Kiwifruit picking - Part 1

New Zealand is one of the the largest kiwifruit producers in the world. Most of New Zealand's kiwifruit production is located around Te Puke (pronounced Teh-poo-keh), a small town about 30km from Mount Maunganui where I had been staying for the past 2 weeks. At this time of the year, from April to June, it is harvest season for kiwifruits. Te Puke produces about 80% of New Zealand's kiwifruits. I am currently picking kiwifruits at several orchards around Te Puke.

Kiwfruit capital of the world

Did you know that kiwifruit is not native to New Zealand? Despite its name, kiwifruit actually originates from Yangtze Valley in China. It is known as 猕猴桃, or "monkey peach" in Chinese, perhaps due to its hairy appearance. In the early 20th century, they were brought to New Zealand. New Zealand farmers adapted them to local conditions, and it was found that Te Puke, and the Bay of Plenty region, had the best weather and soil to grow kiwifruits.

New Zealand farmers grew and exported them all over the world. They branded the fruit as "kiwifruit", to give it New Zealand-sounding name. The branding is so successful that today, the name kiwifruit is associated with New Zealand. Even in China, it is now called 奇異果, or qí yì guǒ. (qí yì sounds like kiwi)

Unlike the olive farm that I was living at in Whakatane, most kiwifruit orchards are not organic. They are huge industrial enterprises. This is obvious from the shape of the fruits. Every single fruit is perfectly round, with no sign of worm or insect damage. It is clear that pesticides have been used. The orchards are also planted with only 1 species of kiwifruit, unlike the olive farm that had 4 varieties of olive trees.

Seemingly endless rows of monoculture kiwifruits

This kiwifruit monoculture makes them vulnerable to disease, because all the kiwifruits are genetically similar. Any disease that affects 1 tree will quickly spread to all other trees. Indeed, that was what happened this year. A bacteria called Psa V that originated from China infected many kiwifruit orchards in New Zealand. The trees that were infected had to be cut down, and some orchards suffered huge losses. Regardless, kiwfruit remains a billion-dollar industry for New Zealand.

An orchard that's been hit by Psa V