Kiwifruit production in Italy could be under renewed threat from the bacterial disease Psa-V – known locally as batteriosi – after a new infestation was discovered across a total of 4,000ha of vines set to produce 80,000 tonnes of the fruit in the northern region of Emilia Romagna.
According to Coldiretti Emilia Romagna, more than two-thirds of the kiwifruit vines affected were discovered in the Province of Ravenna, with the area around Faenza, a town just south-west of Ravenna itself, the worst hit.
Although the disease does not affect the fruit itself, around €120m worth of kiwifruit remains under threat as a result of what's happening to the vines; the news comes at a critical time for the Italian kiwifruit sector, which, like its counterpart in New Zealand, has been forced to fight a major outbreak of Psa over the past few years.
Sources suggested that unusually heavy rain over the past few months has enabled the disease to thrive. In the meantime, research has failed to come up with a cure and the emphasis has switched to developing new varieties that are more resistant.
“At this moment, the only way to combat the epidemic is to keep monitoring the plants carefully and to intervene promptly when the first symptoms appear, cutting down and burning the affected plants on site,' said a spokesperson for Coldiretti. 'Obviously this solution has enormous costs for producers.'
Regional authorities in Emilia Romagna said they had secured a total of €1m to assist affected growers.
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