Last week Farmlands Horticulture provided an opportunity for KVH to present an extended biosecurity update their annual subtropical crops technical update in Mount Maunganui. This reflected their acknowledgement of biosecurity as a key risk to their shareholder businesses.

KVH Director Simon Cook presented on his Nuffield scholarship travels, sharing insights on the impact of citrus greening in Florida, the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) incursion in Chile and the challenging TR4 Banana Panama disease in Queensland. Simon strongly promoted the message of farm gate biosecurity as a key part of protecting horticultural investments.

Erin Lane, KVH’s Biosecurity Analyst provided updates on BMSB at the border, the ongoing fruit fly response and the industry’s “most unwanted” threat list. Discussion of industry readiness plans for Phytophthora illustrated how biosecurity threats can be vectored by people, machinery and soil, and a year in review session reflected on industry and grower reported pests and vine symptoms, some of which have led to new research projects.

The value of a collective approach to produce results was a key take-home message. KVH acknowledged the on-the-ground expertise of the Farmlands team and the ongoing support provided to growers and industry through their efforts towards lifting awareness around biosecurity on a day-to-day basis.