KVH ran its regular KiwiNet workshop recently, with around 40 people from across the kiwifruit industry coming together for the day’s presentations.

This first KiwiNet workshop of 2021 included a special presentation from ‘the pea weevil lady’ Karen Williams, who talked about the pea weevil eradication in the lower North Island. Karen is a Carterton pea grower and a member of the Pea Weevil Governance Group, who were advisors during the four year never-done-before response. Her presentation focused on the importance of community engagement and collaboration in a response and how elements within ‘true partnership’ (such as acting quickly, face-to-face, and trusting others to share your messaging) contribute to successful biosecurity responses.

Former Horticulture NZ Chief Executive Mike Chapman offered his insights on the future of biosecurity, successes and changes he has seen in the kiwifruit industry since the early days of the Psa incursion, and the challenges to come - particularly in terms of ensuring KVH continues to be a leading biosecurity organisation and how other industries could develop in similar ways.

Sophie Badland from NZ Wine provided a brief update on how the wine industry – and others, like KVH - are preparing for Xylella Fastidiosa by developing readiness plans and working with/learning from affected areas overseas such as California and parts of Italy.

There was also a short update from Plant & Food Research on Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) surveillance in the Bay of Plenty and a new video training resource developed to demonstrate BMSB trapping materials and methods that could be integrated into kiwifruit growing systems if we were ever facing a possible incursion of this unwanted pest.

The brand new video can be viewed on the KVH YouTube channel and you’ll see it used in the future by the team when running events and workshops that discuss in more detail our readiness and preparedness plans for BMSB.

You can view PowerPoint presentations from the day on the KVH website here and read more about the KiwiNet group here.