Kiwifruit canker confirmed

Tuesday 9th November 2010

MAF Biosecurity New Zealand has confirmed the Pseudomonas syringae pv. Actinidiae (Psa) kiwifruit canker has been found in a number of vines in a Bay of Plenty orchard.

The PSA canker can be devastating for kiwifruit orchards and has been particularly damaging in Italy where New Zealand marketer Zespri has lost 50% of its gold cultivar vines.

Zespri chief executive Lian Jager said it was too early to tell whether New Zealand faced a similar risk to its $1.5 billion kiwifruit export industry and MAF investigators are undertaking further tests to determine the strain of PSA and mitigate any risks associated with its spread.

Jager said determining the strain of the disease was an important step as some are more virulent than others.

Prime Minister John Key said yesterday he had been briefed on the issue by Biosecurity Minister David Carter.

“We don’t want to jump to conclusions yet, but we’re taking the issue seriously,” Key said.

“It’s a big industry for New Zealand and we’ll just need to work our way through that over the next couple of days.”

Listed kiwifruit companies Seeka Kiwifruit and Satara Cooperative sought a trading halt on their shares on the NZX yesterday and it is believed to be one of their orchards affected. The companies are due to issue a statement on the potential impact on their businesses.

New Zealand has had no previous incidences of PSA in kiwifruit, suggesting it is likely to have arrived with imported plants.

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