satara Managing Director Tom Wilson says the outbreak has shaken the entire industry.
“The reality is that you’ve got a $3b plus investment in this industry on-orchard, and that doesn’t go away no matter what the tests say.
"My understanding of the bacteria is that continuing to grow fruit on orchards has got to remain the prime focus for all the orchardists.”
