AUSTRALIAN
SPRING 2026
BERRY
EDITION 28
JOURNAL
GETTING BERRY PRACTICAL
SPOTLIGHT: FUSARIUM WILT
MICROBIAL HEAT PROTECTION
VIETNAM TRAINING SUCCESS
Industry
Rubus
Strawberries
Blueberries
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AUSTRALIAN
SPRING 2026
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INDUSTRY
RB21000: Lessons for Conservation Biological Control in Raspberries ...................................................... 70 Disease Spotlight: Fusarium Wilt in Blackberries............................................................................................74 RB23002: Best Practice Pollinator Management Research Update.............................................................76
BLUEBERRIES
STRAWBERRIES
Berry Practical 17-18 September 2026: Program......................................................................................... 20 Board Member Profile: Andrew Terry............................................................................................................. 22 BQI27: Sponsorship Packages Available Now............................................................................................. 26 Global Industry Profile: BerryWorld UK......................................................................................................... 28 Final Report: Coir Recycling and Re-use........................................................................................................ 36 BR25501: Getting Berries to Cut Through in a Crowded Social World...................................................... 40 Turning Runoff into a Resource ........................................................................................................................ 42 NSW: Know Your Harvestable Rights............................................................................................................. 44 Quiz: Test your IPM Knowledge...................................................................................................................... 48 QLD: Emerging Pest Problems.......................................................................................................................... 50 Beyond the Hive: What Varroa Means for Berry Industry Pollination.......................................................... 58 New Membrane Water Treatment Technologies........................................................................................... 64
RUBUS
JOURNAL
BS22000: Building Better Berries .................................................................................................................................80 AS20007: Impact of Package Coating ‘ZXT’ on Postharvest Quality of Strawberries..........................................85 AS20004: Can Microbes Help Strawberries Beat the Heat?................................................................................... 91 Đặc điểm ra bông, đậu trái của ba nhóm dâu tây phổ biến........................................................................... 95 Kiến thức căn bản: Tích lũy lạnh ở dâu tây........................................................................................................ 99
MT23004: Setting Vietnamese Retailers up for Blueberry Success........................................................... 102 ‘Sekoya Pop’ – A Crunchy Revolution ......................................................................................................... 105 BB23000: Understanding Blueberry Root-Crown Disorder ...................................................................... 108
E D I TO R
C O N T R I B U TO R S
Jane Richter
Jane Richter Rachel Mackenzie Anthony Poiner Brett Fifield Jen Rowling Dr Angela Atkinson Mark Salter Helen Newman Wendy Morris
TERES Communication 0431 700 258 jane@teres.com.au
A DV E R T I S I N G Gaius Leong Sandy Shaw Simon Neil Merran Davis Dr Jonathan Finch Dr Julian Brown Dr Nicole Rafferty Prof Margaret Mayfield Dr Katie O’Connor
Dr Jodi Neal Saeedeh Saberi Dr Roberto Marques Leisa Bradburn Jodie Campbell Chi Nguyen Jenny Van de Meeberg Dr Eveline Kong William de Stefani
Nhu Quynh Thi Truong Dr Madeleine Gleeson Dr Alison Kelly Dr Gerardo Nunez Dr Chris O’Brien Dr Thi Thao Ninh Dr Alice Hayward
For all Advertising Enquiries 0431 700 258 | jane@teres.com.au All advertising and advertorial material is subject to review and approval prior to publication. DESIGN Stacey Joseph stacey@samacreative.com.au samacreative.com.au
Wherever you see this logo, the initiative is part of the Hort Innovation Blueberry, Strawberry and Raspberry and Blackberry Fund. Like this publication itself, it has been funded by Hort Innovation using the Blueberry, Strawberry and Raspberry and Blackberry R&D levy and funds from the Australian Government. Some projects also involve funding from additional sources.
DISCLAIMER: Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this journal, the information contained is necessarily of a general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific advice. The advice and opinions in the articles published in Australian Berry Journal are essentially those of contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Berries Australia or the Editor. The advice is at the reader’s own risk, and no responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of the material presented. Inclusion of an advertisement in this publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of the product, company or service by Berries Australia or the Editor. Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (Hort Innovation) makes no representations and expressly disclaims all warranties (to the extent permitted by law) about the accuracy, completeness, or currency of information in Australian Berry Journal. Reliance on any information provided by Hort Innovation is entirely at your own risk. Hort Innovation is not responsible for, and will not be liable for, any loss, damage, claim, expense, cost (including legal costs) or other liability arising in any way, including from any Hort Innovation or other person’s negligence or otherwise from your use or non-use of Australian Berry Journal or from reliance on information contained in the material or that Hort Innovation provides to you by any other means. Copyright © Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited 2026 Copyright subsists in Australian Berry Journal. Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (Hort Innovation) owns the copyright, other than as permitted under the Copyright ACT 1968 (Cth). Australian Berry Journal (in part or as a whole) cannot be reproduced, published, communicated or adapted without the prior written consent of Hort Innovation. Any request or enquiry to use the Australian Berry Journal should be addressed to: Communications Manager, Hort Innovation, Level 7, 141 Walker Street, North Sydney 2060, Australia | E: communications@horticulture.com.au | P: 02 8295 2300
I N D U S T R Y
CEO's Report Rachel Mackenzie | 0408 796 199 | rachelmackenzie@berries.net.au
Welcome to the Spring edition of the Australian Berry Journal. If you are feeling that the certainties of past decades are slipping away, then you are not alone. I recently attended the National Farmers’ Federation leaders’ summit in Canberra and one of the key themes was farming through uncertainty.
Volume: we are all overwhelmed by the volume of information we can now access and struggle to differentiate between important information and ‘noise’
The conditions that have underpinned agriculture’s growth over the past decade are shifting and the implications are being felt by all of us in the sector. Once upon a time it was enough to be really good at farming, but now all of us operate in an increasingly inter-connected world where the drivers of change are increasingly global or being driven outside the sector. The rules-based order of global trade is disappearing, and the overall global environment is characterised by volatility.
The combination of these factors makes it increasingly difficult to predict and manage risk at a national level and even a farm level. Our current ways of thinking where we base our actions on what has gone before need to be reviewed – we cannot expect things to stay the same. He said the challenge was not to eliminate surprise, which is impossible, but rather to prevent surprise from cascading into catastrophe. At a policy level this means food production has to be at the forefront of every conversation about national security, because there is no greater catastrophe than running out of food. At a farm level it is vital to identify what factors would turn a crisis into a catastrophe.
Velocity: change is happening fast which reduces the time available for deliberation and heightens the risk of reactive rather than strategic decision-making Variety: challenges are coming from multiple fronts whether it be climate, global machinations or media storms
As a sector we are less exposed to global shocks than our counterparts in the red meat industry but recent disruptions to fuel, fertiliser and key inputs have flowed directly through to farm businesses and supply chains, highlighting how exposed we are to events well beyond Australia’s control. Closer to home the narrative around food production seems to be driven by social media activists rather than being based on science and the realities of safely feeding millions of people every day of the year.
So, what is the role of an industry association in all of this? In my view, the most important thing we can do is to be the link between growers and decision makers. This is not just about turning up in Canberra when things go wrong, but building robust relationships with policy makers so they turn to us for advice before policy decisions are made. This means we need to be credible, knowledgeable, respectful and well networked. Whilst there is always more to be done, I do feel that Berries Australia is all of those things which is a credit to the team and the industry leaders who guide us.
Dr John Coyne from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute highlighted that we are operating in a period defined by the three ‘V’s of complexity:
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Industry events bring berry growers and industry partners together to share knowledge, exchange practical ideas and build valuable connections and we have two excellent events coming up. Find out more about Berry Practical 2026 on PAGE 20 and BerryQuest International 2027 on PAGE 26.
Repeatedly being fed the same information makes these beliefs seem universal and shrinks our exposure to other perspectives. So, ironically, whilst the negative commentary about berries might be something you actively dislike, by clicking on it or even just lingering on it, you are driving more of this content into your feed!
These events help strengthen collaboration, accelerate innovation and solve common challenges. By learning from each other and working together the industry builds capability, resilience and a stronger future for Australian berries.
At an individual level, the first thing we need to do when we see a feed filled with negative stories is to not overreact and further feed the algorithm by feverishly clicking on every link or commenting on it. To change the algorithm, I encourage you all to follow our Fresh Aussie Berries social media pages and like and comment as much as you can with the positive, grower-featured video content that we are creating and sharing.
Don’t Feed the Beast: Algorithms, Outrage and Keeping Calm in the Age of Social Media!
At an industry level we need to interrogate the data about how prevalent these negative stories are and establish if they are having any impact on consumer behaviour. I hope it gives you some comfort that the data is showing that recent articles have not gone ‘viral’ and there is no evidence that they have influenced consumer behaviour, which continues to be largely driven by price and quality. Where it is not counterproductive, we do ensure that balanced perspectives are provided to the mainstream media.
Sometimes it feels like the whole world is against us, and everywhere we look there is a negative post about berries. Whilst this is disheartening, particularly after a long day out on the farm, we need to unpack exactly what is happening here and make sure we are not living in our own social media echo chamber. The days when most of us consumed media from the same source are long gone, and even traditional media sources are now driven by the all-powerful algorithm. But what is an algorithm and how does it work?
I think the best antidote to the social media blues is to get out and about, and talk to people offline back in the ‘real’ world. I recently spent a few days at the Ekka (Brisbane Show). It was so encouraging to hear firsthand how many people just love berries and will queue for 20 minutes just to get their hands on one free strawberry.
Put simply, an algorithm is a set of mathematical rules that rank, sort, and distribute content across a network. These systems solve the problem of information overload by mapping a massive, unstructured pool of real-time user-generated content to a highly personalised user feed. While this is great on one level, as it means we are provided with content that interests us, it also creates the perception that an issue is ‘everywhere’.
Yes, I was asked questions about chemical use, but most people were really interested in how and where their berries are grown, and pleased to engage with the IPM showcase that was a key feature of the ‘Strawberry Sundae Lane’.
According to the Australian e-safety commissioner, algorithms monitor what you share, like, rewatch or comment on and even how long you pause on a clip. Once you interact with a clip or post, the system treats your action as a very subtle preference signal. It feeds you more of the same viewpoint while actively filtering out opposing or neutral perspectives.
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And for the record, the single biggest story in berries this year was the launch of the new white strawberry varieties, which was picked up by mainstream media and generated a huge social media response.
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I N D U S T R Y
Chairman's Report Anthony Poiner | 0412 010 843 | anthony@smartberries.com.au
Berries Australia (BA) formed in 2018 with the three berry peak industry bodies (PIBs) Strawberries Australia, the Australian Blueberry Growers Association and Raspberries and Blackberries Australia - as its members. Under the current model, growers are represented via their category PIB, and each PIB elects three representatives to sit on the Berries Australia Board, which is overseen by an independent Chair.
single say in the industry. Under the new model, there would be one membership, currently proposed at $195 a year, open to every commercial grower regardless of berry type or location delivering the same standing for every grower, and nobody paying twice. We should be clear that this is not about proving the united voice works; it already does. Marketing, export support and biosecurity coordination already run as one integrated effort across the three berries, delivering real results for growers. What is clunky is the legal compliance backend propping it up: four separate financial audits, four insurance policies and four boards duplicating the governance of an operation that already functions as one team. Consolidation simply brings our structure into line with how we already work.
Since then, we have aligned and streamlined how we deliver services, including industry development and communications, our export project and our advocacy function. As the largest fruit category by dollar sales, we carry a strong voice for growers, governments and others take our calls and listen to us.
One thing that will not change is your levies. Statutory levies continue to be managed independently through Hort Innovation as they are now, and voluntary levy and legacy PIB funds remain ring-fenced, spent only on the crop for which they were raised. RABA and SAI are also expected to retain their formal biosecurity roles, so specialist commodity knowledge is not lost.
The next major step in our evolution is for growers to become members of BA directly, with the grower base electing the BA Board. We are about to consult growers on this change, guided by a few principles: • E very category will be well represented on the Berries Australia Board
The Berries Australia team will engage growers at events such as Berry Practical in the Yarra Valley (SEE PAGE 20), and through webinars where you can put questions to the team.
• E very region will be engaged to encourage wide participation in voting • E very grower type - large and small, organic and traditional, co-op members and independents, growers and grower-marketers - will have a mechanism to be heard
Membership renewals for grower members of RABA and ABGA have just been issued, and you can be assured that members who pay this current renewal will automatically gain access to the new Berries Australia membership as soon as it is launched.
The case for change starts with representation. Strawberries are our largest commodity, yet the federated structure of SAI and the folding of state-based grower associations have left many active growers with no clear path to membership or a board seat. At the same time, a grower producing both Rubus and blueberries can end up paying two separate memberships for a
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Grower members of the current PIBs will, in time, be asked to vote on dissolving those entities, but that will not happen until we have consulted widely across the sector. We are keen to hear your thoughts and discuss how we can evolve as an organisation in the future.
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I N D U S T R Y
Brett Fifield, Hort Innovation, Chief Executive Officer
The recent 2026 Peak Industry Body Forum in Melbourne was an important opportunity to bring industry leaders together to discuss how we can strengthen collaboration, sharpen our priorities and create more value for growers across Australian horticulture. For the berry industry, the Forum provided an important opportunity to share challenges and successes with other sectors, helping unlock new ideas and opportunities.
ultimately strengthening the resilience, profitability and long-term success of Australian horticulture. You can read more about the Framework at qr.ly/-0EzHJ Another major focus was the Horticulture Investment Roadmaps and the new interactive online Dashboard, which was previewed at the Forum. The Roadmaps are part of a Hort Innovation transformation project designed to provide a strategic framework to help Hort Innovation and industry maximise value from the $85 million annual levy horticulture investment portfolio, supporting more coordinated and purposeful decisions across research, development and marketing investments. The Dashboard will make it easier for growers, peak industry bodies and industry stakeholders to see how levy investments align with industry priorities and identify shared opportunities across horticulture. For industries such as berries, this creates a stronger basis for identifying where priorities overlap, where collaboration could deliver greater returns, and where investment can be better aligned to deliver practical impact for growers. The Dashboard will launch on the Hort Innovation website from 30 September 2026.
