Next in our series of team member introductions is Kerry O’Neil, our Monitoring & Compliance Officer. We started this series late last year to share more about the roles we have, and how each of us interact with you, our readers, and growers, in our day-to-day activities. I’ve been with KVH since December 2021 and day-to-day you’ll see me working with various people and groups across the industry to keep raising the bar and improve our biosecurity practices, organising various monitoring programmes, developing protocols, and ensuring compliance standards are met, so that we all continue managing biosecurity risks. I also audit pack-houses, kiwifruit processors, budwood suppliers, and pollen mills, and try to streamline these processes to keep them as quick and easy as possible for you. I quite enjoy helping nurseries wanting to join the Kiwifruit Plant Certification Scheme (KPCS) – especially working on their manuals, and organising sampling, testing, and external auditing. Before joining KVH, I worked at the Tauranga City Council in regulation and compliance, specifically with food and health registrations and alcohol licensing. Outside of work, I find it hard to say no to a round of golf. I travel a lot so next time I’m in your region I’d love to hear any local recommendations.

We look forward to seeing you at the upcoming Zespri Grower Roadshows. We’ll be speaking at each location, providing an update on the fruit fly response and industry biosecurity surveillance systems, including recent unusual symptom reports, alongside presentations from Zespri and NZKGI. The roadshows run 17 – 27 February and will all be held in person, with an option to join the Te Puke event online. Register here.

What am I? This week we have an image for you – can you guess the object? Our industry-led exotic stink bug surveillance system in the Bay of Plenty has kicked off again this year, thanks to industry organisations working alongside us, and as well as the standard sticky pheromone traps that have been used in previous years, some of the sites now also include one of these – an aerodynamic trap. These Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) traps are shaped like a windvane which helps the pheromone travel further, attracting more stink bugs to the area. Originally trialled in kiwifruit in Italy through co-funding from the Zespri Biosecurity Innovation portfolio, it was exciting to see this research being implemented last year on a field visit with other members of the BMSB Council, and now we’ve got eight of our own as part of this year’s industry surveillance network at 14 sites – mainly pack-houses - from Mount Maunganui and Te Puke to Te Puna and Katikati. Our surveillance enhances nationwide efforts while raising awareness of stink bugs across the kiwifruit industry and providing practical, tangible monitoring activities. Importantly, it also builds capability within the industry for any stink bug response, whether that be specifically dedicated to kiwifruit or to assist in joint efforts involving other industries. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) oversees the national BMSB surveillance programme, which operates on an entry risk basis, using lure traps and vegetation searches on a fortnightly basis during the high-risk season of September through to the end April each year. Most trapping efforts are concentrated in the main centres, primarily Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. Read more about BMSB, including latest detection data, here.

No news is good news regarding the Oriental fruit fly response in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe. There have not been any new finds as response teams continue checking traps, collecting waste from bins in the area for safe disposal, and inspecting fruit through the mobile laboratory. Kiwifruit industry personnel (including KVH, Punchbowl, and APAC) are assisting with fruit collection within the restriction zones, which are expected to be in place until mid-February – a precautionary approach, providing extra confidence as it allows for a full life cycle of the fly. More information about the response is available on our website.

Moth plant is one of the most problematic weeds of North Island kiwifruit orchards and the pods are beginning to develop - they are currently flowering in most locations. Growers should start the first round of control work now to avoid the need to pull masses of vines and pods out of shelter belts. Seedlings will be establishing beneath shelter belts, ready to climb into trees before flowering and forming their distinctive seed pods. A skilfully used sharp hoe will kill emergent seedlings and is an effective organic control method. Alternatively, glyphosate at one part to 100 parts water is effective on emergent seedlings. Apply under low pressure ensuring no spray drift. Moth plant is poisonous – the milky white sap can cause dermatitis so wear gloves and protective clothing when handling it. Click here for more information about identifying moth plant or contact KVH or your regional council. Image below: Moth plant (pictured in a Cryptomeria shelter belt) poses a threat to New Zealand’s native trees and is unwelcome in kiwifruit orchards.

We had an email from Kale Print recently – whom we use for production of many of our awareness materials – about a suspect exotic stink bug … “Hey there, I just found this guy walking along the floor in our Kale office. What do I do? Is he a baddie or a goodie? Looks kind of like the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) in the calendar we print for your growers but I’m not sure.” The bug (pictured – or click here to enlarge) turned out to be a common brown soldier bug, present in New Zealand and although very similar looking to the BMSB, it’s identifiable because of the yellow crescent moon on its back. It’s great that we have yet another example of people and businesses that operate around the kiwifruit growing community keeping an eye out and knowing that if they spot anything unusual and potentially a threat, to catch it, take a photo, and report it.