Kiwifruit Vine Health seeks the best scientific advice from around the world in its quest to find answers to managing the vine disease Psa-V, says Zespri general manager of science and innovation Dr David Tanner.

An open innovation is finding answers to Psa-V by seeking advice from around the world.

In the early days of the Psa research and development programme, a scientific oversight committee was established to support the Psa industry steering group – and it set about reviewing the scientific merits of potential Psa research projects.

The Psa industry steering group reviews research projects and recommends funding for these projects within the programme, says David, in response to recent claims by the Independent Kiwifruit Growers Association spokesperson Ross Hart that the KVH scientific oversight committee 'is neither a committee nor does it provide oversight”.

The Psa industry steering group of 12 is made up of representatives of the KVH board and stakeholders, including growers and postharvest operators; and makes recommendations on research spending.

David says soon after the committee was established it was realised the structure was cumbersome and took a lot of time to make decisions. Now the scientific oversight committee and other global experts are consulted only when the level of science, or scientific approach of a project, needs to be clarified or simplified into layman terms for the steering group.

'These changes are no reflection on the experts chosen for the oversight committee. We just needed faster decisions on science project turnaround and signoff.

'An open innovation model is increasingly popular today. Ideas and proposals are openly canvased for in areas that need specific expertise; and global providers can apply if they feel they can contribute. KVH has been open to proposals from research from both on and off-shore that can improve our understanding of how we can grow commercially with Psa,” says David.

The Zespri/KVH Research and Development programme has undertaken more than 100 projects, with providers from New Zealand and around the world, some of which are still underway.

'We are grateful for the commitment of the research community. We continue to welcome new proposals in areas that will help the industry to reach our vision of neutralising the financial impact of Psa on the kiwifruit industry,” says David.

Ross Hart also claimed there was 'no evidence of any research effort into combing the world for commercially-viable Psa-resistant or tolerant kiwifruit varieties” by KVH. This has also been refuted by David.

'We are actively searching for Psa-resistant varieties in New Zealand and around the world. We are assisting Chinese scientists to undertake bio-assays of tissues from varieties in China to identify any potential tolerance. A number of varieties in China and New Zealand appear to have some tolerance to the bacterial disease and these are being assessed further.

'It takes more than just Psa-tolerance to make a commercially-successful cultivar,” says David.