As biosecurity officials struggle to contain the worst of the disease within the Te Puke region, which hosts most of the $1.5 billion export industry, the number of Psa-V infected orchards has increased to 369, 11 per cent of New Zealand orchards. In total 445 orchards or 13.3 per cent of total orchards have some form of the disease.

Gold kiwifruit are the industry's star performer, earning much higher returns than green kiwifruit.

Kiwifruit Vine Health general manager John Burke said in time Psa would kill off the gold fruit industry in Te Puke. Some growers would not get a crop next year, and others might struggle through till the middle of next year and then have to decide if it was worth investing money to try for a crop in 2013.

In the meantime, the industry could only hope a multimillion-dollar scientific research effort would come up with a Psa-resistant stock.

Green fruit orchards have not been as badly hit as gold, but have not proved as resilient to the most virulent Psa strain as expected.

Kiwifruit Vine Health had to extend the Tauranga "priority" quarantine zone south this week to include Oropi, Pyes Pa, Omanawa and Kaimai.

More Psa-V positive results have come in from Whakatane and Katikati.