The Forum brought together peak industry bodies, representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and the Hort Innovation team, with a strong focus on connection, alignment, knowledgesharing and continuous improvement. Its purpose was clear: to ensure we are all pulling in the same direction on the issues and opportunities that matter most to growers and industry. Importantly, it also created space for industries to learn from one another and identify opportunities to tackle shared priorities together.
The afternoon workshops provided another valuable opportunity for industry to shape the conversation. Participants explored crop protection, marketing and communication, crisis resilience and procurement improvements, with the topics drawn from priorities raised by peak industry bodies ahead of the Forum. What stood out to me most was the strong spirit of partnership in the room. The Forum reinforced that when we bring industry knowledge, grower priorities, and Hort Innovation together, we can make better decisions and deliver stronger outcomes.
For Hort Innovation, the Forum was also a chance to share several important updates that will shape how we work with industry in the years ahead. Attendees received an overview of both the opportunities and challenges facing horticulture and steering the priorities for the years to come. This reinforced the importance of strong partnerships between Hort Innovation, peak industry bodies, growers, delivery partners, and government. A key theme throughout the day was leadership. I was pleased to see Berries Australia CEO Rachel Mackenzie join Hort Innovation in presenting the new Horticulture Capability Leadership Framework. This presentation highlighted the critical role leadership capability plays in helping our industry navigate change, build stronger succession pathways and foster greater collaboration. The Framework provides a practical foundation for developing the skills, confidence and networks needed to support both current and emerging leaders,
We look forward to continuing this momentum, actioning points discussed on the day through SIAPs, industry updates and ongoing engagement with peak industry bodies, including Berries Australia. By continuing to share knowledge, work toward the same priorities and identify opportunities for joint investment, we can deliver even greater value for berry growers and the broader horticulture sector in the years ahead.
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I N D U S T R Y
R&D and Biosecurity Dr Angela Atkinson, Research & Development and Biosecurity Manager 0499 645 836 | angelaatkinson@berries.net.au
R&D update: new projects funded
R&D coordination and berry advisory mechanism
Following the ideation workshop held in March, Hort Innovation presented potential R&D investments to the three berry prioritisation panels in May. These projects are developed by Hort Innovation with input from industry.
The panels also endorsed continuing the berry advice mechanism and R&D coordination when the current project (MT23003 – Berry advisory mechanism) ends in March 2027. This will ensure that industry continues to have a direct role in developing the R&D projects funded through your levies.
The prioritisation panels are composed of levy payers from each of the three berry industries, and their role is to assess and prioritise potential R&D investments and recommend which should be progressed for funding by industry levies. Levy funds committed to R&D projects are matched dollar for dollar by Commonwealth funding through Hort Innovation. Through the berry advisory mechanism, industry now has a direct role in the development and funding of projects, ensuring levies are spent where needed.
Pest & disease management and crop protection One of the ongoing R&D priorities identified by industry is the management of new and established pests and diseases, and the availability of effective crop protection strategies. Requirements of the APVMA to renew or apply for minor use permits for industries have increased, and there is an ongoing need for new and safe crop protection products.
The ideation meetings bring together growers, agronomists and researchers across all three berry industries to identify industry needs and research directions, as many issues are common across the berry categories. However, the three industry levy funds are treated separately, with each industry able to invest in specific projects, or contribute to multi-industry research.
All three berry industries are supporting a levy-funded project to help the berry industry ensure ongoing access to improved crop protection options by funding a part-time role to work with industry, Hort Innovation, and the APVMA. This project has now been put out to open tender to identify a suitable delivery partner.
Variations to existing R&D projects are also presented to the prioritisation panels for endorsement, as well as any funding needed for trials to facilitate renewal of, and application for, minor use permits.
The Rubus levy is also supporting trials required by the APVMA to generate MRL data for the renewal of permits for two miticides for Rubus, and the application for a permit for the use of a pre-emergent herbicide in Rubus crops.
Industry development and communications In this investment cycle, all three berry panels agreed to support a variation in the Industry development and communications project (MT22010 – Facilitating the development of the Australian berry industries) to include seed funding for BerryQuest International 2027 as well as the development of new communication tools for industry, building on the support provided by the industry development and communications team.
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Fungicide resistance management Inclusion of berries in an ongoing project through the Cooperative Research Centre for Solving Antimicrobial Resistance in Agribusiness, Food and Environments (SAAFE CRC) was also put forward to the panels. The SAAFE CRC is a collaboration between industry, universities, research institutes, and government, and
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Jenny Van de Meeberg, Head of Trade for Berries Australia delivering training to Winmart retail staff in Ho Chi Minh City in early August as part of the program funded through MT23004 Photo credit: Berries Australia
Going forward, the Rubus and blueberry industries will be included in a newly contracted 4-year Hort Frontiers project, PH24002 Flies as effective pollinators for horticulture. This is a substantial multi-industry project, and inclusion will ensure continued berry-specific research, including addressing risks associated with mass fly release and developing crop-specific deployment strategies. A berry-specific cost-benefit analysis will be produced, and an anticipated goal of the project is the commercialisation of rearing protocols and technologies.
is focused on investigating increased resistance to antimicrobial medicines and chemicals that threaten human, animal and plant health (think antibioticresistant bacteria that cause serious human infections). The CRC has several research projects underway in the agriculture space, including a 12-month Kickstarter project led by Curtin University to develop infield testing for fungicide resistance in Botrytis in strawberry crops. The project presented to the panels is intended to build on this project and increase the range of pathogens and fungicide groups studied across all berries. Initially, the Rubus industry will be included in the new project to include national fungicide resistance monitoring and fungicide management strategies specifically for Rubus. This is an ongoing 5-year project, so there is the potential to include the other berries in the future.
Export The blueberry industry is also funding a variation to the Berry Multi-industry Export Development and Market Access Program (MT23004) to support blueberry-specific market access development activities in Vietnam over the next 2 years. This project actively manages market access and trade development for all three berry industries, including export readiness training and education for growers to support industry uptake of export opportunities. With the recent access to the Vietnam market for Australian blueberries, this new investment from the blueberry levy will support the development of that market for growers.
Pollination With the spread of Varroa mite across eastern Australia, growers are beginning to see the effects of the decreased availability and increased cost of managed hives, as well as the loss of pollination by feral honeybee populations. The berry industry previously funded a project looking at the potential for flies as berry crop pollinators (MT22007 – Expansion of flies as berry crop pollinators, which expanded work done in an earlier Hort Frontiers project, Managing flies for crop pollination (PH16002), to specifically investigate fly pollination in berry crops. This project showed that hoverflies are successful berry pollinators and can supplement honeybee pollination, particularly because they are active at lower temperatures than bees.
If you are interested in participating in any of the berry advisory panels, please get in touch. Continued engagement from growers and industry stakeholders is vital to ensuring berry levy funds are supporting research that addresses industry needs.
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I N D U S T R Y
Victoria & South Australia Victorian Strawberry Industry Development Committee
Sandy Shaw, Berry Industry Development Officer 0408 416 538 | vicberryido@berries.net.au
Southern growers have copped a wet winter, with the Adelaide Hills experiencing recordbreaking rainfall in June and July. At one point, the region received around 70% of its average annual July rainfall in just 24 hours. Growers in mid-west Victoria recorded their highest June rainfall on record, while parts of Gippsland remained well below average. Across the region, strawberry plantings were delayed by the persistent wet weather.
missed those, you'll have another opportunity to catch up with him at Berry Practical in a few weeks. SEE PAGE 20 for the event details. We wrapped up the South Australian season in early July with a relaxed end-of-season gathering where growers, researchers and industry representatives came together for some informal networking and to celebrate another successful season. I was particularly pleased to meet the new PhD candidate from the University of Adelaide, who will spend the next four years researching fungicide resistance in Australian strawberry production. His work will investigate pathogen prevalence across Australia's major strawberry-growing regions, identify fungicide groups where resistance is emerging, and assess the risk of future resistance development. He comes fresh from a Master's project investigating similar challenges in grapevines and is backed by the talented team at SARDI. If you’re interested in the project, please consider volunteering your farm as a sampling site for the project.
Soil moisture probes throughout Victoria showed moisture levels holding steady or increasing, and full dams give me cautious optimism for a strong start to the growing season. That said, forecasts suggest the next few months are likely to be warmer and drier, so it will be important to make the most of the water we've got. Average temperatures across the region were 1–3°C above normal during June. If these warmer-thanaverage temperatures continue, we could be looking at an earlier-than-usual start to the season.
In late August, Agriculture Victoria and Berry Industry Partner Netafim kindly delivered a workshop on irrigation system drainage and uniformity. The session focused on the fundamentals that underpin efficient irrigation systems, including drainage management and irrigation uniformity, with a strong emphasis not only on identifying issues but also on how to fix them. With an ever-growing range of drip irrigation products entering the market, the ability to independently assess system performance on your own farm is becoming increasingly valuable. Getting the fundamentals right remains one of the most effective ways to improve water use efficiency and crop performance. We've also welcomed many newer entrants to the berry industry over recent years, and workshops like this provide an excellent opportunity to build confidence and develop practical skills during those challenging early years.
Varroa mite continues to spread across Victoria and South Australia. While we still don't know exactly what the long-term impact will be, plenty of smart people are working hard to minimise the impact on growers. Researchers are assessing regional differences in potential alternative pollinators (see the update from the RB23002 Rubus study on PAGE 76), developing recommendations for creating and maintaining ideal environments for all pollinators, and continuing to investigate opportunities to scale up alternative pollinators, such as blowflies. Agriculture Victoria has also officially welcomed a Horticulture Sector Officer, James Rowe, dedicated to helping industries like ours adapt to the long-term changes Varroa will bring. James hit the ground running in June with a series of information sessions. If you
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Despite the welcome winter rainfall, southern Australia remains in drought, and best practice is to continue preparing for dry conditions. With that in mind,
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The South Australian berry industry gathered at the Uraidla Hotel for an end-of-season celebration in July Photo credit: Sam Freeman
Netafim Agronomist Peter Henry and Agriculture Victoria Irrigation Extension Officer Steph Veskoukis set up driplines for the August irrigation workshop Photo credit: Sandy Shaw
Our Live Lab, kindly sponsored by Eco Agro, will feature hands-on activities designed to support practical learning. The aim is to provide something valuable for everyone, whether their focus is in the field, the shed, or the office.
building confidence in interpreting irrigation data has never been more important, so we’re running another practical irrigation workshop on 3 September where growers can do exactly that. Rather than focusing on theory alone, participants are encouraged to bring along their own irrigation monitoring data and work through real examples from their farms with guidance from experienced industry professionals.
I know it can be difficult to commit to two full days away from your business in September, so I encourage everyone to attend in whatever way works best for them. If you can only make one day, that's perfectly fine. If you only have time for the morning sessions before school pick-up, come along then. If you have to get out and spray all day, join us for the final evening presentations and the networking drinks. Just let us know your plans so we can make sure we have enough food and refreshments for everyone. The full event and bus tour program is available on PAGE 20, and if you’re a grower, you can still register for your free ticket at bit.ly/BA-BP26.
Berry Practical is almost upon us. Recent site visits have helped finalise arrangements for our bus tour, generously sponsored by Lefroy Valley and ABZ Seeds, which will give growers behind-the-scenes access to two outstanding facilities: Driscoll's Pakenham nursery and Garden City Plastics' production facility. Growers will also have the opportunity to learn what makes a healthy hive and discuss pollination contracts and best practice with Agriculture Victoria's new Horticulture Sector Officer and local beekeepers.
As always, don't hesitate to get in touch if you need anything. I look forward to catching up with everyone as we head into another growing season, whether that's at one of our events, over the phone, or during a visit to your farm.
The day before, we'll be packing plenty into our one-day conference at Yarra Valley Lodge. Sessions will cover everything from precision irrigation and nutrition through to farm planning, cybersecurity and business management.
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I N D U S T R Y
Western Australia Helen Newman, Berry Industry Development Officer 0428 335 724 | Helen.Newman@dpird.wa.gov.au
Climate and crop Autumn 2026 wrapped up with both below- and aboveaverage rainfall totals, and average to below-average temperatures in WA berry growing regions. Figure 1 shows how autumn 2026 compares to previous years. The coolerthan-average temperatures in April continued into May, delaying the establishment and growth of strawberries in the Perth region. Three bouts of higher-than-average maximum temperatures made it seem warmer, but overall it was cooler, particularly overnight, with Pierce and Gingin recording average minimums 1.7 and 2.2°C below average. The Southwest growing region experienced generally warmer-than-average daytime maximums but cooler-than-average minimums. Rainfall totals for May were average to very-much below average for the month. There were plenty of sunny days during June, and it was mostly cooler than average, although temperatures didn’t stray too far from the long-term average. Rainfall was
patchy but generally average to slightly below average. A strong cold front on the 26th and 27th delivered some damaging winds. July, typically the coldest and wettest month of the year with falls between 130-170mm, was warm and dry. Growing regions received around 30% to 50% of average rainfall, a significant concern for water storages but handy for botrytis management. Mean maximum temperatures were 1 to 1.5°C above average in most areas, while minimum temperatures were mixed; mostly below average in the greater Perth region and slightly above average to the south. The warmer and drier than usual weather was likely caused by slow-moving high-pressure systems that passed through mid-month. The associated sunshine and warm northerly airflows delivered temperatures in the mid-twenties in the Perth region and the low to mid-twenties in the south.
Figure 1. The last six autumn seasons compared to the long-term averages for rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures in WA. © Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology
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Industry news
United Exports & Venture UWA Hackathon
DPIRD Innovation Challenge
More than 160 UWA students expressed interest in participating in the inaugural United Exports & Venture UWA Hack the Harvest challenge.
More than 190 high school students from across WA have participated in DPIRD’s 5th annual Innovation Challenge. This research-based competition tasks students with developing technological solutions to primary industry problems.
Participating students spent the day with the United Exports team visiting Western Berry Company, one of the companies' joint-venture growers of OZblu blueberries, where they met other industry experts and explored the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of sustainable food production.
Topics change each year and are suggested by industry partners, DPIRD staff and collaborators from Curtin University and Murdoch University. This year I was able to add a horticulture topic to the challenge: Challenge 1 – Innovative insect management. Students were asked how emerging technologies could be used to detect, deter or manage pest insects in WA horticulture crops. Each team developed an idea and prepared a poster and a 5-minute presentation for a panel of judges. DPIRD provided prizes for first ($1,500), second ($1,000), and third place ($500) to help winning schools purchase STEM equipment.
