Kiwifruit Vine Health

Grafters/Budwood

Kiwifruit Vine Health Kiwifruit Vine Health Kiwifruit Vine Health

Grafters/Budwood

Budwood (11.07.12)


Movement of plant material, including budwood and nursery stock, poses one of the greatest risks of spreading Psa-V within and between orchards, and into zones and regions where Psa-V has not been identified.

The KVH Regional Committee from each growing region has been consulted about budwood supply options for 2012. All budwood distributed by ZESPRI during 2012 has been collected from regions where Psa-V has not been detected—predominately Hawkes Bay and Gisborne.

Growers sourcing their own budwood, or planning to move budwood between regions, need to consider the protocols below.

  • In regions where Psa-V has not been detected, budwood must be locally-sourced or come from another region where Psa-V has not been detected.
  • Budwood sourced from within a KVH Priority Zone (see maps: www.kvh.org.nz/maps) must not be transferred to other Priority Zones with less infection. Nor can it be transferred to orchards or regions where Psa-V has not been detected.
  • Non-infected budwood transferred from a Psa-V infected orchard is restricted to moving only to other orchards known to be infected with Psa-V.

If you are collecting your own budwood, it is important to keep records of where the budwood is from, what the Psa-V status of the source orchard, where the budwood is placed in the orchard and any contractors involved. Good records will assist trace-back should this be required in the future.

The above protocols also apply for the movement of rootstock, nursery stock and/or graft plants. The KVH website lists nurseries that have been independently audited to ‘KVH Kiwifruit Nursery Standards and Guidelines’. See www.kvh.org.nz/indnurseries.  Conformance certificates are available from nurseries on this list.

If you are considering moving plant material between regions please contact the KVH Regional Committee so any Psa-V risk can be evaluated. Contact details for KVH’s Regional Committee can be found on the KVH website www.kvh.org.nz/contacts.

Grafting Hygiene

Ensure strict hygiene protocols are followed when grafting. Ideally, all grafting tools must be cleaned and disinfected between every vine to avoid the risk of contamination and/or disease transfer between scions and stumps.

Good hygiene practice may limit or prevent the spread of Psa-V from vine to vine, and between orchards. Refer to KVH’s one-page summaries on grafting yygiene for best-practice guidelines. www.kvh.org.nz/seasonal_advice.