The Fukuoka Prefectural Government has announced that it confirmed the outbreak of kiwifruit bacterial canker disease Psa3 in the southern part of the prefecture. Fukuoka became the second prefecture in the nation to announce the outbreak of the disease, following reports of the disease in Ehime Prefecture earlier in the month.
Psa3, the most virulent strain of Pseudomonas syringae pv. Actinidiae, could destroy infected trees of some varieties, but there is no cure for the disease.
According to the prefectural government, growers cut down the infected trees and trees which grew in a 50-are area around them by Friday, May 9, in accordance with the manual they made in 2012 to cope with the disease. The number of trees cut down totaled 191.
Infections were found in the varieties of Rainbow red and Hayward.
The prefectural government held a meeting on Monday, May 12, with agricultural cooperative officials and agricultural advisors, and decided to conduct investigation throughout the prefecture to check the potential spread of the disease.
Although the disease is not transmitted through the soil, it spreads via exudates, and the prefectural government is calling on growers to take disease control measures including early detection and cutting down of infected trees and sterilization of scissors.
(May 13, 2014)