There has been a surge in the number of kiwifruit orchards testing positive for the bacterial disease PSA.
The Kiwifruit Vine Health organisation says 155 orchards have tested positive for the vine-killing disease in the past week, compared with 55 in the previous week and 35 the week before that.
KVH says the increase is largely due to several packhouses updating the PSA status of orchards which had previously not been reported as having the disease.
Earlier in September, KVH said it was concerned that growers were becoming complacent about reporting the infection on their blocks and urged them to report symptoms immediately.
More than 1500 kiwifruit orchards are now infected with PSA - in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Coromandel and South Auckland.
