Important to look out for the unexpected

KVH strives to ensure that the kiwifruit industry is resilient to any future biosecurity incursions. As growers there are some simple things you can do to help us achieve this vision and protect your investment from biosecurity threats.

Monitoring vines for unusual symptoms is our current industry surveillance programme. If a new pest or pathogen were to arrive, our best chance of a successful response is to detect it early, and to achieve that we need growers to report any unusual symptoms as soon as possible so that we may take appropriate action. KVH will investigate and in nearly all cases the issue will not be related to a biosecurity threat, but by reporting you can sleep easier knowing you have done the right thing but also gained some free advice or diagnostic testing to indicate what may have been causing the issue.

Not only is reporting unusual symptoms the right thing to do, it’s also a legal requirement under the National Kiwifruit Pathway Management Plan to monitor before moving any plant material and notify KVH if unusual symptoms are observed.

It is also a requirement under the Pathway Plan and Zespri GAP to keep traceability records of plant material movements on and off your orchard. If it turns out that the unusual symptoms are associated with a high-risk organism, we need to know where else to look and the movement of plant material is the highest risk pathway for spreading pests and pathogens. It is important that records are accurate and complete and readily accessible should they be required.

Through Onside, you can quickly and easily record all mandatory information of plant material movement to satisfy Pathway Management Plan and GAP requirements. All users of the Onside app can use this free functionality - all you need to do is:

• download Onside from your app store (Apple or Google Play)
• check-in to a property
• record your plant movement details at anytime while checked-in. You can record source; destination; date; property KPIN; type; and volume. Here's an easy, visual 'how to' guide.

Growers can still keep physical records of plant material movements, but this free digital option has been designed to simplify the process of providing plant movement records as part of a GAP audit.

Growers already using Onside can activate the free tool here.