Within the next fortnight you’ll see some exciting new changes to our website. We’re giving the pages a refresh so they’re easier and simpler to read and navigate. The same content will still be there, but you’ll be able to find our most popular pages quicker and delve deeper into the detail if you want to. We look forward to sharing the look and feel with you in the next Bulletin.

As kiwifruit growers know, plants and plant material can’t come into New Zealand without correct approval and stringent biosecurity requirements being met. In a case of mistaken intel recently, air plants were destroyed on arrival when a passenger travelling from Melbourne declared four plants she had purchased at the Melbourne Garden Show, three tillisandia plants and a syngonium plant. The passenger unfortunately was given incorrect information from the seller at the time of purchase, and the plants were subsequently seized and disposed of by border officials. Image: Tillisandia plants (left), also known as air plants, do not need soil to grow. They are often found attached to branches or trees and get water via their roots from the moisture in the air. Syngonium plants (right) can survive in water without soil and are considered water propagatable plants.

The kiwifruit industry has a new on-screen biosecurity champion in Sydney Hines from Sybton Hort, who features in the industry’s latest contribution to the national Ko Tatou This Is Us biosecurity campaign. KVH worked with Sydney to produce the short video, championing biosecurity best practice for our businesses and long-term longevity of production. This is something close to Sydney’s heart given she’s an orchard manager and grew up on a dairy farm. “The importance of good biosecurity is always front of mind for me because of my experience with managing Psa in kiwifruit and seeing the impacts of Mycoplasma bovis too. By doing everything we can to stop unwanted threats from getting here and establishing, we’re protecting our investments and ensuring our industry continues to grow for many generations to come.” Watch the new video on the KVH YouTube channel here.

The number of live stink bug interceptions increased this season, partly due to a cluster of 20 live Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (BMSB) found on a vessel from the United States, (via Jamaica and Panama), and an increase in the bugs arriving with passengers. This season (September 2023 – April 2024), 108 live bugs have been intercepted, more than double the previous season. There were markedly more interceptions of live bugs through the passenger pathway. Biosecurity New Zealand notes in the latest Border Space newsletter that rugby fans returning home from last year’s Rugby World Cup in France are the most likely suspects for inadvertently bringing an uninvited guest. Along with the widely reported surge in bed bugs in France during the World Cup, there was also a rise in the number of BMSB across Europe. The Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte which studies insect biology, said the weather conditions in the 2023 European summer helped boost the BMSB population. This boost in the population of BMSB then had a flow on effect to countries such as New Zealand as travellers returned home – particularly as traveller numbers have continued to increase post-COVID. Cargo continues to be a significant pathway for BMSB, and shipping lines are doing their bit to reduce BMSB risk, including carrying out additional surveillance during transit. The threat posed by countries that have known BMSB populations continues to be closely monitored and changes made to import rules as required. If you think you’ve found a BMSB – don't kill it. Catch it, take a photo and call KVH on 0800 665 825 or contact the Biosecurity New Zealand hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

Last week KVH took part in a showcase of research being undertaken to prepare nationally for Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB). Team members travelled to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) office in Auckland to attend a joint BMSB Council meeting and take part in field trips where we were fortunate enough to see some new traps in action in our national surveillance network. These aerodynamic traps are shaped like a windvane which helps the pheromone travel further, attracting more stink bugs to the area. Originally trialled in kiwifruit in Italy through co-funding from the Zespri Biosecurity Innovation portfolio, it was exciting to see this research being implemented to complement our own current surveillance methods. Next, we travelled to Plant & Food Research (PFR) to see some interesting science that the BMSB Council have been collaborating on with the research organisation and take in the hard work of the Council coming to life and making meaningful steps to increasing our BMSB preparedness. The BMSB Council is a collaboration between Biosecurity New Zealand and a range of horticultural sectors and continues to run a large research portfolio focussing on readiness and response planning. Proactively preparing and developing our BMSB toolbox during peacetime will give us the best chance at success should we ever find ourselves faced with an incursion. Image below: Erin Lane and Leanne Stewart from KVH join a field trip to see aerodynamic BMSB traps in action.

This month KVH visited with the Christchurch based Plant Diagnostics team to share summaries of information on kiwifruit trunk diseases gained in the last few years through a range Innovation Biosecurity projects. Projects, shaped by KVH and Zespri collaboration, and with work undertaken by Plant & Food research, have steadily extended industry knowledge of vine disorders and an understanding of Phytophthora species associated with kiwifruit, adding value for diagnosticians as well as growers. Plant Diagnostics are key partners of KVH, regularly providing sampling advice and completing diagnostics for samples submitted through the unusual symptoms process. Members of their team have a wealth of experience in the analysis and interpretation of diagnostic results for fungal, bacterial, and viral plant disease issues across arable, forage, seed, horticulture, and turf industries. They also design and conduct research trials for private businesses and collaborate on industry and government funded projects on plant diseases and quarantine and biosecurity issues. This extensive experience allows insightful analysis and interpretation of diagnostic results for fungal, bacterial, and viral presence and most importantly the delivery of relevant, practical solutions back through to KVH to share with growers. Typically, the lab receives plant, root, and soil samples either directly or arranged by KVH to support follow-up of unusual symptoms. Samples are cultured and identified by morphology/ microscopy or by DNA sequence analysis when required, with the process typically taking around four weeks. Growers can also submit samples directly to the Plant Diagnostics lab, but a friendly reminder that this movement of plant material to the South Island must be supported by a plant movement permission raised through KVH. Growers interested in working with Plant Diagnostics either directly or through the unusual symptoms process can be in touch with KVH via [email protected]. Image: Lewis and Mark Braithwaite from Plant Diagnostics, key contacts for KVH.