Working in multidisciplinary teams, students were then guided through the innovation process to identify opportunities and test ideas. The challenge was to build solutions that turn data into practical decisions across the blueberry supply chain in 4 key focus areas: • W hat is planted: Satellite crop census
Here are some of the creative ideas the students came up with:
• What volume is coming: Forecast the harvest
• T argeted Parasitoid Release: an acoustic device that uses AI to detect pest insects by sound and release parasitoid wasps to the infested area.
• What threats are approaching: Neighbourhood watch for crops
• T he Berry Guard: a solar-powered robot designed to release methyl jasmonate to attract natural predator insects such as ladybugs.
• W hat quality and value can we expect: Predict quality before harvest After some intensive work over a weekend, teams pitched their solutions to a panel of judges, and two were recognised for developing the most insightful, creative, and feasible solutions to genuine blueberry supply chain problems or opportunities.
• T he IEF (Insect Eliminating Frequency): a solar-powered speaker-like device that uses sound frequencies to scare away pest insects, with frequencies adjusted to target specific species. • Shock Disk: scented disks that attract pest insects, detect when they land, and deliver a quick shock to kill them.
United Exports awarded a $5,000 cash prize to the winning team and WA Agricultural Research Collaboration (WAARC) awarded a $2,500 cash prize to the second-place team.
• K ing of strawberry management: an autonomous rover that moves between crop rows and uses microcameras and UV-C bulbs to precisely target and flash insect eggs without damaging fruit.
Team 10 with their certificates after presenting their ‘Infestation Controlling Sprinkler System’ that dispenses Neem oil as a natural pest control method
Team 6 presented ‘Berry Guard’, a solar powered robot that micro-doses methyl jasmonate throughout the field to attract predatory ladybugs
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Students gaining first-hand insight into berry growing at the farm immersion day at Western Berry Company
Students brainstorming ideas to solve the innovation opportunities identified during the farm immersion
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All photos credit: Helen Newman
The room was buzzing with enthusiasm and amazing ideas as students pitched their challenge focus areas
I N D U S T R Y
Queensland Wendy Morris, Berry Industry Development Officer 0484 272 963 | qldberryido@berries.net.au
July saw our annual strawberry field day and wow, what a turnout! With over 70 attendees, the barbecuing skills and speed of Dale McKenna, Louella Woolcock (both QDPI) and Tim Wolens (Growcom) were certainly put to the test! Attendees also heard the latest breeding news, how strawberry accessions were selected, pollination in a post-varroa world, and the future of Berries Australia.
It’s a (VERY!) busy time of year for our winter strawberry growers. Blueberries are also in production, while our local Rubus growers coax raspberries into fruit during their normal lull. Prices are starting to soften for strawberries and blueberries as volumes increase, while growers continue to do battle with pests and diseases. At the top of the list for our winter strawberry growers is Frankliniella intonsa, a flower thrip that has made its presence well and truly known. As Varroa mite spreads more bee colonies are collapsing, and there have been unusually large patterns of lethal yellow and ‘broccolberry’ viruses. For more info on some of these emerging pest issues, SEE PAGE 50.
Our next major event is Berry Practical taking place from 17-18 September in the Yarra Valley, Victoria. If you’re a Queensland grower, you are perhaps thinking ‘September! Really? Who thought that was a good time of year?’ And yes, we know it’s not ideal timing for our Queensland growers, but if you can spare a day or two of yours, or a staff member’s time, it’s well worth the flight to Melbourne. This event delivers practical, ‘ready to use’ content for growers who want the nuts and bolts and not the fluff. Registration is free for growers, and very reasonably priced for all others. If you’re undecided, check out the full program on PAGE 20. Register today at bit.ly/BA-BP26
In June, Piñata Farms opened its Wamuran strawberrygrowing site to growers for a field walk. This grower-only event was a great opportunity for farmers to connect and share information. While most events are open to the broader industry, occasional grower-only events serve a specific purpose. We ask non-growers to respect these restrictions and refrain from requesting to attend.
Behind the scenes, we’ve been pleased to work with Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers, the Queensland Strawberry Growers’ Association and Bundaberg Tourism to promote our Bundaberg pick-your-own farms. The ‘Bundaberg Berry Trail’ brochure, which will be distributed by tourism bodies, accommodation venues and farms, gives members of the public details on Tinaberries, SSS Strawberries and Bargara Berries. I saw firsthand the quality of the fruit at these farms during my most recent visit to Bundaberg in July and can highly recommend them to anyone making a trip o the region. You can find out more about the promotion at bit.ly/PYO-Bundy Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me on farm during the past couple of months. I feel it’s been a flurry of visits! If I’ve not managed to catch up with you, please do not hesitate to get in contact however you prefer. I’m always free for a phone call, a visit, a text, or an email.
Frankliniella intonsa Photo credit: Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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June’s farm walk at Piñata Farms attracted a strong turnout from local growers Photo credit: Mabel Smyth
There have been an unusual number of ‘broccolberry’ cases in the QLD winter strawberry crops Photo credit: Wendy Morris
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Significant numbers of deformed fruit from poor pollination have been attributed to the effects of Varroa mite Photo credit: Wendy Morris
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Deb and Mick Meiers from Bargara Berries, one of the farms participating in the Bundaberg Berry Trail promotion
Tinaberries are well known in Bundaberg for their incredible freshly made ice creams
Berries Australia CEO Rachel Mackenzie was one of over 70 participants at this year’s Queensland Strawberry Field Day held at Maroochy Research Station in late July
Co-owner of Bundaberg-based SSS Strawberries Gina Dang Photos credit: Wendy Morris
Photos credit: Rachel Mackenzie
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I N D U S T R Y
Tasmania Mark Salter, Berry Industry Development Officer 0400 100 593 | berryido@fruitgrowerstas.org.au
The next priority: on-farm plastic waste
After two years away, I am pleased to return to the Tasmanian Berry IDO role and I look forward to reconnecting with growers and supporting the berry sector in the months ahead.
Building on the coir reuse project, Fruit Growers Tasmania are aiming to explore practical options for managing on-farm plastic waste. Over the coming months, the organisation hopes to develop a project that identifies workable pathways to address this issue.
Current indicators point to a more typical winter weather pattern, with July temperatures close to the seasonal average. This follows above-average temperatures through autumn and early winter, which has led to early bud burst in some blueberry plantings. Growers will be watching late-winter and early-spring forecasts closely to ensure adequate chill-hour accumulation, particularly for high-chill berry varieties.
Fruit Growers Tasmania and Berries Australia continue to work closely with Marguerite White, TIA’s communications and extension contact, to share project outcomes with key stakeholders. Marguerite has prepared a project work plan to guide this activity, which will include regular updates through the Australian Berry Journal and industry newsletters as well as workshops and field days.
Coir Reuse project update The Coir Reuse final report has been approved by NRE Tasmania, the project’s funding body. Findings can now be shared with growers and stakeholders through a series of articles, workshops and field days.
Grower visits continue to be a big focus this quarter, with 14 growers visited over the last period. Most growers remain positive with last season’s results, particularly with some reasonable returns on the back end of the season. Across all berry categories, blueberry growers reported a particularly slow start to the season, but strong prices for late-season fruit helped offset the delay. Grower feedback continues to indicate that labour costs are the sector’s biggest concern, followed by plastic and coir disposal. Projects that address these issues remain a priority.
A detailed article appears in this edition of the Australian Berry Journal on PAGE 36. In summary, the key findings are: • F resh coir in bags continues to deliver the highest yields and gross margins under current Tasmanian conditions • U sed coir mixed with composted pine bark can approach fresh coir performance and becomes more competitive as coir prices rise or fruit prices fall
Upcoming events Berry Practical 2026: Yarra Valley, 17-18 September. I would encourage Tasmanian growers to attend this grower-focused event. To register for your free grower tickets, visit bit.ly/BA-BP26
• T he main limitation of second-year coir is structural breakdown and compaction, which reduces aeration, rather than sterilisation alone • T rial results suggest sterilising used coir may not be essential in Tasmanian systems, potentially reducing the cost of reuse or recycling pathways
Webinar: Rubus IPM: Making the Right Decisions This Season: 2pm AEDT, 29 October. Join Jon Finch (TIA) and Mark Salter to hear about the latest project findings from 'Integrated pest management approaches to address pest challenges in raspberry and blackberry (RB21000)'.
Fruit Growers Tasmania gratefully acknowledges funding from the Agricultural Development Fund, administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tasmania). Thank you also to the grower participants - Costa, Tasmanian Berries and Hillwood Berries - for providing commercial trial sites for the project.
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Fruit Growers Tasmania Conference 2027: Launceston 20-21 May BerryQuest International 2027: Gold Coast 2-5 August
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New South Wales Gaius Leong, Berry Industry Development Officer 0484 055 748 | gaius.leong@dpi.nsw.gov.au
It’s been a busy few months in our region and so I thought I would share a few highlights and observations from recent field visits that may be of interest to growers.
While these early observations are encouraging, further work is required to better understand the consistency of the response and the mechanisms involved. Importantly, biostimulants should not be viewed as a solution to severe root strangulation, but rather as a potential management tool where the underlying root damage is less severe.
Root Wrapping and Biostimulant Use
The current levy-funded project ‘Understanding the cause of blueberry root wrapping and associated root crown disorders (BB23000)’ is investigating the underlying causes of root wrapping and may provide further insight into how the issue can ultimately be prevented. An update on the project can be found on PAGE 108.
External symptoms associated with root wrapping often become more apparent during late autumn and winter. These symptoms can be difficult to distinguish from a range of other issues, including nitrogen or phosphorus deficiency, salt injury, root diseases, blight, and crown injury associated with bacterial crown gall or girdling moth damage.
Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) Extension Changes to some of the key chemistry historically used for Queensland fruit fly control are creating new challenges for berry growers. As the industry transitions to alternative control strategies, effective extension will be critical to ensuring growers have the knowledge and confidence to maintain commercially viable fruit fly management programs.
The variation in symptoms can be attributed to several factors, including the severity of root strangulation, the crown architecture of the variety, and how the grower responds to an initial diagnosis. Misdiagnosis can result in unnecessary chemical applications and excessive fertiliser use, potentially compounding the original problem. Symptoms also tend to become apparent earlier in substrate-grown plants, often during the first season, compared with plants established in soil. Unfortunately, there are currently limited options available to growers once significant root wrapping has occurred, particularly where the root strangulation is severe.
I have been assisting Melinda Simpson with QFF workshops for the berry industry, with approximately 40 growers attending to date. The workshops have deliberately been kept small and interactive, generally involving between 5 and 15 growers per session. This format gives growers the opportunity to ask questions, discuss their individual circumstances, and work through practical fruit fly management strategies with other growers and industry specialists.
In less severe cases, early observations suggest that appropriately timed biostimulant applications may help suppress the development of symptoms during the winter period. Early trials conducted by global biosolution company Rovensa have also indicated that biostimulant treatments may help compensate for potential yield losses associated with less severe root wrapping. This potentially gives biostimulants a role as an insurance policy for growers. Root wrapping can be difficult to identify at planting, and in many cases it may be impossible to determine whether a plant has been affected until symptoms begin to develop.
Through the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's Farm Resilience Funding Program, further extension workshops will continue to be delivered to ensure growers have access to the information they need and, importantly, the confidence to implement an effective and commercially viable fruit fly control program within their berry operation.
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Photos credit: Gaius Leong
The combination of practical extension, improved monitoring, integrated pest management and the development of new control technologies will be essential to maintaining effective QFF management. Ultimately, these approaches will help protect berry production, support continued market access and maintain consumer confidence in the Australian berry industry.
Maintaining effective control of Queensland fruit fly will require greater reliance on integrated pest management, careful stewardship of the remaining insecticide options and continued investment in new technologies. While this transition presents considerable challenges for growers, it also provides an opportunity to accelerate the adoption of more sustainable and resilient pest management systems.
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PRACTICAL IDEAS GROWERS CAN PUT TO WORK
BerryPractical BerryPractical is a new two-day event built directly from grower feedback and focused on practical knowledge that can be taken home and applied on-farm. Held at Yarra Valley Lodge, Chirnside Park, Victoria, from 17–18 September 2026, the event brings together presentations, demonstrations, hands-on learning, trade displays, networking and a full-day bus tour. The aim is simple: help growers and farm staff build confidence, make better decisions and identify practical improvements for their own businesses.
Program at a glance DAY
TIME
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
KEY FOCUS
Day 1
8:00am
Registration, Tea & Coffee
Arrival and Trade Area Open
9:00am
Welcome & Sponsor Update
Welcome & Sponsor Presentation from Hort Innovation
9:15am
Hillwood Berries
Measure Twice, Plant Once: Lessons in Berry Farm Development
9:45am
Planfarm
Would You Buy Your Own Farm?
10:45am
Irribiz
Practical Fertigation of Berry Crops: From Venturis to Automation
11:15am
Netafim
Next Generation of Precision Irrigation for Berries
11:45am
Yara Australia
Right Rate, Right Time, Right Conditions: Maximising Nutrient Use Efficiency
1:15pm
Agriculture Victoria
Seasonal Climate Outlook for Spring/Summer
1:45pm
Haygrove
Ventilation Control & Tunnel Design for Improved Crop Performance
2:15pm
NAB
Cybersecurity for Horticultural Businesses
3:15pm
Fair Farms
Workforce Compliance Best Practice
3:45pm
RMCG
Farm Waste: Practical Solutions for Berry Growers
THU 17 SEP
5pm–7pm Networking Drinks & Canapés
Live Lab THU 17 SEP
10:45am – 3:45pm Hands-on Practical Sessions
Building Strong Industry Connections
IPM, Diagnostic Tools, Coir Quality, Fumigation, Pollination Tips, Good Bugs, Pest Identification Tools and Much More
Day 2
7:00am
Coffee, Registration & Boarding Bus Tour Departure from Yarra Valley Lodge
FRI 18 SEP
9:00am
Driscoll’s Nursery
High-Health Nursery Stock, Biosecurity, Farm Hygiene and Propagation
11:45am
Garden City Plastics
Pot Design, Manufacturing, Recycling, Sustainability and Substrate Insights
1:45pm
Lunch & Networking
Grower Discussion and Sponsor Presentation
Bus Tour Departure to Yarra Valley Lodge 3:15pm
The Bee Stop
Pollination Contracts, Bee Audits + Live Hive Health Demo by Expert Beekeeper
Program details are based on the working schedule and may be subject to final confirmation.
