Good management of Psa-V through autumn helps minimise disease levels seen in the following spring.

• Maintain a protective spray programme throughout autumn.
• Ensure cover is in place prior to high-risk weather or as soon as possible following weather events.
• Immediately postharvest, apply copper and Actigard™ to protect fruit stalks. Consider using adjuvants to improve spray coverage at this time. If canopy condition allows, reapply Actigard™ three weeks later to extend protection into the leaf-fall period. A maximum of four Actigard™ applications (including soil applied sprays) are allowed per season.
• Avoid spray drift of postharvest sprays onto unharvested fruit.  Spray residues limit market access for fruit and can impact customer confidence. Report any problems to your exporter.  Thoroughly clean spray tanks to prevent risk of residues.

KVH has made some improvements to the R&D section of the website to make it much more user-friendly. Growers still need to be logged in to view the full R&D section.

The main changes:

• The latest R&D news and reports will appear as blogs on the R&D landing page.
• When logged in to the website, four main sections will become visible:
  • Recent R&D (this is the landing page outlined above)
  • Research Projects and Reports
  • Product Testing Results
  • About R&D
    
• The Research Projects and Reports page is now organised into categories more relevant to growers. You’ll note some projects/reports fall under more than one category.
• The search engine for ‘research projects and reports’ has been improved as each document is linked to key search words.
• The ‘Product Testing Results’ are all loaded on one page in alphabetical order.

Let us know your feedback on the new site – email KVH

The 2015 Psa-V Seasonal Management Guide is now available on the KVH website – click here.

This new guide provides a basis for growers to build their individual Psa-V Orchard Management Plans for the coming season.

The 2015 guide incorporates year-round advice for managing Psa-V. Previous Seasonal Management Guides have been split into Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer seasons.

The response to the Queensland Fruit Fly outbreak in Auckland has now been operating for more than a month and is likely to continue for many more.

Field work, including intensive trapping, baiting and fruit collection and sampling also continue.

To date, 14 adult fruit flies had been found within the controlled area; and fruit fly larvae had been found in five separate properties within very close proximity of each other.

The infected properties continue to receive intensive ground treatment for fruit fly, including targeted foliage spraying and the use of insecticide granules. The ground surrounding the trees where larvae were found has been thoroughly sprayed and sealed with a polythene plastic cover (pictured above).

Any future developments will be communicated through the KVH website.

Ceratocystis fimbriata is a fungal pathogen that is causing significant damage to kiwifruit orchards in Brazil, with some growers reporting 50% vine loss over the past five years.

The sudden appearance of this pathogen in kiwifruit in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil is considered particularly alarming as kiwifruit is highly susceptible and the production impacts of the pathogen threaten the viability of this industry in Brazil. There have been no reports of impacts to kiwifruit from this pathogen outside of Brazil to date.

Planned research
New Zealand does have a strain of the C. fimbriata complex, causing black rot on kumara. Research is planned to determine if this strain is pathogenic to kiwifruit.

Control options against C. fimbriata have limited effectiveness and developing resistant or more tolerant cultivars is considered the best course of action to prepare for this pathogen.

A two year research project is being undertaken that will screen a number of C. fimbriata isolates, including the NZ and Brazilian isolates, for pathogenicity against a number of kiwifruit cultivars. This will allow the identification of:

1. Isolates of C. fimbriata that are pathogenic to kiwifruit
2. Identification of tolerant / resistant cultivars or rootstocks.

Components of the research will be done offshore, however cultivar testing will require the Brazilian isolates to be imported into a New Zealand containment facility. Details on how the pathogen will be contained are provided in the document: Physical containment of plant pathogens.

