KVH always recommends growers start with the cleanest plants for any development; plants are the engine room of your investment and should be given the best start possible.

However, many greenfield plantings are being set up in Recovery regions where Psa is widespread, and all neighbouring orchards are Psa positive. Furthermore, sometimes a grower cannot access clean material or wishes to use plant material from other blocks under their management, which may be attached to the new plantings but Psa positive.

For this reason, KVH has a process whereby a greenfield development can be changed to a Psa positive status to enable movement of Psa positive material to be planted on the orchard, where there is negligible increase in risk to themselves or surrounding orchards.

A number of factors are taken into account for this process:

• Psa status of orchards in the wider region - this will only be allowed in a region where Psa is already widespread, and the vast majority of orchards are Psa positive (so not in Whangarei at present where only 1/3 of orchards are positive).
• Status of surrounding orchards - there are no 'Not Detected' orchards in close proximity to the greenfields that would be at risk if positive material was introduced and/or all nearest orchards are Psa positive.
• Reason for sourcing Psa positive material and whether there is a cleaner alternative readily available.
• Red19 budwood is currently procured from Psa positive orchards in Recovery regions and can only move to Psa positive orchards where the grower has a Red19 licence. For Psa non-detected growers, supply will be via the tissue culture pathway which has nearly completed the quarantine and testing process and once bulked to sufficient quantities will be available to growers through Zespri.

Application is to KVH and will be considered on a case by case basis. Please email info@kvh.org.nz.