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What growers will get from Day 1
Hands-on learning in the Live Lab
Day 1 has been designed around the core decisions that shape berry farm performance. Simon Dornauf from Hillwood Berries will share practical insights into farm mapping and expansion planning, including the layout choices that can influence labour flow, operational efficiency and future development.
The Live Lab is one of the key features of BerryPractical. Instead of only hearing about practical tools and concepts, growers will be able to see them, handle them and ask questions.
Planfarm will focus on how growers can make better use of the data they already collect. Production, yield, labour, cost and financial information can be powerful when growers need to support grant applications, bank finance or internal business decisions. Water, nutrition and irrigation design are also major themes. Irribiz and Netafim will explore practical water and nutrient control, while the Live Lab will help growers understand water distribution under different irrigation methods. The afternoon program broadens into risk and business resilience, including weather data, tunnel design, cybersecurity, labour hire compliance and waste
Activities will include pest and invasive species identification, beneficial insects, IPDM-compatible chemical use, diagnostics, coir quality, pot design, sensor placement, fumigation considerations, nutrient tools and a mini bioreactor build. This is a strong opportunity for growers and farm staff to test their knowledge, learn directly from specialists and take practical ideas back to their own operations.
Who should attend? BerryPractical is designed for growers who want usable information, not theory for theory’s sake.
Why the bus tour matters Day 2 takes growers behind the scenes at businesses that support berry production. At Driscoll’s Nursery, growers will learn more about high-health nursery stock, propagation, biosecurity and farm hygiene. At Garden City Plastics, the focus turns to container manufacturing, pot design, coir, recycling and sustainability. The final stop back at Yarra Valley Lodge, The Bee Stop, will focus on pollination contracts, bee audits, hive health and hive inspection. For berry growers, where pollination influences both yield and quality, this session offers practical information for working more effectively with beekeepers.
It is particularly suited to younger growers, newer growers, supervisors, emerging managers and farm staff being prepared for greater responsibility. For berry businesses, the benefit is practical capability-building: better questions, better decisions and clearer next steps for improving farm performance.
This event is FREE for berry growers but pre-registration is required Register today at bit.ly/BA-BP26
LIVE LAB SPONSOR
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS MAJOR SPONSOR
EXHIBITORS
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BUS TOUR SPONSOR
I N D U S T R Y
Berries Australia Board Member: Andrew Terry, Tasmanian Berries Mark Salter, Berry Industry Development Officer, Fruit Growers Tasmania
Andrew and Stephanie Terry began their berry-growing venture in 2013, when they signed on with Driscoll’s to grow their berry varieties. In 2014, Tasmanian Berries was established over two sites in Central Northern Tasmania. They developed a brand-new site of four hectares of in-ground strawberries on their home farm at Exton and purchased an existing 11-hectare berry business approximately 10 kilometres west, at Christmas Hills. blackberries to maximise seasonal yield. This included investing in a fully enclosed, hydronically heated hot house on site, to study how heat can affect the crop compared to production in traditional polytunnels.
After a season of high picker turnover due to the labour-intensive nature of the in-ground harvest at Exton, the business invested in converting all strawberry production to hydroponically grown plants on tabletop infrastructure. The move was driven by the need for a system that was more favourable to the picking crew for day-on-day harvest, in turn creating a more productive harvest and easier-to-manage plants, especially for pest and disease control.
The trials were successful, leading to the development of five hectares of multi-span gothic-style greenhouses. The development required significant financial investment, planning, building approvals, civil works, and a dedicated project team to construct the structures over almost two years.
In the following seasons, the varieties grown at both sites were streamlined so that one site was used solely for strawberry production and the other for Rubus. The Rubus varieties were Driscoll’s raspberry genetics and a mixture of Driscoll's and public variety blackberries. With annual site expansion at Exton, Andrew looked for more ways to set the business’s production apart from the traditional market trends.
The greenhouses are approximately six metres at their highest point, and the climate within the houses is controlled by automated fans, roller doors, and roof vents that respond to temperature, sunlight, and humidity. Temperature can be increased or maintained by a self-sufficient system whereby the interior air is drawn into the dual polythene walls of the house and pumped around; this acts as a thermal break from the outside temperature. Many modifications have been made since the houses were constructed to help create ideal site-specific conditions.
In 2017, Andrew travelled to Scotland on a study tour to investigate hydroponic blackberry production under tunnels. The tour proved valuable, and in 2020 he began on-farm trials to test the viability of double-cropping
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Andrew & Stephanie Terry inside the hothouse blackberry operation Photo credits: Mark Salter and Tasmanian Berries
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The home farm site at Exton where strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are all currently grown Photo credits: Mark Salter
Current production
until they are ready to be returned to the tunnels and greenhouses for the following season’s production. The cooling system is powered predominantly by solar panels mounted on the northwestern side of the facility’s roof. They use the daylight hours to complement the harvest period each day by powering the cooling of the produce.
Tasmanian Berries has had a long-term strategy to develop the business and produce high-quality berries across all four berry categories: raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, while remaining commercially viable to operate and expand each season.
The facility also enables sanitary storage of packaging, creating more sustainable processes. Previously the use of outdoor storage bays would lead to packaging being blown around or thrown away due to impacts from weather and wildlife. The dispatch area includes a docking system designed to minimise heat ingress during loading, as well as more efficient and safer loading systems for employees.
To do this, land acquisitions of neighbouring properties in Tasmania and an investment in a Queensland site in 2023, operating as Sunshine Berries, have been made. This helped to create year-round production and extended workforce opportunities for their seasonal workers. The business going into the 2026/27 season will consist of:
The second stage of the facility is planned for this year and will include the installation of a series of packing lines to quality and weight check individual punnets, and automate labour-intensive, repetitive jobs, creating a more sustainable business model as labour costs continue to increase.
• 4 0 hectares of strawberries, forecast to produce more than 2,500 tonnes of fruit; • 2 0 hectares of raspberries, forecast to produce 500 tonnes of fruit; • 2 3 hectares of blackberries, forecast to produce 850 tonnes of fruit; and • 2 3 hectares of recently planted blueberries, with the first commercial crop expected this summer.
Plastics and coir separation The annual challenge of removing used coir bags from tunnels and separating expired plant material and the plastics they are housed in has been an ongoing project for Tasmanian Berries. Many systems have been researched, trialled and implemented over the years, but none were the perfect combination of commercially, environmentally and socially viable.
Post-harvest and cool chain logistics In 2023, Andrew invested in a 3,500 square metre pack shed, cooling and dispatch facility at the Exton site to manage the large volumes of fruit moving through the harvest window. The site includes several large cool stores with multiple functions. During harvest, they play a vital role in the post-harvest cool chain process, removing field heat through blast chilling and allowing fruit to be rapidly pulled down to the target temperature.
In 2024, Andrew expanded his research to international systems to help improve the systems already in operation. His aim was to find a balance of commercial viability and environmental benefit by reducing waste to landfill while keeping the valuable, expired materials in circulation for as long as possible, creating an on-farm circular economy.
In the off season, the cool rooms are used to cool store dormant raspberry and blackberry long canes,
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His research led him to trial specialised machinery to shred, separate, and sieve the plastics from the plant and coir materials, significantly reducing the waste to be disposed of. The separated natural products are then able to be refined into nutrientrich compost to improve paddocks for livestock and crop production on the remainder of the farm. This system reduces manual labour and therefore the risk to workers’ health and safety. It also reduces time spent on the job, the number of trucks on the road to disposal sites, and allows compression of the plastic for more efficient, cleaner disposal. This system has been recognised by the Tasmanian Waste and Resource Recovery Board, with the business receiving a grant to invest in the machinery required to implement this system on the farm annually, giving them the ability to provide this service to other businesses. It also allows for the recycled compost to be used in trials into the viability of recycled coir substrate for Rubus production.
Labour and workforce management Labour remains a major operational challenge. As an Approved Employer for the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme, Tasmanian Berries has made significant investments to provide pastoral care, support and transport to the workers in both Tasmania and Queensland. They have also invested in accommodation to house their PALM workforce of almost 500 workers per year, to ensure a stable, returning workforce each season.
Industry Board involvement Andrew and Stephanie’s commitment to the berry industry extends beyond their own business, as they both contribute to several industry organisations and boards, including: Berries Australia, where Andrew sits on the board; Raspberries and Blackberries Australia Inc (RABA), where Andrew also serves as Vice President; Fruit Growers Tasmania, where Andrew sits on the board representing Tasmanian berry growers; and Primary Employers Tasmania, a registered Employer Organisation, which advocates for and provides industrial relations advice to members. Stephanie serves as President, and as a member organisation of the National Farmers Federation (NFF), Stephanie sits on the NFF’s Workforce Committee.
Future plans Tasmanian Berries is now focused on investing in areas that can improve efficiencies across the operation, including the packing facility. Andrew believes this area of the business offers the strongest opportunity to achieve productivity gains and streamline production.
BERRIES AUSTRALIA
BerryQuest International
BQI
27
2–5 August 2027
GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND
SPONSORSHIP & EXHIBITOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR BERRYQUEST INTERNATIONAL 2027
Put your brand at the heart of BQI27
BerryQuest International 2027 will bring the berry community together at Royal Pines Resort in August 2027 for four days of innovation, collaboration and business opportunities. The conference will connect growers with researchers, marketers, retailers, nurseries, technology providers and allied suppliers from across the berry supply chain.
facebook Facebook @berriesaus
EXCLUSIVELY available to Berry Industry Partners and previous sponsors
1 OCT ONWARDS Open to all interested businesses
From the Gala Dinner to AgTech: choose the audience and moment that fits your brand.
Following BQI25, the 2027 sponsorship program introduces refreshed pricing and new ways for businesses to participate. Opportunities range from major conference partnerships and trade exhibition space to farm tours, networking events, digital engagement, merchandise and a new focus on AgTech and on-farm innovation.
FOLLOW US ON
1 – 30 SEP
Many packages are limited, so organisations interested in supporting the event are encouraged to review the options early. All prices EXCLUDE GST, which will be added at 10%
LINKEDIN LinkedIn @berries-australia
BQI27 Sponsorship & Exhibitor Opportunities STANDARD SPONSOR BENEFITS INCLUDED: 1 full conference registration + acknowledgement on conference materials + option to use delegate Lead Capture & Appointment technology via the Conference App
CONFERENCE SUPPORT PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER (NEW FOR BQI27)
2 Available
8 Available
5 Available
$32,000
$17,000
$9,000
FARM TOUR PARTNER
SESSION PARTNER
SHOUT A GROWER
2 Available
5 Available
Unlimited
$7,000
$4,500
$1,750
NETWORKING SUPPORT GALA DINNER SPONSOR
INDUSTRY AWARD SPONSOR
HUMP DAY HAPPY HOUR SPONSOR
1 Available
6 Available
1 Available
$22,500
$5,500
$8,000
MERCHANDISE & MATERIALS CONFERENCE APP PARTNER
CONFERENCE BAG PARTNER
1 Available
1 Available
$11,000
$11,000
COFFEE & CONNECTION PARTNER
LANYARD PARTNER
MEDIA WALL PARTNER (NEW FOR BQI27)
2 Available
1 Available
5 Available
$8,000
$6,000
$5,000
CONTENT & INNOVATION INNOVATION & TECH HUB SPONSOR (NEW FOR BQI27)
KEYNOTE SPEAKER SPONSOR (NEW FOR BQI27)
1 Available
2 Available
$10,000
$8,000
TRADE SHOW STANDARD BENEFITS INCLUDED: Acknowledgement on conference materials + option to use delegate Lead Capture & Appointment technology via the Conference App
TRADE SHOW EXHIBITOR STAND 3m x 2m
MINI EXHIBITOR STAND 3m x 1m
BUSINESS LOUNGE 6m x 2m
DIGITAL DELEGATE PARTNER (NEW FOR BQI27)
37 Available
7 Available
1 Available
Unlimited
$6,500
$4,500
$11,000
$3,500
FIND OUT MORE AT BIT.LY/BQI27
Understand the inclusions & secure your package today! SPONSORSHIP Jen Rowling | jenrowling@berries.net.au | 0448 322 389 TRADE SHOW Wendy Morris | qldberryido@berries.net.au | 0484 272 963
I N D U S T R Y
BerryWorld: Flavour, Genetics and the Long Game of Berry Category Growth Jane Richter, Communications & Marketing Manager, Berries Australia
When I visited BerryWorld’s joint venture breeding partner Edward Vinson Ltd at their Faversham, Kent site in June this year while travelling in the UK, the timing could hardly have been better. The British berry season was well underway, the tunnels were full, and the rows of strawberries and raspberries offered a practical view of how one of the world’s best-known berry businesses has built its reputation: not through one single breakthrough, but through a deliberate combination of breeding, protected cropping, grower partnerships, retail insight and consumer-led marketing. I was lucky enough to spend the morning touring the facility with Samuel Rowe, Chief Genetics Officer and Charlotte (Charlie) Knowles, Group Marketing & Communications Director. collectively now represents one of the world’s largest vertically integrated berry businesses. Across the AgroBerries Group, the business operates some of its own variety programmes through joint ventures with key partners. These are built around a simple but ambitious proposition: breed ‘flavour packed’ berries that taste better while also increasing yields for growers.
For Australian berry growers, the BerryWorld story is particularly relevant. Through its relationship with Piñata Farms, BerryWorld genetics are already part of our local Australian industry. But the UK visit offered a broader lesson: the strongest berry categories are built when growers, breeders, marketers and retailers work from the same brief. It's all about producing fruit that performs in the field, survives the supply chain, and brings consumers back for more. Again, and again. Makes it sound so simple, doesn’t it?
That concept of balance - flavour and grower return came through repeatedly during my visit and discussions with Sam and Charlie.
BerryWorld was founded in the UK in 1994 and has grown into one of the world’s major berry suppliers, with a global footprint and year-round supply across the four major berry categories. BerryWorld supplies across 37 countries, supported by breeding, growing, marketing and prepared-fruit operations. It was acquired in 2024 by the AgroBerries Group, which
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“You breed for something you’re going to sell,” Sam told me during the walk through the crop. “If you’re going to breed something that’s not going to sell, then it’s irrelevant how quickly it picks. You can’t sell it, so it’s not viable.”
