Last week, at the Birchwood pack-house spring field day, growers engaged one-on-one with fellow orchardists and invited speakers on a wide range of industry relevant topics. This included a deep dive with the KVH team into New Zealand’s fruit fly and Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) surveillance programmes.

An interactive look at the bugs themselves (all dead and safely preserved in ethanol), a stroll through the elements of a fruit fly response, and an illustration on how to trap a BMSB led to valuable discussions on the cost benefit of surveillance systems and awareness of the role of our kiwifruit industry and other horticulture sectors in this space.

Thanks to those who came with great questions and to others out there looking for an interactive slot with your teams, we welcome opportunities to share this knowledge wider. Please get in touch and let us know how we can help.

A wealth of information for growers is also available from the KVH website, including our kiwifruit growers fruit fly preparedness and BMSB preparedness booklets.