Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officials say pollen tests show Psa has been in New Zealand since at least 2007.

Testing has found Psa has been in New Zealand for at least three years.

MAF Psa response manager David Yard says tests were carried out on pollen samples from 2010, 2009 and 2007.

The 2009/2010 samples tested positive for Psa and the 2007 sample provided a ‘weak' positive result.
'These samples predate the known application of imported pollen on New Zealand kiwifruit orchards and indicate that Psa may have been present in New Zealand for a number of years.”

David says there is no evidence to show that Psa in pollen can infect healthy kiwifruit vines.

He says MAF's initial analysis of infected orchards shows that many infected orchards have not used artificial pollination, suggesting other mechanisms of spread may be significant.