Kiwifruit growers in Kerikeri in Northland are spraying copper and monitoring their orchards for signs of PSA-V after the disease was found on a new orchard there.
Kiwifruit Vine Health has confirmed a second case of PSA-V infection in the district, more than a year after the first case of the vine-killing disease was found.
Kerikeri fruit growers' representative Rick Curtis says the owner of the infected orchard immediately removed the block where the bacteria was found.
He says growers are now totally focussed on getting this year's kiwifruit crop through to harvest and they're very disappointed.
Mr Curtis says growers are 'absolutely gutted' given that the whole region including growers and the wider community have worked to prevent the disease by, for example, not bringing outside plant material, machinery and equipment that is prone to spreading the disease into the area.
The newly-infected orchard is within the existing Kerikeri Controlled Area established in October 2012, and eight kilometres from the first infected orchard.
