Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry staff are scouring parts of Te Puke for kiwifruit orchards infected by Psa. SunLive observed four MAF staff in decontamination suits leaving one kiwifruit orchard near Te Puke.

MAF staff leaving an orchard near Te Puke on Tuesday.

A security guard is also patrolling the orchard, although it is unclear at this stage if it is the infected orchard under investigation.

One kiwifruit grower in the area says his 5.5ha orchard was inspected for signs of Psa on Tuesday morning but no signs of the infection were detected.

The man, who did not wish to be identified, says the eight inspectors were from an orchard management company and were assisting MAF officials inspect crops in the area.

Security stands at guard while MAF workers inspect Te Puke kiwifruit orchards.

He says each inspector was allocated an area of the orchard to assess, taking them a total of about one hour to review each.

The inspectors told him the infected orchard was within a 2km radius of his property.

'We just hope it's an isolated case. It's too early to panic but when it's time to panic it will probably be too late.”

Hundreds of kiwifruit growers will attend meetings with Zespri on Tuesday afternoon in Te Puke and Tauranga.

It follows a meeting between Zespri and kiwifruit contractors on Tuesday morning.