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‘Eves Delight 2’ strawberries ready for harvest. ‘Eves Delight 2’ was bred by Edward Vinson Ltd and is grown by select BerryWorld growers in the UK Photo credit: Jane Richter
It is a deceptively simple statement, but it captures the commercial discipline behind BerryWorld’s success. Eating quality matters, but not in isolation. A variety also needs yield, plant architecture, shelf life, pick speed, disease tolerance, and a clear place in the market.
A Kent heritage with global reach The Faversham visit was to Edward Vinson Ltd., a Kent-based fruit business with more than 150 years of berry-growing heritage in South East England. Edward Vinson Ltd. launched its own strawberry breeding program in 1986 and has developed a range of varieties that BerryWorld packs exclusively. Sam describes Edward Vinson Ltd. (EV®) as a standalone family-owned business with ‘a very long history in soft fruit production’, explaining that Peter Vinson began strawberry breeding 40 years ago, at first, just as a hobby. Today, EV® is a modern, industry-leading breeding business that has moved to science lead practices, grounded by its grower and market roots. When BerryWorld started in 1994, Adam Olins, founder, was looking for a strong production partner, and Edward Vinson Ltd. was the biggest soft fruit producer in England at the time.
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'Sapphire', 'Diamond Jubilee' and the power of a point of difference
That relationship became one of BerryWorld’s defining strengths. Sam explained that BerryWorld and Edward Vinson Ltd. still work together across multiple pillars: BerryWorld holds exclusivity on the Edward Vinson Ltd. strawberry breeding program, the businesses breed together through BerryWorld Plus, Edward Vinson Ltd. produces fruit for BerryWorld, provides winter packing for imported fruit, and propagates strawberry plants for growers. So their fortunes are thoroughly intertwined.
A major part of the BerryWorld story is the development of raspberry varieties that gave retailers and consumers a reason to trade up. During the visit, Sam described the older raspberry market as centred on classic varieties such as ‘Tulameen’ and ‘Ample’, before Driscoll’s ‘Maravilla’ bred some consistency into the product and helped consumers gain confidence in raspberries. BerryWorld Plus then released 'Diamond Jubilee', which competed in the standard offer, followed by 'Sapphire', which became a top-tier raspberry. "'Diamond Jubilee' is what Gavin’s growing in Australia at Piñata Farms,” Sam explained.
At the site I visited, Sam estimated fruit production at about 94 hectares, all under polytunnel, with strawberries and raspberries the major crops along with more hectares for strawberry plant propagation. He also explained that the strawberries were 100% proprietary EV genetics, while the raspberries were 100% BerryWorld Plus genetics.
For Charlie, it is clear why 'Sapphire' has worked so well commercially. It’s a variety that had a clear point of difference, which meant retailers could get behind it. Major Northern European retailers have promoted it through high-profile PR activity, variety name call-outs on packs, pack redesigns and a stronger emphasis on the breeding story. The result, Charlie said, was that purchase frequency increased because consumers had a better reason to return to buy time and again.
BerryWorld Plus: the breeding engine BerryWorld Plus was established in 2002 as a joint venture between Edward Vinson Ltd, Hall Hunter Partnership and BerryWorld. Its purpose is to breed raspberry, blackberry and blueberry varieties that combine outstanding taste with sustainable yields for growers. BerryWorld Plus genetics are now grown across four continents, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scandinavia, Spain, South Africa, the UK and the US.
For Australian growers, this is one of the most important lessons in the BerryWorld model. Differentiation only works if the product is genuinely different from the other products in the category and consistently delivers. Charlie captured the challenge neatly: “The hard thing with berries, a lot of the time they don’t look too different from the next berry. You’re buying with your eyes… so how do you know that one raspberry is going to taste different to the next?”
Nothing happens rapidly in plant breeding. The joint venture was established in 2002; breeding trials were established in Spain in 2005; ‘BerryWorld Gem®’ and ‘BerryWorld Jewel®’ were selected for more extensive trials in 2009; ‘BerryWorld Gem®’ (also known as 'Diamond Jubilee') was released in 2013; and ‘BerryWorld Jewel®’ (also known as Sapphire) followed in 2014.
That is where variety, branding and retail storytelling intersect. In apples, for example, the visual difference between varieties is mostly obvious. In berries, it often needs to be created through consistent eating quality, strong visual packaging cues, variety naming and building trust from one season to another.
On-farm, Sam put the timeframes even more plainly: approximately seven years to market for strawberries, around nine years for raspberries, nine to 12 years for southern-hemisphere blueberries, and 15 to 20 years for northern-hemisphere blueberries. For growers, that timeframe matters. It means breeding is not simply a response to today’s market conditions. It is a long-term bet on what consumers, retailers, labour markets, climate and production systems will require in a decade’s time.
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From one pack to a pack for every shopper
This is where BerryWorld’s model becomes especially interesting. It does not rely only on producing a better berry; it builds a commercial structure around that berry so the consumer can recognise, trust and repurchase it.
One of the clearest market insights from the visit was the evolution of the UK berry category from a single pack format into a tiered and segmented offer.
The Australian connection: Piñata Farms and BerryWorld Australia
Charlie described the development of UK berry retailing as a gradual shift from a simple, standardised offer to a more sophisticated category structure. In the early stages, berries were largely sold through a single core pack format. That evolved into a year-round version of the same basic offer, before retailers began introducing larger pack sizes, premium tiers and more clearly differentiated formats. You could argue that we are in the early stages of the same journey here in Australia.
BerryWorld’s Australian connection began formally with Piñata Farms. Piñata Farms, led by Gavin Scurr, has more than 1,010 hectares under cultivation across Australia and produces four fruit lines. Gavin and Stephen Scurr diversified into strawberries in 2000, and by 2015 Piñata Farms had become a leading Australian strawberry business. Piñata Farms became Australia’s first large-scale grower to grow strawberries under polytunnels in 2015. Substrate strawberry production was established in 2016 in preparation for the first commercial BerryWorld Australia-branded harvest in 2017. Specialty BerryWorld raspberries followed in 2018.
The result in the UK is a category that now caters to different shopping occasions and budgets. A small punnet can suit a single-person household or price-conscious shopper, while larger formats appeal to families and frequent berry buyers. At the same time, premium packs give consumers a reason to trade up when the eating quality, variety or brand story supports the higher price.
BerryWorld strawberries were selected through BerryWorld’s exclusive access to the Edward Vinson Ltd. breeding program in the UK and Spain, with the first commercial specialty crop produced by Piñata Farms for BerryWorld Australia going to market in August 2017. BerryWorld strawberries are grown in Wamuran during winter and Stanthorpe in summer.
As Charlie put it, there is now “almost a pack for every shopper” from small value-oriented punnets through to large-format top-tier packs. This evolution has helped the UK berry category grow not just by selling more fruit, but by giving more consumers more reasons to buy berries more often.
BerryWorld-branded raspberries are grown exclusively by Piñata Farms at Wamuran on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, with the first raspberry crop harvested in winter 2019. The Wamuran raspberry crop is produced between April and December and supplements the raspberry crops of other growing regions, including Stanthorpe in Queensland and Orielton in Tasmania.
For Australian berry growers, this UK experience is highly relevant. The Australian retail offer has traditionally been more strongly driven by price and standard pack size, with less emphasis on differentiated tiers, variety call-outs or clearly defined shopper occasions. Charlie’s point was not that every berry needs to become a premium product. Rather, the opportunity lies in building a category with more entry points. Some shoppers will always look for value, while others may be willing to pay more for larger packs, better flavour, stronger branding, or a more reliable eating experience. A broader range of pack sizes and formats gives retailers more ways to meet those different needs and gives growers more opportunities to capture value.
Growing what can be sold A recurring theme during my visit was BerryWorld’s disciplined approach to matching production with market demand. As we walked through raspberry crops planted at different stages, Sam explained that floricane raspberries give growers some ability to spread supply by planting long canes at different times. Each planting creates a slightly different production window, helping to flatten supply and improve the chances of fruit being harvested when there is a clear market for it.
However, the success of that approach depends on quality. Pack format can encourage a shopper to buy once, but the eating experience determines whether they buy again. As Charlie explained, increased purchase frequency is underpinned by genetics and consistency: “If the quality’s not consistent, people won’t come back. They can swap into other products.”
“That gives us a different production window,” he said. “So again, we grow what we can sell — and I think that is a mantra that we’ve tried very hard to live by.”
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For Australian growers, that phrase - we grow what we can sell - is one of the most useful takeaways from the BerryWorld model. It connects production planning with variety selection, labour availability, yield forecasting, packhouse capacity, retail programs and market development. A berry crop has its greatest value when it can be picked, packed, cooled and sold into a market that is ready for it. When production exceeds the available market window, that same fruit can quickly become a distressed-price product, or worse, waste.
‘BerryWorld Ruby®’ is very easy to pick as it detaches cleanly. Sam showed me a late planting of ‘BerryWorld Ruby®’ established in May for an August harvest window. Mechanisation is also coming, although Sam expects strawberries and blueberries to move first, with raspberries and blackberries taking longer because of their complexity. Water security is another major issue facing UK growers, a concern that we are all too familiar with in our fickle Australian climate. Sam predicted more attention will come in the near future on extraction licences, rainwater harvesting and water reuse. He noted that some growers are already collecting runoff, but that reuse brings additional challenges around disease treatment and nutrient management.
This production discipline also explains BerryWorld’s strong focus on shelf life. Later in the visit, Sam described flavour as a baseline expectation, but identified yield, shelf life and consistency as critical commercial factors. “If you don’t have shelf life, you lose confidence in the product,” he said. “People don’t come back.”
The timing of my visit on 16 June also proved significant. What followed was an extraordinary British summer. From June to August 2026, the UK recorded its hottest summer since national records began in 1884, surpassing the previous record set just a year earlier. Conditions became particularly extreme through July, when England and Wales recorded their driest July on record, and parts of southern England experienced exceptionally long periods without measurable rain. At Wisley in the southern county of Surrey, for example, the dry spell eventually stretched to 62 consecutive days. By summer’s end, England had received only 64% of its normal rainfall and Wales 59%. For a berry industry built around protected cropping, irrigation and careful management of crop timing, the season provided a striking illustration of the increasingly challenging conditions UK growers are having to design their production systems and genetics around.
That message is highly relevant to the Australian berry industry, where recent supply chain work has reinforced the importance of temperature management from harvest through to retail. Genetics may set the potential for quality, but that quality is protected — or lost — through every step after picking. Rapid cooling, careful handling, efficient packing, cold chain integrity and strong stock management all determine whether the consumer experiences the fruit as the grower intended. The most closely guarded part of the farm is Edward Vinson Ltd.’s active breeding program - a trial area where new selections are carefully assessed, but not examined too closely by visitors. It's so top secret that the photo I took from a considerable distance away was vetoed for publication! Such is the competitive world of global berry breeding.
Climate change is definitely influencing breeding priorities. Sam highlighted that climate change is bringing more frequent periods of thermo-dormancy, where plants effectively shut down during heat events. Breeders, he said, will need to simulate heat events to identify genetics that can remain active under those conditions, as these extreme hot periods are only going to happen more regularly. That should sound familiar to Australian growers. What has become an emerging concern in the UK is already a central production challenge in many Australian regions.
Breeding for the future: labour, heat, water and mechanisation BerryWorld’s breeding objectives are not static. They are changing as labour availability tightens, costs rise and climate conditions shift. ‘BerryWorld Ruby®’, a newer raspberry variety discussed during the visit, was developed partly in response to the economics of raspberry production. Raspberries are labour-intensive, so breeders looked for fruit visibility, berry size, ease of picking, a wider acceptable colour range and yield along the lateral. Sam explained that ‘BerryWorld Ruby®’ does all of that: fruit visibility is good, it picks relatively easily, maintains size and has good yield.
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Success measured in awards, markets and repeat purchase BerryWorld’s success is evident in its market presence, varietal reach, and independent recognition. Its varieties have received multiple International Taste Institute Superior Taste Awards since 2018, across blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. In 2025, BerryWorld varieties were again recognised across the berry portfolio, including selected Mountain Blue* blueberries, ‘Sweet Karoline®’ blackberries, ‘Eves Delight™’ strawberries, ‘Eves Joy™’ strawberries, ‘BerryWorld Reyes®’ raspberries and ‘BerryWorld Jewel®’ raspberries. Awards are useful validation, but the more important commercial measure is repeat purchase. BerryWorld’s model is built on the understanding that consumers come back when the eating experience is consistently good. Genetics may open the door, but retail execution, handling, pack format, supply planning and shelf life determine whether that promise is delivered. For Australian growers, the BerryWorld story offers several clear lessons: • F lavour needs to be treated as a baseline expectation, not an optional premium feature • P remiumisation should not be seen as a risk if the eating quality genuinely supports the price • V arieties need to perform commercially, not just in tasting panels, which means yield, shelf life, pick speed and consistency all matter • F uture production systems will also need to be designed around labour efficiency, climate resilience, water security and mechanisation from the outset Perhaps the strongest message from the Faversham visit was that BerryWorld’s success has come from connecting the whole chain. Breeding is linked to product quality and picking efficiency. Picking efficiency and quality is linked to shelf life. Shelf life and quality is linked to consumer confidence. Consumer confidence is linked to purchase frequency. Purchase frequency is linked to grower value. As Charlie put it, the UK market has moved from a simple one-pack model to a more sophisticated category with something that everyone can buy into. That may be the real opportunity for Australia: not simply to grow more berries, but to give more shoppers more reasons to choose better berries, more often.
‘BerryWorld Ruby®’ is very easy to pick as it detaches cleanly. Sam showed me this late planting of ‘BerryWorld Ruby®’ established in May for an August harvest window Photo credit: Jane Richter
* Mountain Blue bred the original Eureka blueberry in Australia through Ridley Bell’s breeding program, and the broader Eureka series remains part of Mountain Blue’s genetics portfolio. BerryWorld has licensed Mountain Blue genetics for international production and marketing. That is why you will see names such as BerryWorld Eureka®, BerryWorld Eureka Sunrise™, Eureka Sunset, Eureka Dawn, Eureka Gold and Eureka Maxx in BerryWorld’s international varietal portfolio.
