Chilean authorities will be starting a survey this month to see whether kiwifruit vine disease Psa has spread to more areas outside the currently registered infected regions of Metropolitana, O’Higgins, Maule and Bío Bío. 

The Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) will carry out the surveys from this month until November, checking new prospection sites for kiwifruit orchards from the regions of Valparaiso to Araucanía and Los Ríos.

The activity will involve inspecting and collecting kiwifruit plant samples from commercial orchards that grow green kiwifruit, gold kiwifruit and kiwiberries.

This year sampling will be more intense in regions that to date have been registered as free of the pest, or in areas where there is a low prevalence in orchards.

It is projected SAG will cover 404 prospection sites and deliver a total of 2,193 samples for study.

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