Kiwifruit Vine Health announced yesterday that the Psa-V priority zone in the Waihi area has been extended and now includes the Waihi Beach area.

This follows the identification of Psa-V on a kiwifruit orchard in the beach area earlier this week. 73% of New Zealand’s kiwifruit hectares are now in a Priority Zone,  most are in the Te Puke region.

Monitoring is intensifying in kiwifruit orchards around the country as growers take all necessary steps to protect their orchards.

And while the vine-killing disease runs rampant through Te Puke, Nelson growers are tightening their surveillance.

Nelson orchards seemed to have escaped the disease so far but even so growers have come up with a voluntary ban on all plant budwood and pollen, stipulating the use of local materials only.

And random checks will now be made on gold kiwifruit orchards, to satisfy the local KVH committee that growers are getting things right.

KVH currently relies on the goodwill of growers to conduct risk management controls and is currently developing a strategy which will give the organization greater powers of control and management, as well as the authority to deal with breaches under the Biosecurity Act.