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BERRYWORLD AND AGROBERRIES BerryWorld is now part of AgroBerries, a global berry business founded in Chile. AgroBerries first took a minority stake in BerryWorld’s EMEA and APAC businesses in 2023, before acquiring BerryWorld Group Holdings Limited in 2024. The combination brings together AgroBerries’ global production base and BerryWorld’s strong European marketing, retail and varietal platform. For more information on the Group, visit: agroberries.com The notable exception is North America, where the BerryWorld brand is totally separate and is owned and operated by Mastronardi Produce; AgroBerries is not related to Mastronardi’s BerryWorld-branded business in the US market.
Sam Rowe
Charlotte Knowles Marketing & Communications Director, AgroBerries Group
Chief Genetics Officer, AgroBerries Group Sam Rowe joined BerryWorld in 2009 as a management trainee. His career has taken him across customer-facing, supply development and varietal development roles, giving him a broad view of how genetics, growers, retailers and consumers need to connect. Sam is now the Chief Genetics Officer for the Group, reflecting his pivotal role in the company’s global varietal development work.
Charlotte is Group Marketing & Communications Director and leads corporate and consumer brand strategy. Her role sits at the point where genetics, farming, retail, shopper behaviour and brand storytelling come together, helping to translate berry variety development into a clear proposition for retailers and consumers. Charlotte has played a key role in BerryWorld’s brand evolution and in 2026 won Marketing and Brand Leader at the inaugural Women in Food & Drink Awards.
Since 2012, Sam has been closely involved in berry varietal development, including BerryWorld Plus, BerryWorld’s proprietary breeding programme for raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. He established BerryWorld Varieties in 2015 and leads the team as Chief Genetics Officer, most recently taking on full responsibility for the AgroBerries Group genetic portfolio. His work focuses on bringing commercially viable berry genetics to market: varieties that deliver flavour and consumer appeal, but also yield, shelf life, picking efficiency and sustainable returns for growers.
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Jiffy Blueberry mix for long lasting results • RHP Certified inputs to produce a premium blend of coir, peat and perlite. • AFP and WHC specifically designed to suit Australian growing conditions. • Perfectly balanced particle sizes to ensure mix stability and longevity. • Quality materials for the perfect starting PH (of approx 4.3). AFP of 28-38% for healthy roots WHC of 50-70% for efficient nutrient uptake Long lasting premium materials
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I N D U S T R Y
Fresh Coir, Reuse or Mixes? What the Tasmanian Trials Show Simon Neil & Mark Salter, Berry Industry Development Officers, Fruit Growers Tasmania
• Fresh coir in bags still gives the highest yields and gross margins under current Tasmanian conditions • Used coir mixed with composted pine bark can come close to fresh coir performance and become competitive as coir prices rise or fruit prices fall • The main limitation in second-year coir is structural breakdown and compaction, leading to poor aeration, rather than sterilisation alone • Trial results suggest sterilisation of used coir may not be essential in Tasmanian systems, which could significantly reduce the cost of any reuse or recycling pathway In practice, this shows up as more variable moisture behaviour and a narrowing management window. Growers can find the top of the profile looking acceptable while the bottom remains saturated, particularly in areas that are difficult to flush. In trough systems, corners and low points are especially prone to staying wet, and flushing fertiliser salts can be less effective. Over time, this contributes to localised EC build-up and additional plant stress, even when the fertigation recipe hasn’t changed.
Tasmanian hydroponic strawberry growers are weighing up three substrate choices: fresh coir, second-year reuse, or coir mixes. Commercial trials coordinated by Fruit Growers Tasmania with RMCG have now put evidence around how these options perform on-farm. This article summarises the key findings: why reused coir tends to lose performance, what the economic analysis says under today’s assumptions, and how to trial coir mixes safely, including practical steps to manage risk and adjust irrigation and fertigation.
Pathogen testing in the project did detect organisms in some reused treatments, but overall, the evidence points to structure and water management as the primary drivers of the yield penalty seen in straight secondyear coir. In practical terms, extending substrate life is less about intensive disinfection and more about maintaining porosity and drainage. That’s why the better-performing approaches in the trials were those that improved the physical profile, either by blending with more structurally stable material or by paying close attention to container design and flushing behaviour.
Why reused coir loses performance Across the commercial trials, the consistent pattern was that second-year coir tended to lose performance mainly due to physical breakdown of the substrate, rather than a simple increase in disease risk. As coir ages through a season, fine particles migrate down through the profile and gradually block pore spaces in the lower root zone. Drainage slows, the base of the bag or trough stays wetter for longer, and parts of the profile shift toward anaerobic conditions. Once that happens, root function declines and plants become harder to manage through the back half of the season.
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What the economics say
A simple approach is to allocate a few bays (or a defined number of tables) to a single mix and keep everything else as your farm standard. That gives you a meaningful comparison without putting your season at risk.
The economic analysis attached to the project supports what many growers already suspected: under current assumptions, the “status quo” system of fresh coir in bags for a single season still tends to deliver the strongest gross margin. That result is driven by yield stability and management familiarity. Even when reused or mixed substrates reduce input costs, a meaningful yield penalty can quickly erode those savings if the system is not managed carefully.
Plan for early-season fruit management. Mixed substrates and trough systems can increase the chance of early fruit sitting on damp substrate surfaces, which can translate into avoidable losses. Topper mats are a practical, low-cost control that can help separate fruit from the substrate surface during establishment and early pick, and they’re worth considering as part of any mix trial so you’re not judging the substrate on preventable fruit loss.
However, the modelling also makes an important point: the advantage of fresh coir is not as secure as it first appears. When the numbers are stress-tested, small shifts in key variables can narrow the gap or even change the ranking. If coir prices rise, the relative attractiveness of lower-cost reuse options improves quickly. Conversely, when fruit prices are strong, the yield stability of fresh coir becomes more valuable, and the status quo tends to pull ahead. In other words, reuse and mixed substrates shouldn’t be read as a universal replacement for fresh coir today, but they do represent a meaningful hedge against plausible future scenarios in input pricing, freight disruption, and changing waste costs.
Expect that irrigation and fertigation may need adjustment. The whole point of mixing is to change the physical profile, including drainage, water-holding and air-filled porosity, so the “right” irrigation strategy can shift as well. Define in advance what you’ll monitor (at minimum: drainage behaviour, EC trends in hard-toflush zones, and plant response through warm periods) and keep notes on changes you make. The goal isn’t perfection in year one; it’s building a farm-specific playbook for how that mix behaves under your conditions. Be clear about what success looks like before you start. Yield matters, but so do fruit quality, labour and waste outcomes. If your end goal includes an off-farm pathway for spent substrate, plan for contamination control from day one. Plastic fragments can be introduced as bags are handled, cut or removed, and downstream reuse or processing options may depend on how clean the material stream is.
The other key takeaway is that “profitability” isn’t a single number that can be lifted from a report and applied to every farm. Labour assumptions, disposal costs, tunnel layout, irrigation infrastructure and market timing can all influence the outcome, and some costs are difficult to quantify consistently across businesses. Alongside the modelling, an Excel tool is available to help growers stress-test the results against their own assumptions (fruit price, coir cost, yields and major inputs). It’s designed to support decisions, not replace them.
Bottom line There is no single “best” substrate choice for every farm. Under today’s assumptions, fresh coir remains the most reliable benchmark, but the trials clarify why second-year coir can lose performance and where mixed substrates can work when structure and drainage are managed well.
You can download this tool from www.fruitgrowerstas.org.au/coir-reuse-projectfindings-2026 and try for yourself.
For growers interested in mixes, the safest approach is incremental: run small, side-by-side trials and expect to adjust irrigation and fertigation. Done well, mixes become a practical hedge against input costs, freight risk and waste pressures.
If you want to trial coir mixes: how to do it safely If you want to trial coir mixes on-farm, the strongest message from this project is to treat it as a controlled change, not a straight swap. Start small, run it side-by-side with your current fresh coir system, and set it up so you’re learning something useful even if the result is “not yet”.
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Bags vs troughs: what to watch
The bigger circular play: second-life coir beyond strawberries
Troughs can remove the bag from the system, but they’re not always “plug-and-play.” In the trials, practical issues included a higher risk of waterlogging and difficulty flushing salts in corners, plus shrinkage that can create “by-flow” channels and uneven wetting. Grower experience also flagged that trough surface moisture can lift under-canopy humidity and disease pressure, and may favour pests such as bronze leaf beetle if issues accumulate across seasons. If trialling troughs or mixes, plan to manage the microclimate and consider simple fruitprotection measures (e.g., toppers) early.
Several growers felt the most realistic circular opportunity may be second-life uses for strawberry coir outside the strawberry crop itself - particularly Rubus long cane or nursery production rather than trying to run coir “straight back” into strawberries every time. This thinking also links to the strongest engagement theme: treat coir and plastics as one integrated waste stream, with plastic separation to a defined standard a prerequisite for any reuse or processing pathway. It’s not solved yet, but it frames where industry effort is most likely to pay off.
Jake Gaudion from project delivery partner RMCG evaluating plants in the coir re-use trial Photo credit: Mark Salter
Acknowledgements Fruit Growers Tasmania gratefully acknowledges funding from the Tasmanian Government, provided through the Agricultural Development Fund and administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tasmania).
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Help shape the future of pollination The Pollination Security Status Report 2026 is the first national holistic assessment of pollination security in Australia. The report brings together new modelling, economic analysis and industry data to better understand the current and future challenges facing pollination across agriculture and ecosystems. The Australian Pollination Strategy team is now inviting berry growers to share their experiences and insights as part of a national consultation. Your feedback will help test the report’s findings, identify gaps and inform priorities for Australia’s first national Pollination Strategy.
Share your insights on:
• Managing rising pollination costs • Accessing reliable pollination supply • Exploring alternative pollination options • Innovation in pollination • Strengthening relationship with pollination providers
The Australian Pollination Strategy is a five-year national initiative led by the Wheen Bee Foundation in collaboration with industry, research institutions, environmental organisations and government stakeholders.
Complete the online consultation by 30 September 2026
Read the Pollination Security Status Report 2026 and have your say at pollination.org.au
I N D U S T R Y
Getting Berries to Cut Through in a Crowded Social World Jane Richter, Marketing & Communications Manager, Berries Australia An update from the project ‘Berry Basket Marketing Campaign 2025-27 (BR25501)’
The Berry Basket marketing campaign is entering its next stage, with a new Brisbane-based team - Bespoken Agency - appointed to manage social media activity following a competitive pitch process. Our out-of-home digital advertising continues through Brisbane agency Wavemaker, and this year we will be investing again as close to the point of purchase as possible to remind consumers to visit the berry fridge as they enter grocery stores across the country. showing how raspberries are harvested; a scientist answering a genuine consumer question; or a family explaining what happens on their farm when several weeks of ideal growing weather suddenly produce an abundance of fruit. These are the stories that put a human face behind the punnet, and this style of content is a key strength that Bespoken bring to the party.
Bespoken brings valuable fresh produce experience to the campaign, including its work with Australian Pineapples. The appointment comes at an important time for the Berry Basket campaign. Social media is becoming an increasingly significant part of how Australians discover, investigate and form opinions about the products they consume. However, being present in someone's feed is very different from earning their attention.
Another new face you'll see in our feeds over the next few months is Eliza, also known as The Veggie Scientist. The campaign is partnering with plant scientist and science communicator Eliza Seymour to explain why Australian strawberries and blueberries can suddenly become very plentiful and super-affordable at certain times of the year.
Some of the clearest guidance for how to grab attention comes from new Hort IQ research released in April 2026 using NielsenIQ Homescan data. Looking specifically at Australia's enormous snacking market, the research found that fresh produce isn't competing on health credentials alone. Taste, convenience, value and ease all influence choice, and taste remains the strongest driver. Health remains important, but the research recommends using it to reinforce the decision rather than always making it the headline, and this is particularly relevant for berries.
Eliza has built a community of more than 115,000 followers across social media by making the science and stories behind fresh produce easy to understand. Her strength is her authenticity: rather than delivering an advertising message, she brings horticultural knowledge and an accessible style that helps consumers understand what is happening on farms and why it matters.
Our opportunity on social media is not simply to repeatedly tell consumers that berries are good for them. We need to remind them just how delicious berries are and show them how easily they fit into everyday life. It also means real people. Consumers have unprecedented amounts of highly produced and increasingly AI-generated content competing for their attention. At the same time, trust online is under pressure. ACMA research found that 72% of Australian adults using digital platforms believed they had encountered misinformation during the first half of 2025.
For this season’s berry campaign, Eliza will turn seasonal abundance into an engaging consumer story, encouraging people to make the most of great value by buying extra berries to eat fresh, freeze, bake with, or use however they enjoy them. Her broad reach gives the campaign an opportunity to take that story beyond our existing audiences and will help to build a broader understanding of how and where our fresh berries are grown. Filming took place in mid-August, and the posts will be live during August and September.
There is consequently an important role for truly authentic voices: growers standing in their paddocks explaining why the season has started early; a picker
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To boost our digital advertising activity, 3 extra large-scale digital sites will feature our creative messaging in September, November, and December. This example shows Mall 88 in Sydney, which will be live in week 3 of September. Photo credit: VMO
The new post style created by Bespoken is videoheavy and generating real engagement from consumers, backed up by a large investment in digital boosting and advertising spend on Facebook and Instagram
This next phase of our berry basket marketing campaign will also sharpen how we judge social media performance. Reach remains important. If consumers don't see our content, it cannot influence them. But reach alone doesn't tell us whether the message has landed; cut-through and engagement are the critical next measures. Did somebody stop scrolling to watch the video? How long did they watch? Did they save a recipe? Share a post with a friend? Ask the grower a question? Comment on the content? Follow the channel ‘Fresh Aussie Berries’ because they wanted to see more? A post reaching 500,000 people may look impressive on a report, but content that prompts people to watch, save, share, comment and ultimately think about berries differently is demonstrating something more valuable: it has cut through. That is the opportunity ahead for Fresh Australian Berries: to move beyond simply putting messages into consumers' feeds and create content good enough that Australians choose to engage with it, because in today's social media environment, earning attention is the first step towards earning another place for berries in the shopping basket.
