Kiwifruit crop mostly escapes deluge but Psa risk a worry
The kiwifruit industry has escaped March and April’s horrendous weather largely unscathed despite more than half a metre of rain falling in the Bay of Plenty over that time.
The deluge has, however, increased the risk posed by the Psa disease.
Metservice meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said that with a few days of April still left, the two-month period’s rainfall — measured at Tauranga — was 558mm (275mm in March and 282mm in April).
She said that it was the wettest two-month period recorded for the area since records began in 1890, although there had been individual months that had recorded higher rainfalls.
Nikki Johnson, the chief executive of the industry body, NZKGI, said a handful of kiwifruit growers near Te Teko and Edgecumbe had experienced significant flooding on their orchards from ex-Cyclone Debbie.
A small number of orchards which have had their fruit touched by floodwaters or dropped by wind will not be harvested due to food safety reasons.
Johnson said growers were being advised to keep a close eye for signs of Psa, which swept through the region from 2010 to 2013.
A wet autumn and a wet winter increases the risk of Psa, Johnson said.
She said the wet weather would not affect this year’s harvest, but that it could impact on the overall health of plants in the future.
She said the message to growers was for them to be vigilant about their plant protection.
“Growers need to be aware of the risks posed by Psa and to follow the management guidelines provided by Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH),” she said.
“We have had three or four weeks of consistently wet weather so it just means that there is less fruit being harvested,” Johnson said.
“We have now had a week of sunshine. The harvest is happening at full speed, so we don’t anticipate any long term issues — it’s just a slower start to the season than we had anticipated,” she said.