As part of the new website, the Psa-V Risk Model has also undergone improvements – click here. The new model is hosted by HortPlus and is not only more cost-effective, but it also offers several improvements for kiwifruit growers. Benefits of the new Psa-V Risk Model include:

• receiving data from a wide range of weather station locations so growers can select the weather station closest to their orchard;
• display historical infection risk data, providing growers with the ability to review past infection risk (e.g. over the last season) to evaluate how well a control programme worked; and
• incorporate new information about the effect of temperature on Psa infection risk sourced from overseas data.

Users will also have access to a number of additional tools. These include a customisable chill unit calculator and customisable growing degree day calculator. They can both plot up to five combinations of weather station locations and seasons.

Growers can choose the start and stop date to define the period of interest. Although these tools are not directly related to Psa management, KVH believes they will add real value for growers looking to better understand the impact of weather on their vines.

Please note Edgecumbe (Te Teko), Whanganui (Pauls Road) and Waihi are listed on the new Model but are not yet receiving data. These will go live over the next week.