The kiwifruit vine canker Psa has been detected on a Hayward orchard in Waihi, Kiwifruit Vine Heath announced today.

The Psa-V positive result from Verified Lab Services is being reconfirmed by Landcare Research and is expected to take about seven days to complete.

A kiwifruit vine leaf showing signs of Psa.

KVH plans to establish a new priority zone around the orchard and extend its high risk area to include parts of Waihi.

A review of these boundaries is underway and details will be available soon.

KVH chairman John Burke was at a meeting in Katikati and could not be contacted today.

Waihi is not included in the KVH maps of high risk zones.

As part of its the prevention and containment objectives, KVH has established three strategic management ‘zones' across New Zealand according to risk of Psa-V infection:

Psa priority zone: Area/s infected with Psa-V (including a buffer) where containment strategies are prioritised.

High risk area: This area surrounds the Priority Zone and is the next most at-risk area of infection.

Medium risk area: Wider New Zealand regions subject to ongoing monitoring.

This chart is of the Psa risk zones immediately before the discovery of the vine canker in Waihi.

This spring the vine canker Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae has been found in 19 more properties in Te Puke and has spread to two vineyards in the previously-unaffected Tauranga region.
By September 8, there were 337 Psa infected orchards and 244 with the more voracious Psa V.

In the Te Puke priority zone 51 per cent of Gold and Gold organic orchards are infected.

New Zealand regulatory authorities have given approval to kiwifruit growers for the limited application of the antibacterial spray KeyStrepto on kiwifruit orchards within the Psa priority zone and surrounding Psa high risk zone in the Bay of Plenty.

Approval has been given to use KeyStrepto up to three times on kiwifruit vines before flowering occurs; which is before any fruit is on the vines.

The protocols also stipulate a controlled release and use of KeyStrepto.

KeyStrepto is one of a number of options recommended KVH's spring programme to growers to consider as part of their Psa management programme.

Individual growers will decide what mix of tools recommended in the spring programme will be best for them to use.

Previously, the New Zealand kiwifruit industry has had a ‘no-antibiotic use' policy.

However, the significant damage caused by Psa to orchards and grower livelihoods, as well as R&D test results showing the effectiveness of KeyStrepto as a spray protectant option, have forced a rethink of that policy.