NZ research suggests Psa outbreak may have come from China
New Zealand researchers have released a preliminary report that shows kiwifruit vine disease Psa-V could have come from China, website Stuff.co.nz reported. 
The Otago University study - commissioned by kiwifruit companies Seeka and EastPack - found the New Zealand and Chinese strains of the disease were very similar and therefore the outbreak likely didn't come from Italy, the story reported.
The report did not conclude definitively that the outbreak came from China, but suggested it probably came either from there or "via an unknown intermediate".
The Ministry of Agriculture's (MAF) latest Psa tracking report mentioned China as a possible source, the ministry's deputy director-general of policy Paul Stocks said there wasn't enough information coming out of China.
Seeka chief executive Michael Franks told the website MAF's failure to report on China seemed to be a "glaring omission".
The report also rules out pollen, plant material and Psa bacterial cultures for research as sources of the outbreak, the story reported.
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