Nurseries
movement of plants and plant material to orchards where Psa is not detected, and to the South Island, is strictly prohibited or restrictedThe kiwifruit industry has introduced biosecurity controls to reduce the risk of pests and diseases being spread through the movement of nursery plants and shelter plants. The Kiwifruit Plant Certification Scheme (KPCS) is a major component of this and ensures all nurseries selling kiwifruit plants and shelter plants are managing biosecurity risk.
There are also biosecurity controls for growers to manage the risk associated with smaller volumes of plant movements and to do so in a manner that is not unnecessarily restrictive on orchard operation.
The movement of plant material is considered a high-risk pathway for transporting pests and pathogens over long distances. This includes known threats such as Cherry Leaf Roll Virus and Psa, but also other threats that may be present in New Zealand but not yet detected, such as Ceratocystis fimbriata.
Without biosecurity controls on internal pathways, a new pest or pathogen is likely to be widespread by the time it is detected and the window for eradication may have been missed. Because of this, all nurseries and growers must meet their biosecurity responsibilities when moving rootstocks.
There are three options available for sourcing or producing nursery plants:
KPCS “Full Certification”
KPCS “Restricted Certification”
Grow for your own use – for smaller volumes and restricted movements subject to meeting risk management requirements.
When sourcing shelter plants for a kiwifruit orchard there are two options:
A nursery producing KPCS certified plants
A nursery certified to the Plant Pass certification scheme.
All nurseries and growers must follow KVH requirements and maintain traceability.
In April 2019 an independent review of the KPCS was completed. The review focused on the effectiveness of the scheme in managing biosecurity risks associated with rootstock movement; recommended future improvements; and considered how other kiwifruit plant material could be managed from a biosecurity perspective. View the full report.
KPCS information for growers is available here.
Growers wishing to purchase plants must use this list for nurseries who have met KPCS Certification requirements.
A number of nurseries have indicated they intend to join the KPCS scheme for future supply. Growers are able to order plants from nurseries in transition, however plants are not able to move off the property until the nursery has met KPCS requirements.
When receiving plants from a nursery, growers should maintain traceability and record where on their orchard the plants have been planted.
Grow for your own use
Growers can grow plants on the property they are to be used on without any KVH controls.
Growers can also move plants between KPINs under the same ownership (but only to a maximum of 1000 plants per year).
Traceability records must be maintained but there are no registration or certification requirements.
If more than 1000 plants per year are moved between a growers properties or plants are moved to another grower then the grower must become a KPCS nursery.
A nursery is defined as any person or other entity that propagates Actinidia plant species to any age for sale or movement outside of the property. All kiwifruit nurseries are subject to specific requirements and movement controls. Only certified plants may be sold, although growers are still able to produce plants for their own use.
There are two options for certified plants under the KPCS:
- KPCS “Full Certification”– certified plants that meet all the testing requirements of all target organisms. These can be moved between regions in accordance with KVH movement controls.
- KPCS “Restricted Certification”– plants produced under the KPCS Standard, and certified free from all target organisms, except the common New Zealand strain of Psa-V. Plants meet the same standard as above and all testing requirements, but may have the common New Zealand form of Psa-V, provided they are free of non-New Zealand Psa forms and strains resistant to Streptomycin or Copper. These plants can only be moved to Psa-V positive orchards.
To achieve KPCS certification
- Complete the KPCS nursery manual and submit to KVH for review
- Be independently audited
- Have plants sampled and tested by KVH annually prior to dispatch
Nurseries interested in joining the KPCS can download the following starter pack documents:
To minimise biosecurity risks across the supply chain and assist nurseries, KVH worked with an independent nursery expert to produce the below information on biosecurity best practice for kiwifruit nurseries.
