Te Puke's Russell West is the first kiwifruit grower to come forward and talk about the damage Psa has done to his orchard and his livelihood.

At the Zespri organised press conference, where he spoke on Monday afternoon, he noted he will probably no longer be welcome at neighbouring properties.

Zespri's director corporate and grower services Carol Ward, Te Puke kiwifruit grower Russell West and NZKGI president Peter Ombler at a Monday afternoon media conference.

Russell says he first noticed a problem in mid-October and since then has had to cut out 4000sqm of infected vines from his orchard.

A total of 11 orchards in Te Puke are now confirmed with Psa and 14 are under restricted notice.

When Russell realised his orchard had the infection, he says he 'needed a whiskey”.

'We've seen spotting on leaves before, but we've never seen it go to dieback. There was a bit of terror.

'I'm past the initial shock. I won't be welcome at any of my neighbours' orchards anymore.

'You really just have to bite the bullet and do what you think to survive.”

Zespri's Carol Ward says the Psa strain found in Te Puke is yet to be identified.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated president Peter Ombler believes it will be another 10 days before the strain is known, but says identifying the Psa variety is not a 'major factor”.

'There's general anxiety of how bad this is going to be. We know it's reacted differently in different countries in different environments and there's a perception that we don't want to be like Italy.

'That's an understandable reaction from growers, but from everything we understand the amount that this particular bacteria is likely to vary from every country is likely to be a fraction of a degree, so the way we react to it and manage it will be way more important than the particular strain – if indeed it is a different strain.”