Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

MPI works to clear up kiwifruit chemical confusion

Updated at 1:43 pm on 31 January 2013

The Ministry for Primary Industries says it is working to clear up misunderstandings in the kiwifruit industry about how to register chemicals which fight the bacterial disease PSA.

The MPI says it has become apparent in recent weeks that there is confusion in the industry, with both growers and manufacturers unclear about the registration process for agricultural chemicals they can use on their orchards.

In December the manufacturer of one orchard product, Yeti F, fell foul of the rules and was forced to stop promoting it as being beneficial against PSA as it did not have the appropriate registration.

At the same time the industry body fighting PSA, Kiwifruit Vine Health, removed another compound from its recommended product list after being notified it was also breaching the rules.

The MPI says if a product makes claims about its treatment of PSA it needs to be registered with the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines group.

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