Biosecurity Watch - Jim Herdman

Biosecurity Watch

Biosecurity doesn’t stop with harvest

JIM HERDMAN

THERE IS a change in the season, and we are moving into pruning. Now that harvest is over and most of you will have had time to take a breath, it is a good time to think about vineyard biosecurity and undertake some planning to ensure your vines are protected as much as possible from an unwanted incursion of pests or disease. Good biosecurity practice also contributes to your ongoing disease and pest management programmes. We are also still seeing the devastating effects of Covid-19 as it spreads around the world, and can already take many lessons learned from this disaster and apply them in a biosecurity context.

The biggest lesson learned is to be prepared and not to be complacent - don’t think that it can’t happen to you or your industry. Having good plans in place and acting early is essential in preventing or combating a biosecurity incursion. It is also about a collective team effort - not only protecting your assets and livelihood, but also protecting your neighbours and your region’s profitability, jobs, and community.

Some of the key steps to effective biosecurity planning are as follows: • Promote vineyard biosecurity to ensure your staff and contractors are trained, engaged and know what to look for. Install appropriate signage and make awareness material available. Make biosecurity an agenda item at team meetings, and use the resources available from New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). Encourage staff to get involved and ask questions. • Manage your visitors and restrict access to designated carparks and areas necessary to the purpose of their visit. Brief them on expected biosecurity risk management procedures - you can even include this with a health and safety briefing. You should include a signin procedure and undertake any mitigation procedures that may be necessary like cleaning gear and equipment. Make staff and visitors feel like health and safety and biosecurity are business as usual and not an imposition. The more people get used to the process the more they will come to expect it, and the safer your asset will be as a consequence of increased awareness. • Put in place a vehicle management system that takes into consideration biosecurity risk. Keep records and ensure you know where vehicles and machinery have been before they arrive in your vineyard. Inspect and thoroughly clean them. Seek assurance from your suppliers that new machinery is clean and has been treated if sourced from overseas. Good cleaning and maintenance schedules not only protect your vineyards, they also take care of your capital assets and make them more cost-effective in the long term. • Install and maintain a wash-down facility that is accessible before entering the vines. Ideally, a washdown facility should be situated on a concrete pad and the runoff should be controlled into a sump. A highpressure wash-down hose should be available along with a water blaster, steam cleaner and compressed air if possible, to ensure thorough cleaning practices occur. • Check tools and equipment and see to it that they are well maintained, cleaned and sanitised. Put in place work practices that reduce the chance of spreading pests and diseases around the vineyard or into other vineyards. Once again, good maintenance practices not only have a biosecurity outcome but may also result in increased productivity and reduced costs. • Think about vineyard surveillance and develop a year-long programme that not only monitors pests and diseases that are present, but also makes staff aware of the potential risks of exotic organisms. It is

IF YOU SEE ANYTHING UNUSUAL CATCH IT. SNAP IT. REPORT IT.

possible that the next big threat to the industry may already be here, undetected and increasing in size. Good surveillance programmes are crucial to prevent the spread of established pest organisms and are also vital in the control/elimination of exotic unwanted organisms once they have arrived. • One invasive pest that may become more noticeable at this time of the year is the harlequin ladybird, already present in New Zealand and now known to be in all winegrowing regions. You may notice it as it seeks shelter for the winter and aggregates in buildings or machinery for the winter season. New Zealand recommends killing overwintering harlequin aggregations with a contact insecticide, to ensure they are not able to return to the vineyard come spring. Overseas, the harlequin ladybird has been shown to be able to cause taint to wine if it is caught up with grape bunches at harvest. • Manage the risk that biological material poses by ensuring that new vines are certified to the Grafted Grapevine Standard and inspecting new vines for symptoms of pest and disease before planting. Think about other materials that may cause a biological risk like grape marc, compost, hay, manure, and mussel shell and record any movement or disposal of these. Assess your storage facilities and ensure that you are not compromising your vines by storing risky material. • When acquiring stock for winter grazing and/or leaf plucking, inspect the stock before entry into the vineyard. Ensure good stock health by drenching and quarantining if appropriate. Check with regulating authorities for any controls that might exist in your region for things like Chilean needle grass. Be aware there may be withholding periods before the stock can be sent to slaughter, and consult the NZW Spray Schedule for more information. Stock health is everyone’s responsibility - if you see something that needs attention, take care of it or inform someone who can.

New Zealand is lucky to have good border control and a large moat that protects us from many biosecurity threats. We all must play our part in whatever way we can to protect our

“The biggest lesson learned is to be prepared and not to be complacent.”

primary industries from biosecurity incursions.

If you see anything usual in the vineyard, remember to Catch it, Snap it, and Report it – call the Biosecurity New Zealand pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66, and get in touch with the New Zealand Winegrowers biosecurity team (biosecurity@nzwine. com).