Heading into the end of harvest, growers are reminded that unpicked kiwifruit should be removed from vines by 1 July to help limit wild kiwifruit plants establishing in nearby areas, especially around native bush, or forestry.

Fruit left on vines to ripen over the winter months provides a food source for birds (such as the wax-eye/tauhou) that then spread seed into the wild which readily germinates in New Zealand’s environment.

Unpicked fruit needs to be dropped to the ground and mulched to prevent this from happening.