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Wild kiwifruit

Wild kiwifruit

KVH works collaboratively with regional councils and landowners to manage wild kiwifruit populations and unmanaged orchards to reduce biosecurity risk to the New Zealand kiwifruit industry. 

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Wild kiwifruit

In October 2020, KVH and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) signed an agreement to continue to work together to manage this pest plant over the next 10 years. Under the new agreement, KVH will manage the administration involved in the running of the programme while also contributing $150,000 annually towards control costs and surveillance costs. BOPRC will contribute $100,000 per annum and support KVH in gathering landowner contributions.

KVH has also partnered with Zespri and the Kiwifruit Breeding Centre. Through their significant contributions, the programme has been able to expand and control wild kiwifruit infestations previously left unchecked.

If you know the location of any unrecorded wild kiwifruit infestations, contact your local regional council or unitary authority with details so the infestation can be assessed and programmed for control.

Why control the wild population? The reason wild kiwifruit vines are a biosecurity risk to New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry is that they act as a vector for Psa and other kiwifruit pests and diseases. The wild population can act as a reservoir for biosecurity threats, undermining eradication, and control efforts on commercially productive vines.

They are also a threat to our environment. Wild kiwifruit vines are vigorous climbers, and if left uncontrolled, it can form dense heavy blankets of vines that strangle trees, causing them to die or collapse. Vines can also smother forestry plantations and New Zealand’s native bush.


How to prevent wild kiwifruit establishing

GROWERS

Remove unpicked fruit from vines and mulch as soon as possible. This prevents mass feeding by birds and allows the fruit to compost as quickly as possible.

POST-HARVEST OPERATORS

Cover bins of reject fruit to prevent birds feeding on ripening fruit.

FARMERS

Cover stockpiles of fruit with shade cloth, windbreak netting or something similar to prevent birds from getting to any fruit. Feed out only what will be eaten by stock at one time to prevent birds from eating leftovers.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

Be very careful with the disposal of kiwifruit, particularly while out in the bush.

KILL WILD KIWIFRUIT PLANTS

Cut vines at ground level. Apply Vigilant Gel® herbicide to the top and sides of the cut stump or any exposed roots. Ring-bark stumps or large roots with a machete or pruning saw to assist absorption of the herbicide gel. Carefully trace all vine stems to find where they may have taken root. Cut any rooted stems at ground level and apply Vigilant Gel®. Never apply Vigilant Gel to stumps within a kiwifruit orchard. For controlling kiwifruit stumps within an orchard, please refer here.

SEEN SOMETHING UNUSUAL?

KVH investigates reports of unusual symptoms to identify and manage any biosecurity risks.

Make A report

LATEST NEWS

02 Dec 2024

KVH Biosecurity Act draft submission - available now

In the last Bulletin we mentioned the consultation underway on several proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act 1993. Our draft submission is now available to view here. We welcome the opportunity for further discussion so please do get in touch at info@kvh.org.nz by 13 December when the submission is due if you have questions. The consultation and our submission have been part of our presentation at the recent Grower Roadshows too, and we thank those of you who have already spoken with us about it. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is leading this process and our comprehensive submission on behalf of the kiwifruit industry will address most of the proposed changes, as these have a bearing on how the biosecurity system will operate in the future. Some of the proposals are significant to our sector, particularly those in the sections about funding and compensation, readiness and response, and long-term management.

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02 Dec 2024

Fun Fact

The holidays are almost here and with them come extra biosecurity risks posed by unpacking Christmas goodies and luggage. Remember, and be sure to remind family and friends, to be on the lookout for unwanted guests of the “bug” kind and carefully unpack and check any packages or bags from overseas for hitchhiking pests. Open parcels in a closed room and if you find anything unusual, catch it, photograph it, and report it. Looking across previous years it is estimated that around 3,400 items of undeclared fresh produce will be seized from passengers over the Christmas period alone! Kiwifruit growers and other passengers associated with primary sectors travelling over the Christmas and New Year period may find they experience more interventions when returning to New Zealand. This is because they potentially pose a greater biosecurity risk based on the likelihood they may have visited offshore orchards and farms during their travels. KVH has produced a useful one-page poster outlining everything growers can do to help reduce biosecurity risk and what you can expect through border control when returning home.

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02 Dec 2024

Sample testing over the holidays

With the upcoming Christmas holiday period, the last date for Hill Labs Psa testing will be Tuesday 24 December 2024. The last date for Unusual Symptom sample processing at Plant Diagnostics will be Friday 20 December (for already received samples). Services will resume at both labs from Monday 6 January 2025. Please contact KVH at info@kvh.org.nz if urgent testing is potentially required during the Christmas closure.

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