Up to a third of the nation's $1 billion kiwifruit export revenue could be affected if the vine-killing bacteria found on vines in a Bay of Plenty kiwifruit turns out to be a virulent strain which rips through the nation's premium kiwifruit cultivar, Zesp
Up to a third of the nation's $1 billion kiwifruit export revenue could be affected if the vine-killing bacteria found on vines in a Bay of Plenty kiwifruit turns out to be a virulent strain which rips through the nation's premium kiwifruit cultivar, Zespri's Hort16a gold kiwifruit.
"Control strategies may take into consideration the need to remove and destroy the infected vines," a Zespri spokeswoman told NZPA.
Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (PSA) bacteria was last night confirmed by biosecurity officials to have infected vines in the orchard – and now scientists are rushing to pin down whether it is a virulent strain from Italy, or one of the forms found in Korea or Japan, which do not seem to be such a problem for the profitable gold strain.
A strain of the bacteria has gutted some Italian orchards growing gold cultivars -- including Zespri's -- and New Zealand scientists have suggested a colder northern hemisphere winter than normal, combined with a wetter spring than usual, triggered a surge in infections.
First described in Japanese kiwifruit orchards in 1989, different forms of the canker spread first to Korea and then to northern Italy in 1992, and by 2009 it had infected 25 percent of the Zespri gold vines being grown there.
Opotiki Packing and Coolstorage Ltd (Opac) told its shareholders in April the canker threatened to financially wipe out its 84ha gold kiwifruit orchard in the Lazio region of Italy. Opac said its Newgold orchard -- valued at $7.16 million in December 2008 and producing a million trays a year -- should be written off.
The gold vines being hit by the bacteria's New Zealand incursion are the most profitable cultivar in an industry where some growers complain they have difficulty making a living from conventionally-grown "green" kiwifruit because of the comparatively low prices those fetch.
Orchardists who last year received $525 million for their 70 million trays of green kiwifruit were paid $269 million by Zespri for just 22 million trays of the gold kiwifruit.
The disease will reduce crop volumes and cause market-access restrictions that could affect growers' returns, kiwifruit company Satara Co-operative Group Ltd said last night. Satara and Seeka Kiwifruit Industries Ltd yesterday both temporarily suspended share trading before announcement of the incursion, which was first recognised last Friday.
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exports could be at risk, according to Zespri chief executive Lain Jager, who said the exporter is working with biosecurity staff and scientists on industry-wide monitoring to gauge the spread of the bacteria, support MAF's response team, and monitor market reaction.
One difficulty was the possibility that the bacterial disease could be spread by bees being put into orchards to pollinate crops -- and Mr Jager said pollination of the green crop is about to start.
A strain of the bacteria wiped out 50 percent of the "gold" kiwifruit vines in one Italian region last season.
If that happened in New Zealand, the potential cost could be "hundreds of millions of dollars".
And some countries, such as China -- which takes 7% of the NZ exports -- could restrict access to their market on grounds of disease risk. One option might be to export to those countries from "disease-free" zones, such as Kerikeri or Nelson.