Authenticity connects consumers with the farm Rebecca (Bec) Scurr, Marketing Manager at Piñata Farms, is showing just how powerful authentic storytelling can be in building consumer interest in fresh produce. What began as a maternity leave hobby two years ago has grown into the TikTok account @pinatafruitgirl, now followed by nearly 40,000 people. Bec’s videos average about 35,000 views, while a behind-the-scenes look at raspberry picking at Piñata’s Orielton farm in Tasmania has attracted more than 11 million views. Rather than highly polished content, Bec shares the reality of life in fresh produce — visiting farms, working in the packing shed, checking fruit quality, explaining the supply chain and even searching supermarket shelves for Piñata fruit. Her approach is deliberately personal and spontaneous. “I’m not trying to build a separate business – I’m sharing my life. People look for ‘Bec’s babies’ in-store because they care about the person behind the produce.” That connection is translating into action. During the 2025–26 mango season, more than 2,000 followers told Bec they had tried a Honey Gold™ mango for the first time after seeing her videos. Bec’s success demonstrates the opportunity for growers to build trust and interest by simply showing consumers the real people, places and stories behind Australian fresh produce. You can view Bec’s content on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@pinatafruitgirl and Instagram at www.instagram.com/pinatafruitgirl
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I N D U S T R Y
Turning Runoff into a Resource: New Future Drought Fund Project for Berry Growers Jen Rowling, Projects and Membership Manager, Berries Australia
Australian berry growers are set to benefit from a new national project that aims to transform irrigation runoff into a valuable on-farm resource, helping improve water quality, reduce nutrient losses and strengthen drought resilience across the protected cropping berry industry. By improving water reuse opportunities and reducing nutrient losses, the project aims to increase farm resilience during periods of water scarcity while supporting more sustainable berry production.
Berries Australia has secured funding through the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund Innovating for Transformation Innovation Challenges Program to deliver the project ‘Bioreactors - Turning runoff into a resource for the protected cropping berry industry’.
Demonstration sites across Australia
Working closely with delivery partner NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the project will run from August 2026 through to June 2028 and is designed to demonstrate practical solutions that growers can adopt on their own farms.
To ensure the technology is tested under a range of growing conditions, demonstration bioreactors will be installed on commercial berry farms in five key production regions: • Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Addressing a growing challenge
• Bundaberg, Queensland
Water security continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing Australian horticulture. Protected cropping berry farms often capture irrigation runoff, but managing nutrients, sediments and plant pathogens within this water can be difficult and costly.
• NSW North Coast • Yarra Valley, Victoria • South West Western Australia Each site will be monitored to evaluate:
The project will investigate the use of commercial-scale woodchip bioreactors as an innovative way to improve runoff water quality before it is reused or returned to the environment. These systems use naturally occurring biological processes to remove excess nutrients and contaminants, potentially allowing growers to recycle more water while reducing environmental impacts. You can find out more about the concept in two earlier articles in this journal. Visit the industry Resource Library at bit.ly/BA-RL and search ‘bioreactor’.
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• Water savings • Nutrient removal • Contaminant reduction • Pathogen reduction • System reliability • Economic performance The results will provide growers with practical information on how bioreactors perform under different production systems and climatic conditions.
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More than just demonstrations
Building resilience for the future
A key focus of the project is ensuring the knowledge generated reaches growers across Australia, so Berries Australia and its project partner will deliver a wide set of extension activities to support knowledge sharing and practice change amongst Australian berry growers:
The project aligns with the Future Drought Fund's goal of accelerating the adoption of innovative technologies that help Australian agriculture adapt to drought and climate variability. For berry growers, the project offers an opportunity to explore practical water management solutions that may improve resource efficiency, reduce environmental risk and increase resilience in an increasingly variable climate.
• On-farm field days • Grower workshops • Practical design and installation guides
Growers across the participating regions will have opportunities to become involved through field days, demonstrations and extension activities as the project progresses, with updates and event details to be shared through Berries Australia communications.
• Maintenance factsheets • Short training videos • Digital decision-support tools • Case studies from participating growers • T ranslated resources for culturally and linguistically diverse farming communities
If you don’t already follow Berries Australia on our social media channels, then now’s a great time to start as we share lots of relevant material regularly via:
These resources will help growers better understand whether bioreactors are suitable for their own businesses and provide practical guidance on implementation.
facebook @Berriesaus
instagram @berries-australia
Bioreactors: how do they work? Bioreactors use the natural process of denitrification to remove nitrate from drainage water; the most used material is woodchip. In this process, microbes consume the carbon in woodchips and convert nitrate (NO3-) into nitrogen gas (N2), which is safely released into the atmosphere (Figure 1).
• Drainage water is directed into a trench or tank filled with carbon-rich media (typically woodchips) • Under low-oxygen (anaerobic) conditions, denitrifying bacteria thrive
Denitrying Bioreactor
Acknowledgements The project ‘Bioreactors – Turning runoff into a resource for the protected cropping berry industry’ is supported by the Australian Government through the Future Drought Fund Innovating for Transformation Innovation Challenges program.
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• As water flows through the bioreactor, bacteria use the carbon as an energy source and convert nitrate into nitrogen gas which is dispersed into the atmosphere
I N D U S T R Y
Using Farm Dams for Irrigation in NSW? Know Your Harvestable Rights Merran Davis, Manager Engagement, Education and Engagement, Natural Resources Access Regulator
What are harvestable rights?
Many berry growers rely on farm dams to support irrigation, particularly during dry periods. If a dam is used to capture and store rainfall runoff, it's vital that water users understand whether it falls within NSW harvestable rights rules.
Harvestable rights are one type of basic landholder right in NSW that allow eligible landholders to capture and store a limited amount of rainfall runoff, in certain farm dams, without needing a WAL or approval. These rights are designed to balance private water use with the protection of downstream flows and shared water resources. The permitted size and location of these dams depend on the location of the landholding and the average annual rainfall runoff in that region. In the coastal and central divisions of NSW, landholders may generally capture up to 10% of the average annual rainfall runoff for their landholding. In the western division, different rules apply. Landholders may capture all rainfall runoff, subject to the relevant harvestable rights requirements.
The Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) is the independent NSW water regulator responsible for enforcing water laws through monitoring compliance and providing education. Most of the time, landholders in NSW need to hold a water access licence (WAL) to take water. An exception to this rule is basic landholder rights. In certain circumstances, landholders can take water without a licence or approval under basic landholder rights.
Permitted location and size for harvestable rights dams Harvestable rights dams can’t be located: • within 40 metres of a third-order stream or higher • within 3 km upstream of a wetland of international significance (listed under the Ramsar Convention) • on a floodplain Harvestable rights dams can be located on: • non-permanent minor streams • hillsides • gullies Every landholding has a maximum dam capacity, which determines the lawful amount of water a landholder may capture and store across all harvestable rights dams on the property. Landholders are encouraged to use WaterNSW’s online maximum harvestable rights calculator to determine the specific size and location permitted for their harvestable rights dams, and what proportion of rainfall runoff they may capture.
It is not automatically the case that you can capture and hold all the water that falls and runs off on your land Photo credit: Salty Dingo
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Building harvestable rights dams GROWERS CHECKLIST TO AVOID ANY COMPLIANCE ISSUES:
The construction of harvestable rights dams doesn’t require a water access licence, water supply work approval, or water use approval.
Make sure an existing dam is within the maximum harvestable rights capacity for the property
However, the following circumstances may require approvals prior to construction:
Review whether any property subdivision or boundary change has affected their harvestable rights
• M ixed dams – dams that store water captured under harvestable rights as well as water taken under another right or licence.
if your dams being used for Know irrigation need a licence or approval
• C hannels or diversion works constructed to capture and transfer rainfall runoff into a harvestable rights dam.
Seek advice, if needed, before buying land with existing dams
Common compliance issues with harvestable rights dams
More information
Did you know that property size affects harvestable rights? When land size changes, harvestable rights change with it.
NRAR: Learn more about what you need to do to be compliant with NSW’s water laws by visiting nrar.nsw.gov.au
This can catch landholders off guard. Situations where problems arise include: • • • •
Learn water regulation online with our free self-paced online course:
subdivision of larger rural properties sale of part of a holding boundary realignments consolidation or separation of parcels
nrar.nsw.gov.au/about-us/what-we-do/Helpingpeople-comply/study-water-compliance-online
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water:
A dam that was once compliant when the property was larger may become non-compliant once land is sold or subdivided. The dam may now be considered oversized and no longer fall within harvestable rights limits.
visit water.dcceew.nsw.gov.au and search ‘harvestable rights’.
WaterNSW: visit waternsw.com.au and search ‘maximum harvestable rights calculator’ or ‘NSW Public Water Register’.
If you are buying a berry farm with existing dams, it’s your responsibility to make sure to check that the dams are compliant with NSW water laws. Remember to check the dam's size, location, and any associated approvals before relying on the dam for irrigation. The good news is that the NSW Public Water Register can help landholders check whether water licences or approvals are associated with a property. Buyers should still make their own enquiries about whether existing dams comply with harvestable rights rules. Once a dam exceeds allowable harvestable rights capacity and doesn’t have the required licence or approval, there are limits on how it can be used. If it continues to be used for irrigation, compliance action may follow, including reducing use, obtaining the necessary approvals, or other steps to bring the dam back into compliance.
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• THE BERRY HARD IPM CHALLENGE •
How y vv IPM-saou? are y
Q U
I
Z
Do you get confused by the language used in integrated pest management (IPM)? Do you get the feeling some terms are used interchangeably when referring to the same IPM reference?
Challeng yourself o e r work colle your agues to increas e your IPM knowledg e!
Believe it or not, these terms all serve different purposes, and each has a role to play in IPM strategies.
1
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Which best describes IPM? A. Biological control instead of pesticides B. C ombine compatible management strategies to keep pests below damaging levels C. Use pesticides only when necessary D. Rotate insecticides
4
TRUE OR FALSE
Parasitoid is simply another name for a predator.
5
A. Attract pollinators B. A ttract pests away from the crop where they can be monitored or controlled C. Improve soil fertility D. Reduce weed growth
The goal of IPM is to eliminate all pests from the crop.
3
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Which is the best example of Conservation Biological Control (CBC)? A. Releasing predatory mites B. S praying selective insecticides C. Removing infested plants D. E stablishing flowering plants that support naturally occurring beneficial insects
6
TRUE OR FALSE
A predatory mite only feeds on pest mites.
7
MULTIPLE CHOICE
What is an Action Threshold? MULTIPLE CHOICE
What is the primary purpose of a banker plant? A. Improve soil health B. P rovide nectar for pollinators C. Trap pests D. M aintain beneficial insects when pests are scarce
10
TRUE OR FALSE
MULTIPLE CHOICE
What is the main purpose of a trap crop?
8
2
A. The first sign of crop damage B. T he pest density at which control measures should begin C. When beneficial insects disappear D. T he maximum number of pests allowed
9 MULTIPLE CHOICE
How much do you know?
TRUE OR FALSE
Flowering plants always improve biological control.
SNAP stands for: A. Shelter, Nectar, Alternative prey, Pollen B. S helter, Nutrients, Aphids, Pollination C. Soil, Nectar, Alternative prey, Parasitoids D. S helter, Nitrogen, Alternative prey, Pollination
11
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Which is most likely to reduce biological control? A. Calendar applications of broad-spectrum insecticides
12
TRUE OR FALSE
Fungicides do not kill beneficials.
B. Regular monitoring C. Selective pesticides D. Habitat for beneficials
TURN TO PAGE 112 FOR THE ANSWERS
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I N D U S T R Y
Emerging Pest Problems in Queensland Wendy Morris (QLD) & Helen Newman (WA), Berry Industry Development Officers
2024 saw a resurgence of foliar nematodes, 2025 delivered an increase in fall armyworm, and 2026 is quickly proving itself to be the year of the thrips. Alongside these plant pests, local beekeepers are feeling the impacts of Varroa mite. So where to from here? What modern solutions do we have for these pests? Foliar Nematodes
Fall Armyworm
Foliar nematodes are microscopic, worm-like animals that feed on the above-ground parts of plants—especially leaves, buds, growing points and flowers. Outbreaks are relatively localised, but they can cause serious losses when contaminated planting material and favourable wet conditions allow populations to build up.
Fall armyworm, while still a burgeoning problem, is also a pest in other major crops, and this means money, time and energy have been dedicated to mitigating its effects. QDPI has an engagement hub (bit.ly/QDPI-FAW) and Extension Officer Dr Ramesh Puri has assisted Berries Australia in developing a berry-specific fact sheet.
Thankfully, there have been no incidences of foliar nematodes since the devastating 2024 winter strawberry season, where losses exceeded $55 million. This reprieve is simply weather-related, and thank goodness for the lack of infestation, because quite simply, there are no chemical or biological control options available or waiting in the pipeline.
The fall armyworm can cause severe damage during a plant’s vegetative stage by chewing foliage and burrowing into the plant. Growers are advised to conduct crop scouting regularly when pest migration is imminent – at least fortnightly at the vegetative stage - or weekly if larvae are detected. If sprays are warranted, act fast, spray before dawn or after dusk when larvae are actively feeding, and always rotate chemical groups.
One thing that was clear from 2024 is that foliar nematodes are particularly damaging to ‘Sundrench’ runners. To help combat this, propagators now typically only offer ‘Sundrench’ in plug format. There have been good results with this to date, with the ‘Sundrench’ plugs producing earlier than other, later-producing varieties planted as plugs.
At the date of publication, Spinosad (Entrust® Organic - Group 5) remains on Permit PER89870v3 (Expiry 31/10/2030) for fall armyworm in berry crops. Chlorantraniliprole (Coragen® – Group 28) and Emamectin (Proclaim® – Group 6) can be used on strawberries and blueberries for other pests but are also effective against fall armyworm. Fall armyworm has high levels of resistance to alpha-cypermethrin (synthetic pyrethroids - Group 3A) and growers are advised to avoid these products as they are not effective and are harmful to beneficials. Visit the industry resource library at bit.ly/BA-RL and search ‘fall armyworm’ to find all related resources.
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Varroa Mite
It’s also extremely important that growers are respectful of the bees. It is now more important than ever to be mindful of spray programs that may affect bees. Make sure your workers understand what beekeepers need; simple things like changing a hive's position can have a big impact. A bee navigates back to a location, not to a hive, and a ‘missing’ entrance can leave them confused.
