The majority of kiwifruit orchards will survive Psa and when the recovery happens it will bring a period of strong growth and profitability, Zespri CEO Lain Jager told the 500 delegates at the company's Momentum Conference in Tauranga yesterday.

Lain says he didn't know when the industry would reach the bottom and when the recovery would begin, but the increase in infected vines due to this year's cold wet winter and spring was at the worse end of what had been predicted.

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'I am acutely aware of the hardship and pain Psa is causing so many in the industry and it is now clear some orchards will fail in the Psa environment as a consequence of location, growing practices, climate and a lack of equity.

'Let's be clear beyond doubt that Psa is front and centre for Zespri and we are committing enormous resources, as you are, to overcome it. Zespri has no other path to follow. We have no other horse in the race. We have to succeed in beating Psa.”

However, the majority of orchards will survive and the fact that Hayward green kiwifruit, grown with good management practices with a tolerance to Psa, was cause for confidence as was the speed with which the industry was learning about the disease and how to manage it.

The determination to survive will drive innovation not only through formal research and development but also the countless acts of innovation on individual orchards up and down the country. To be successful the industry needs to remain united, preserve Zespri's single point of entry marketing status and overcome the challenges of Psa, says Lain.

Once the industry recovers it will be producing 60 million trays of gold fruit, but orchardists will also be growing at least two new fruit, one a high tasting, high yielding green and the second a convenience product with an edible skin. 'These will take more than a decade to develop and a decade more to commercialise and are not the immediate answer to Psa, but they will drive growth in years to come.”

The conference, attended by growers, postharvest representatives, contractors and service providers continues at the TECT Arena today and will include a series of technical sessions on Psa, plant breeding and management practices.