Japanese scientists from the Ehime Research Centre in Japan visited New Zealand this week on a Zespri-hosted tour. They were interested in learning about Psa control practices, resistance testing and varietal assessment within breeding programmes, and welcomed the opportunity to build knowledge and strengthen relationships with researchers and Gold3 growers.

Technical Senior Researcher, Nobuki Miyata and Pathology Senior Researcher, Mitsuo Aono, met with KVH and members of the Zespri Innovation team to discuss research opportunities. Pollen cleaning and assessment of endophytes and other biological control methods for Psa were seen as possible areas for future collaboration.

Access to clean pollen is a challenge for Japanese growers. Around half of their orchards have no males and rely solely on artificial pollination.

Psa-V (biovar 3) was identified in Japan for the first time in 2014 and is now present in seven Japanese prefectures. Other Psa strains (biovar 1 and biovar 2) are also present in Japan and appear more virulent to Hayward varieties than Psa-V. They have also identified a new strain (biovar 5) which is of lower virulence to biovar 3, but still causes leaf spotting and flower infection.

In the January edition of the Kiwifruit Journal, Ohaeawai Nursery advertised kiwifruit plants for sale in a leaflet that contained errors. The leaflet stated that “all zones including Exclusion and Controlled” could be supplied with kiwifruit plants.

However, KVH have advised Ohaeawai Nursery that until it joins the Kiwifruit Plant Certification Scheme (KPCS) it cannot supply plants to Whangarei (an Exclusion region with a controlled area in place); and even under the KPCS, plants from Ohaeawai Nursery will not be able to be supplied to the South Island (also an Exclusion region).

Ohaeawai Nursery is in the process of joining the KPCS and is currently a KVH-registered nursery.

To date, no further Tau Flies have been detected in Auckland; the total remains as one male Tau Fly detected.

If no further flies are found within 14 days of its detection, the response will conclude and New Zealand will regain its fruit fly free status. No markets have placed restrictions on NZ products.

Field operational activities are ongoing including checking surveillance traps in Zone A and B, fruit and vegetable monitoring, amnesty bin placement and visiting retailers and other sites of interest.

Residents in the Controlled Area are asked NOT to move the following produce:

• Pumpkin
• Melon
• Cucumber
• Capsicum
• Zucchini
• Beans
• Mango
• Eggplant
• Papaya
• Passionfruit

Click here for more information on the MPI website.

October through to May is the height of cruise ship season which brings thousands of passengers into New Zealand through our Ports. This increase in visitors also increases the risk of pests and diseases entering our borders through disembarking passengers.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has done a tremendous job with cruise ship management and staff to help them educate passengers of the risk they present before they disembark. This then lessens disruption during the biosecurity screening process as they leave the ship.

An example of measures to educate passengers and reduce biosecurity risk on a recently-arrived cruise ship into Auckland and Tauranga included:

• All whole fruit removed from buffet the night before arrival and only fruit slices served
• Ship-wide biosecurity announcements broadcasted every 30 minutes
• Biosecurity messaging in ship’s newsletter and on TV screens
• Ship-side amnesty bins and extra signage in place
• 100% baggage inspection by shipping line staff prior to border inspections by MPI
• Passengers advised of delays at the next port should seizures be found
• A Quarantine Officer was available prior to disembarking to assist passengers with their questions

As a result of these measures, the more than 2600 passengers then screened by MPI had only one minor seizure amongst them.

Most growing areas are reporting reduced levels of Psa-V symptoms through January. This is expected as higher summer temperatures are less conducive to Psa-V spread.

However, wet periods add risk where Psa-V is present, particularly for young tissue. Trimming new male growth, and removing infected material from the canopy will reduce risk of Psa-V build-up.

The Psa-V Risk Model predicts risk associated with upcoming weather patterns and should be used to assess when additional protective coppers should be applied.

Be cautious of weather conditions when applying copper, as humidity can impact on drying and slow drying increases risk of phytotoxicity.  Ideally, also avoid tank mixing copper with other products.

Changes to the Kiwifruit Plant Certification Scheme (KPCS) have been implemented following consultation with industry nurseries late last year.

Click here for a one-page information sheet.

The updated KPCS documents are now available to all nurseries and growers on the KVH website.

After 1 October 2016 the scheme will be fully implemented and growers will have three options for sourcing kiwifruit rootstock and grafted plants:

• Purchase KPCS ‘target organism free’ plants – certified for movement between regions;
• Purchase KPCS ‘within region only’ plants – certified freedom from all target organisms except the common NZ strain of Psa-V and therefore movement is restricted to within the same growing region; and/or
• Grow plants for their own use – growers may produce up to 1000 plants a year for movement between their own properties within the same Psa-V region.

All nurseries intending to sell/move plants this year need to register with KVH here.

WC & VM Parker Ltd (formerly trading as Tauranga Nurseries) has joined the Kiwifruit Plant Certification Scheme (KPCS) and is now producing certified kiwifruit plants for sale. This is the second Bay of Plenty nursery to join the KPCS.

By joining the KPCS, WC & VM Parker Ltd demonstrates it is managing biosecurity risks, has been independently audited, visually inspected for target organisms and returned a non-detected result for a very comprehensive testing regime for Psa-V.

A list of all nurseries who are part of the KPCS are available on the KVH website here.