CONTAINMENT PEST
Sustainable
Wild kiwifruit
Actinidia spp.
Description
Woody climbing vine, deciduous
(loses its leaves in winter).
Leaves: Large, lobed.
Flowers: Large white flowers in
spring. Female plant needs to
be cross pollinated with male to
produce fruit.
Fruit: Large and borne in large
quantities. Form varies depending
on plant variety.
Origin
Native of China. Introduced to New
Zealand as a fruit bearing plant.
Where is it found?
Wild kiwifruit is able to grow almost
anywhere, in bush, pine forest,
shelter belts and gulleys. Mostly
found near orcharding areas (eg.
Te Puke gulleys) but also found in
isolated places, usually in bush.
How does it spread?
Seed is spread by birds, especially
waxeyes, eating the fruit left on
vines in orchards.
It’s also spread by humans
dropping fruit remains.
Many plants spread from reject fruit
being transported and dumped for
use as stockfood.
Why is it a problem?
Wild kiwifruit rapidly forms a dense,
heavy blanket of growth which
smothers and eventually kills, or
topples, trees and shrubs beneath.
It’s a significant threat to native
bush and forestry.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Phone: 0800 884 880
Fax: 0800 884 882
Status as a pest plant in the
Bay of Plenty
Wild kiwifruit is a Containment Pest
Plant in the Bay of Plenty Regional
Pest Management Plan.
Rules require land occupiers to
destroy any wild kiwifruit on their
properties.
It is an offence under the
Biosecurity Act to propagate, sell,
distribute, release or spread wild
kiwifruit in the Bay of Plenty.
Assistance may be available from
Bay of Plenty Regional Council by
way of approved programmes.
CAUTION: When using herbicide
please READ THE LABEL thoroughly
to ensure that all instructions and safety
requirements are followed.
DISCLAIMER: Information in this fact sheet
regarding herbicides does not necessarily
appear on the labels of the products concerned.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council does not accept
liability for any damage that may arise from
the use of herbicides at non-standard rates.
Mention of product trade names implies neither
endorsement of those products nor criticism of
similar products not mentioned.
Pollution Hotline: 0800 884 883
Email: info@boprc.govt.nz
Website: www.boprc.govt.nz
Options
Pest Plant Control 18
Best practice to minimise
the spread of wild kiwifruit
In the orchard: Remove reject fruit
from vines and mulch as soon as
possible.
At the packhouse: Ensure reject
fruit is not being transported into
bush areas.
On the farm: If reject fruit is
being used for stockfeed, ensure
piles of fruit are well covered with
windbreak cloth or similar. Only
feed out quantities of fruit from
the stockpile which can be eaten
quickly by the stock. This avoids
large quantities of fruit being
available for mass feeding by birds.
How do I get rid of it?
Spraying: Individual vines are
often difficult to trace to the roots in
which case spraying is an effective
treatment.
Spray from November to March
with brushkiller (e.g. Tordon
Brushkiller, Agpro Tricloram
brushkiller)
With knapsack or CDAX unit use
60 ml per 10 L of water.
With handgun use 600 ml per 100
L of water.
Stump treatment: Use from
November to March where vine
stems are easy to find. Where they
are growing into tall trees, this is
the best method.
Cut the vines close to the ground.
Use Vigilant gel. Apply a blob of gel
to the freshly cut surface.
For more information contact a
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Land Management Officer
5 Quay Street, Whakatāne
GDS13 PP18
1125 Arawa Street, Rotorua
Rata Street, Mount Maunganui