Kiwifruit rivals join forces to fight Psa

EastPack says having the two kiwifruit industry heavyweights working together is unprecedented. Photo / APN

Rival companies Seeka Kiwifruit and EastPack have joined forces to fight a potentially devastating bacterial disease facing the industry.

In November New Zealand's kiwifruit industry was found to have Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa) - a bacterial disease first identified in Japan about 25 years ago which has resulted in infections across Italy and France.

A total of 241 orchards here are confirmed to have the disease, with 83 per cent in the greater Te Puke region and 125 with a virulent strain.

The disease holds no risk for human health and affects only the vine, with no evidence it can be transmitted on the fruit.

EastPack deputy chairman Grant Eynon said it was unprecedented that the two industry heavyweights, who were competitors in the commercial post harvest sector, would come together in a search for a solution.

"It will take significant investment but I am encouraged by the momentum already achieved by Taskforce Green." The Taskforce Green group comprised a range of disciplines including biochemistry, genetics and outbreak intervention, with participants from the academic, diagnostic and commercial research fields.

Michael Franks, chief executive of NZX-listed Seeka, said areas of research included protection strategies, treatments, immunity stimulation and natural plant resistance.

"There may well be some plants either here in New Zealand or in other countries that are already resistant to Psa," Franks said. The disease was beyond elimination and the focus was on management and plant resistance.

"We haven't had to put too much [money] in but we're going to be putting more in as we move into trials."

Funding was not a restricting factor at this stage.

"The [potential] cost to the industry and to New Zealand is huge and the cost of not getting it solved to the two companies is significant. Somewhere between $1.3 and $1.5 billion in [total industry] export revenue is at risk.

"Both companies have got a significant investment in getting a successful outcome and it's in our nature to take control of something like this ourselves and to have a go," Franks said.

Seeka last week finished a record harvest and packing season. The company expects to handle about 6.4 million trays of gold fruit, 19.2 million trays of green and 300,000 trays of green organic.

The company leases land to grow fruit and also contracts other producers, with the disease having infected about 70ha of gold fruit vines, which had been cut out or were awaiting removal, and 200ha of green.

The infection was predominantly on contract growers' vines, with no long-term leases affected.

"So around 300,000 trays has been cut out and lost through the harvest," Franks said.

The harvest impact had been small but the future was uncertain. The disease hibernates during winter and so growers won't get another good look at it until September, when short-term remedies may be available, he said.

THE HEAT IS ON FOR ZESPRI

Zespri, which controls New Zealand kiwifruit exports to countries other than Australia, last week said research had established that high temperatures could kill Psa without affecting the viability of pollen.

Plant & Food Research worked with pollen producer Kiwi Pollen NZ and provided a potential breakthrough before artificial pollination started in October, Zespri said. The research was funded by Zespri and Kiwifruit Vine Health.

The next stage was to develop a method of applying heat treatment on a commercial scale and a test to provide certainty that pollen was free of Psa bacteria.

The pollen research was a critical project for the industry and was one of about 50 projects started soon after the outbreak last year of Psa, Zespri said.

Kiwifruit Vine Health general manager John Burke said the disease had a huge impact on gold kiwifruit production in Italy and even green growers were struggling to live with it in areas where infection was particularly bad.

"We're looking forward to next spring with trepidation," Burke said.

"[We are] preparing for the worst based on what we've seen in Italy but still we won't know how this is going to really affect the New Zealand kiwifruit industry, the truth will be becoming available in the spring."