KVH has updated the KVH Protocol: Budwood which is now available on the KVH website.

The movement of plant material such as budwood presents the greatest risk of spreading pathogens over long distances. This is relevant to Psa, as well as other known (and unknown) pathogens that may be present in the plant. The best practice to reduce spread of pathogens is to source budwood from your own orchard for use on the same orchard. However, where this is not possible, the budwood protocol outlines the requirements to prevent spread of Psa under the National Psa-V Pest Management Plan (NPMP), and recommended practices to reduce the likelihood of spreading other pathogens.

Changes to the protocol have been highlighted in yellow and include the following;

• Budwood must not be collected from material left on the ground after pruning.
  
• The addition of recommended practices to manage risk of spreading pathogens:

Monitoring vines throughout the year

Tagging symptomatic vines so they can be avoided when collecting budwood - and avoiding any adjacent vines in any direction.

Notifying KVH if a there is not an obvious cause for any unusual vine symptoms.