New Zealand's kiwifruit orchards testing positive for disease Psa-V increased almost threefold last week to 155, according to Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) data.

KVH has attributed the rise to several packhouses updating their Psa-V status of orchards, as they did not previously report as having the disease.

Last week 73 orchards in the Te Puke region were reported as infected with 26 in Whakatane, eight in Tauranga East, 20 in Tauranga West, 12 in Opotiki and 16 in Katikati.

The week before last 55 orchards tested positive with 35 for the week before that with a total of 1579 orchards infected in the  Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Coromandel and South Auckland.

More than half of the country's kiwifruit hectares now have orchards identified with Psa-V.

Earlier this month, KVH said it was concerned growers were becoming complacent about reporting the infection on their blocks and urged them to report symptoms immediately.

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