Fears are growing amongst kiwifruit producers that the future of the gold variety may be limited. Gold kiwifruit are proving to be more susceptible to the pathogen, Psa that has now spread beyond the Te Puke containment area in the Bay of Plenty.
This puts at risk the $20 million investment made in the new variety as a means of developing depth and interest in the global kiwifruit market. Peter McBride, chair of the group organising resistance to Psa, Kiwifruit Vine Health has admitted to TVNZ that only remnants of the current gold kiwifruit orchard in the Bay of Plenty will remain; however he is confident that diversification of gold plantings will maintain supplies in the future.
“We have gold planted in Nelson, we have gold planted in Kerikeri, in the Hawke’s Bay, in different regions,” McBride says.
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