Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Kiwifruit Vine Health are urging kiwifruit orchardists and farmers to be careful about what they do with reject kiwifruit, as the picking season comes to a close.
They are also encouraging everyone to keep an eye out for wild kiwifruit vines and report sightings to the council.
The council said birds feed on kiwifruit that was left out on vines, in reject bins or dumped in paddocks for stock feed. Seeds dropped by the birds grow into wild kiwifruit vines in native bush and forestry blocks.
The council said the wild vines can smother native bush and also pose a risk to the kiwifruit industry if they're carrying the bacterial disease PSA-V.
