Million-dollar blow to kiwifruit industry

A drone shot of a Gisborne kiwifruit orchard shows the extent of the vine collapse due to root rot. Twenty of the 50 kiwifruit orchards in the district have been impacted to varying degrees. Pictures supplied

Around 40 percent of the district’s kiwifruit growers have been hit by vine and crop loss as Cyclone Gabrielle continues to leave a destructive legacy.

It has been described as a “million-dollar” loss to the Tairāwhiti industry.

Floodwaters from the cyclone have caused root rot to set in, particularly in the older Bruno root stock vines.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers regional representative Tim Tietjen said about 20 of the district’s orchards would have the root rot problem.

“In the impacted vines, their roots have died back because of the amount of floodwater in the soil, leaving them with a small root footprint.”

Mr Tietjen said the summer heat had added to the problem.

“The plants have got all the fruit on board, and we have seen a whole lot of plants actually collapsing — meaning in a  lot of cases the fruit on the vines is lost.”

One grower spoken to has had to strip about half of the crop off his vines in the hope the remaining fruit will size up in time for harvest.

The harvest is due to start mid-March for the gold variety, early March for the red and some time in April for the green.

Some growers are trying to nurse their plants through, but in most cases it’s a matter of vine replacement.

“It’s a million-dollar loss in production for the district,” Mr Tietjen said. “Of the 50 kiwifruit orchards in the district, about 20 of them have the problem.

“Any lower section of a kiwi block where water has pooled for a while is where it has been happening.

“The older kiwi blocks planted in the late 1970s and 1980s are where most of the problem lies.”

Mr Tietjen said there was no compensation or insurance available to the impacted growers.