A former chairman of kiwifruit marketer Zespri says a new process which heat-treats pollen and kills any PSA bacteria will be of great benefit to the industry.
Following an outbreak of the vine killing disease near Te Puke in November last year, growers became concerned about whether pollen sprayed on vines could spread the disease.
Te Puke company Kiwi Pollen and Plant and Food Research have successfully developed an effective technique in the laboratory to kill PSA bacteria on pollen.
The next stage is to develop the heat treatment process on a commercial scale.
The heat treatment work is one of about 50 PSA research projects started in the past seven months.