Please see the KVH website for:

• A summary of the proposed research and deliverables to the industry
• A paper explaining the physical containment measures that will be used to contain the pathogen for research purposes

Situation update

• Over the weekend (7/8 March), MPI’s field laboratory detected Queensland fruit fly larvae in windfall fruit collected from two properties nearby to the original affected property.
• There are now a total of four properties in very close proximity that are receiving ground treatment for fruit fly. This includes targeted ground spraying and use of insecticide granules.
• No adult flies were detected over the weekend (7/8 March) and the total number of adult Queensland fruit flies captured in Auckland remains at 14.
• The situation remains that MPI is working to eradicate a localised population of fruit fly.
• A response end date to the operation cannot be confirmed, but it is expected to take several months.
• Click here to view MPI’s information on the website.

Click here for the updated statistics.

The ERZ is a defined zone from which host material intended for export cannot be harvested, packed or stored. MPI have defined a compulsory ERZ which is 3.5 km radius from each detection site.

• Click here to view MPI’s ERZ map.

All host material transiting the MPI defined ERZ must meet the pest proofing requirements to be eligible for export certification.  MPI Plant Exports have developed pest proofing requirements and procedures which are available on the MPI website – click here.
 

Jan Purdie, Apata

Jan was deployed through KiwiNet and spent five days in the response operations in Grey Lynn.

Role: Surveillance. The surveillance team spends their day walking from house to house identifying and recording host plants on properties and collecting information about fruit and vegetable movements.

Within hours of receiving a call requesting help with the fruit fly response, Jan arrived at the Whenuapai Airbase in northwest Auckland for her first briefing.

Jan spent the next five days in Zone B as part of the surveillance team. This meant going from door to door in the controlled area talking to residents and asking them a series of questions about how they were disposing their fruit waste, whether or not they kept compost, checking properties for host plants and asking them about their recent activities around fruit and vegetable movements.

This information was recorded on manual forms, returned to HQ and later used by the fruit collection and tracing teams.

Dealing with so many people each day from very diverse cultures and backgrounds meant the surveillance people had to have good face to face communication and people skills.

Jan said local residents were very receptive and showed a lot of concern about fruit fly being discovered in their area. “Most residents were always happy to help and we met some truly wonderful people in the area. The locals and the people working in the response were doing all they could to help eradicate this fruit fly.”

A sailor who appeared in the Kaikohe District on 17 February has become the first person convicted for deliberately concealing biosecurity goods on a visiting yacht.

• Click here to read the full media release on the MPI website.

Lisa Ferguson, Trevelyan’s Pack and Cool

Lisa was contacted through KiwiNet to assist with the response operations and spent seven days in the field.

Role: Fruit fly trapper and approved handler of DDVP, the insecticide used in these traps. The core role of a fruit fly trapper is to establish and service the traps within the Controlled Area. Servicing includes making sure all aspects of the trap are functioning properly.

Every day was an early start – on the road by 5.45am to beat the Auckland traffic into HQ from accommodation at Devonport Naval Base. On arrival breakfast was provided before a daily briefing at 7.30am.

Trapping is a huge task. Around 335 traps in Zone A are checked daily; and more than 730 traps in Zone B and the high-risk area outside of Zone B are checked every three days. Around 20 trappers are deployed, each monitoring 60-70 traps per day. Traps are checked, serviced and scanned using an electronic device, which then transmits accurate data back to HQ for analysis.

All trap checks must be completed before retiring for the evening, so this often meant spending time helping others complete their duties.

Lisa was inspired by the comradery and team culture during the response. “So many people from all over New Zealand were deployed with only a few hours’ notice. Their work ethic, energy and compassion were very inspiring. The operation is an enormous logistical task and all New Zealanders should be very proud of what MPI have accomplished so far and are continuing to do so.”
 

The total number of fruit flies found stands at 13. Two further male fruit flies were trapped within the controlled area over the last two days.  There is no new evidence to suggest the situation is anything more than a localised population of fruit fly that can be eradicated.

Field work continues with a focus on the surveillance trapping system. Field teams are also applying insecticide bait throughout the Controlled Area, informing residents about the controls and inspecting gardens and rubbish bins.

• Click here to view KVH’s frequently asked questions.
• Click here for MPI’s frequently asked questions.