New Zealand's horticulture industry has emerged largely unscathed after heavy rain throughout much of the country over the weekend, although there were reports of damage to kiwifruit orchards in the Coromandel. There was little in the way of crop damage to the key grape and apple growing regions, but a Zespri spokeswoman said "a couple of hectares" of kiwifruit orchards were badly damaged in the Coromandel. New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan said most winegrowers would have heeded the weather warnings last week. "There was a lot of warning that there was going to be heavy rain, so I am confident that winegrowers would have got their grapes off before the inclement weather," he said. Xan Harding, vice chairman of the Hawke's Bay Winegrowers Association, said the grape harvest resumed today after the rain brought it to a halt over the weekend.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 13, 2017 00:45 UTC