Kiwifruit growers' faith in this country's biosecurity measures took another hit this week with the discovery of an imported pest deemed a serious threat to the industry.
Two white peach scale insects and eggs were found on January 27 on kiwifruit imported from Italy. The insects were spotted by a
Plant and Food Research scientist and sent to the Ministry of Primary Industries laboratory in Christchurch, where they were found to be dead.
The pest caused the loss of up to 20 per cent of the gold variety in Italy in 2004.
The latest find comes just days after a fruit fly scare in Northland, which threatened the country's $4 billion horticulture industry.
It also comes just as the Bay kiwfruit industry shows signs of bouncing back from the devastation caused by the arrival of Psa.