Prior to the existence of the Varroa mite in Australia, there were 10-150 feral beehives every square kilometre in bushland. That’s a lot of bees, and these bees put themselves to good use pollinating farms. For many farmers, this free resource meant that managed hives weren’t required. Unfortunately, Varroa mite is now here and spreading rapidly across the country, with no possibility of eradication. When a hive collapses, it gets raided by other bees, who see it as an easy source of honey. Unfortunately, a collapsed hive is also a death trap; bees that come for the free honey take back Varroa mites to their own hives. With honeybees prepared to travel several kilometres a day, a single fallen hive can have devastating consequences on a large number of otherwise healthy hives in the surrounding area. And the problem becomes incrementally worse as more hives collapse.
Visit the industry resource library at bit.ly/BA-RL and search ‘varroa mite’ to find all related resources.
Thrips Early 2026 saw a boom in thrips numbers, and not just the usual suspects. Joinizng the ranks have been Franklinella intonsa (Eurasian flower thrips) and Scirtothrips dorsalis (Chilli thrips). If you spot crop damage, the first challenge is to identify which type of thrips are present in your crop. Some of these thrips are very difficult to distinguish, so it is best to consult an agronomist or a testing body. See the ‘Useful Resources’ section at the end of this article.
The lack of ‘free’ pollinators means an increased need for managed hives. The problems with this are numerous: • beekeepers are struggling to contain mite loads
The most commonly noted thrips in Queensland strawberry farms this year are: Western Flower Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), Eurasian Flower Thrips (Frankliniella intonsa) and Chilli Thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis).
• t here aren’t enough managed hives in Australia to fully pollinate all crops • n ot all beekeepers and growers are following best practices If you already use managed hives, talk to your beekeeper, and be prepared for increased costs as they grapple with the additional costs of monitoring, washing and treating hives. In the past, you may have only seen your beekeeper every six weeks. Now, six weeks is enough time for unchecked Varroa mite to destroy a hive. Visits have increased to fortnightly or even more frequently, leading to more labour and travel costs for beekeepers.
Thrips are notorious for developing chemical resistance. According to many agronomists, one of the worst things you can do in a strawberry crop is to try to ‘out spray thrips’. Thrips typically have a short life cycle and inhabit different parts of the plant during their life. A spray that reaches and kills adult thrips may not affect its offspring. Two weeks post-spray, you may well have a fresh thrips problem, and so the cycle repeats. Spraying for thrips also generally impacts your beneficial insect populations. So even if your thrips are taken care of - guess what you now probably have a two-spotted mite problem.
One of the biggest problems beekeepers are facing is that Varroa mites quickly become resistant to chemical treatments. In the USA, a product called Norroa has recently become available. Norroa is the first RNA-based biopesticide treatment developed to control Varroa mites, targeting a specific protein that ultimately stops their reproduction. Trials show that it has no negative impact on bees, lasts up to 18 weeks, and has a novel mode of action. Beekeepers are hopeful that it will prove efficacious in the field and will ultimately be available in Australia.
Biological control is the most appropriate approach to thrips control. Speak to your agronomist about what beneficial insect species will work best for your situation or consult one of the specialist IPM companies listed in Useful Resources at the end of this article.
51
Chilli Thrips Scirtothrips dorsalis Adult (yellow) and larva (red) and Western Flower Thrips Franklinella occidentalis (blue) Photo credit: Pia Scanlon
Eurasian Flower Thrips
Chilli Thrips
Thrips species should not be identified on colour alone. Adults are generally only 1–2 millimetres long, and western flower, plague, onion and tomato thrips can look very similar without microscopic examination. This is where a service like Grow Help (Qld) is important to formally identify the species you are dealing with.
Western Australian growers have been dealing with chilli thrips for a number of years. Good control has been achieved in first-year strawberry crops with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) using Cucumeris mites and Orius bugs after planting when first flowers appear. Where chilli thrips pressure is low, two releases of Cucumeris have been sufficient; in high-pressure situations, four releases in short windows are needed to gain quick control. Some growers also incorporate flowering banker plants, such as alyssum, into the planted area to provide additional nectar and pollen, helping beneficials establish faster. Strong strawberry plants with larger crowns and a good balance of leaves and flowers provide the best habitat for beneficials and appear to be less prone to chilli thrips damage than weaker, smaller plants.
As of July, Queensland growers are in survival mode, holding off thrips but not making much headway. On-ground and New Zealand research suggests that, just as with Chilli thrips, releases of both Orius and Cucumeris seem to be the best-placed IPM measure to control thrips. Cucumeris targets small thrips larvae, while Orius attacks larvae and adult thrips.
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Second year strawberries in the Perth region, which are kept over summer for early winter production, have been challenging, with very few growers successfully producing a crop in 2026. Chilli thrips populations that are left to multiply over summer have proven extremely difficult to control when plants are renovated in autumn; populations are too high to be managed with Cucumeris and Orius, and the thrips' short lifecycle means that they quickly outrun any chemical interventions. Parts of the thrips lifecycle are also difficult to target, with eggs laid into plant tissue and pupae and adults protected by dense foliage.
Current control methods in blueberries focus on early detection and targeted action, altered pruning strategies and variety selections, and creating unfavourable conditions for the thrips. The thrips lifecycle is very short, going from very low numbers to booming populations in just 2 to 3 days so early detection and action are crucial. Chilli thrips like warm dry conditions, so keeping plastic covers to a minimum or not having them at all has been an important strategy in WA. Strategies for managing chilli thrips in Rubus crops are also still evolving. Frankie (F. vespiformis) has been tested in Raspberries at several locations across Australia and is so far working very well with little to no chilli thrips seen at release sites despite chilli thrips pressure in surrounding areas. Releasing Frankie early while the plants are in early vegetative growth and making sure pesticide residues on propagation materials are low and non-toxic are important for success.
Strategies for managing chilli thrips in blueberry crops are still evolving. It has been more difficult to establish beneficial insect populations in blueberries. Frankie (Franklinothrips vespiformis) proved to be a voracious predator of chilli thrips and was able to establish in blueberries, but work is still needed to determine optimal release times and to see if economic control can be achieved in WA conditions. Other biological methods such as entomopathogenic fungi and soil-based predators are yet to be fully explored.
Visit the industry resource library at bit.ly/BA-RL and search ‘thrips’ to find all related resources.
Fruit damage shows as bronzing and crackling, ultimately reducing crop yields Photo credit: Wendy Morris
53
Useful Resources Specialist biological-control bug providers Company
Main biological pest-management offering
Website
Biological Services
Beneficial insects and mites, commercial crop monitoring, IPM programs and on-farm advice.
biologicalservices.com.au
Bugs for Bugs
Beneficial insects and mites, fruit-fly management products, traps, lures and pheromones.
bugsforbugs.com.au
BioResources
Australian production and supply of beneficial insects, including lacewings and parasitoids, for horticultural and agricultural crops.
bioresources.com.au
BioWorks
Beneficial organisms and biological control programs for mites, thrips, fungus gnats and other pests in commercial crops and gardens.
bioworksonline.com.au
PowerBugs
Australian insectary producing predatory mites for thrips, spider mites and other crop pests.
powerbugs.com.au
EcoGrow Environment
Australian producer and supplier of beneficial entomopathogenic nematodes for insect-pest control.
ecogrow.com.au
The Crop Capsules Company
Beneficial parasitoid wasps delivered in biodegradable capsules for broadacre and horticultural crops.
cropcapsules.com.au
AgBiTech Australia
Baculovirus-based biological insecticides and other selective pest-management technologies for caterpillar pests.
agbitech.com.au
Specialist IPM service providers Company
IPM offering
Website
IPM Technologies
Independent IPM consulting, crop monitoring, pest and beneficial identification, grower training and development of biological and cultural control programs. It does not sell beneficial organisms.
ipmtechnologies.com.au
Smartbug Horti
SmartBug Horti partners with Australia's leading growers to build robust, data-led crop protection programs 40 years of field expertise, applied as practical Integrated Pest Management.
smartbughorti.com.au
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Pest Identification Services State
Department
Website
QLD
Queensland Department of Primary Industries – Grow Help Australia
www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/ farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/ crops/test/grow-help-australia
NSW
NSW DPIRD Laboratory Services – Plant Health Diagnostic Service and Entomology Diagnostic Services
www.dpird.nsw.gov.au/about-us/ services/laboratory-services/plant-health
VIC
Agriculture Victoria – Crop Health Services, AgriBio
agriculture.vic.gov.au/support-andresources/services/diagnostic-services
SA
SARDI Crop Diagnostics – Horticulture Pathology and Insect Identification Service
pir.sa.gov.au/sardi/services/crop_ diagnostics/horticulture_pathology
TAS
Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania – Plant Diagnostic Services
nre.tas.gov.au/biosecurity-tasmania/plantbiosecurity/plant-diagnostic-services
WA
WA DPIRD – Diagnostics and Laboratory Services, Plant Pathology and Entomology
www.dpird.wa.gov.au/businesses/ biosecurity/diagnostics-and-laboratoryservices/plant-pathology/
Berries Australia strongly encourages all growers to investigate and adopt integrated pest management (IPM) strategies as the first step in managing crop pests and diseases. Effective IPM combines careful monitoring, cultural practices, biological controls and other non-chemical measures to support long-term crop health, protect beneficial organisms and reduce unnecessary reliance on crop-protection treatments.Where chemical intervention is required, it should form part of a considered and evidence-based IPM program. Information in this publication about agricultural chemical products, registered label uses or minor-use permits is provided for general information only and was believed to be accurate at the time of publication. Product registrations, approved labels and permits may be varied, suspended, cancelled or expire. It is the responsibility of each grower and chemical user to confirm, before every application, that the product is currently registered or covered by a valid APVMA permit for the intended crop, target pest or disease, use pattern and location. Users must obtain and follow the current approved product label and all applicable permit conditions, including directions relating to application rates, timing, withholding periods, worker safety, environmental protection, and recordkeeping. Always check the current APVMA product registration and permit databases and comply with all relevant Commonwealth, state and territory requirements. Mention of a product, active constituent or permit by Berries Australia or the Australian Berry Journal does not constitute a recommendation, endorsement or guarantee that its use is suitable, effective or legally authorised in a particular situation. Seek professional advice where required.
55
A D V E R T O R I A L
C O N T E N T
Unique fertiliser set to improve fertigation, crops
AUSTRALIAN fruit and vegetable growers now have the opportunity to better finish their crops and reduce multiple nutrient applications with a unique new watersoluble fertiliser combining high calcium and potassium with low, ammonium-free nitrogen. Marking the first time a low-nitrogen, potassium and calcium fertiliser has become available to Australian growers, Haifa Soluble DUO, from the renowned high quality global manufacturer, Haifa Group, offers an ideal nutrient combination for flowering and fruiting. Its ammonium-free nitrogen also avoids cation antagonism and competition at the root zone, improving calcium and potassium uptake and, in turn, fruit and vegetable size and skin quality. Haifa Soluble DUO contains 7 per cent nitrogen, 19.2pc potassium and 15.3pc calcium, an ideal ratio to meet plant requirements for fruiting, and it will be highly suited to berry and vegetable field crops, as well as fruit and nut tree crops. Haifa Australia Northern Sales Agronomist Malcolm Otto said many growers typically applied potassium chloride, potassium sulphate or potassium nitrate as well as calcium nitrate at the flowering and fruiting stage, whereas Haifa Soluble DUO would now provide all requirements in one application. “Growers also have concerns applying potassium nitrate and calcium nitrate due to resulting high N levels that can disrupt nutrient balance, reduce fruit quality and shorten shelf life, so this will now allow those growers to get potassium and calcium on fruiting crops with reduced nitrogen,” Malcolm said.
“We already know (Haifa) Cal Absolute improves nutrient uptake and (Haifa Soluble) DUO, being free of ammonium, will offer the same benefits. It takes out the headache of cation competition, allowing the potassium and calcium to be taken up freely with nitrates.” Haifa Australia Southern Sales Agronomist Poh Chong
“Typical fertigation programs at this crop stage are supplying around 15pc N, however (Haifa Soluble) DUO supplies only 7pc N. “You can also avoid the chlorides and sulphates in traditional applications at flowering – and, hence, paying money for nutrients that you don’t need. (Haifa Soluble) DUO has near-zero sodium and chloride.” He said many growers chose to use sulphate of potash to avoid applying nitrogen, however, there also had been some dissolving issues with the fertiliser. Haifa Soluble DUO uses the manufacturer’s flagship potassium nitrate fertiliser, which is widely known for its excellent solubility. The new potassium and calcium fertiliser has been developed from Haifa Group’s recently released, nitrogen-free calcium fertiliser, Haifa Cal Absolute, which has allowed growers to add calcium when required and at the rates needed, either by fertigation or foliar spray. Compared with typical calcium nitrate products, Haifa Cal Absolute contains over 50pc more calcium and it can be blended with a wide range of nutrients. Malcolm said the specific granule size achieved in the manufacturing of the new Haifa Soluble DUO fertiliser also aided its high solubility.
Haifa Australia Southern Sales Agronomist Poh Chong said there was no other fertiliser product available in the country offering the particular combination of potassium and calcium that was free of ammonium. “In granular calcium nitrate, generally 7pc of the total N is ammonium and the other 50pc is nitrate. The ammonium cations compete with other cations including potassium, calcium and magnesium,” Poh said. “Calcium, potassium and magnesium, in particular, are most important for fruiting crops.”
CMYK
Haifa Australia
(03) 9583 4691 australia@haifa-group.com
www.haifa-group.com
DOWN TO EARTH
GROWING TOGETHER
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Phil Badgery Sales manager Australia & New Zealand +61 (0) 3 95555267 info.aus@legrogroup.com
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I N D U S T R Y
Beyond the Hive: What Varroa Means for Berry Industry Pollination Jen Rowling, Projects & Membership Manager
For decades, Australian berry growers have benefited from an often-overlooked production input: an abundance of feral honey bees. Across much of the country, these unmanaged colonies have provided valuable pollination services at little or no direct cost to growers. Not all berry crops are equal
As Varroa destructor (Varroa mite) continues to spread across Australia, that ‘free pollination service’ is expected to decline significantly. While managed honey bee colonies will continue to play a vital role, the experience of countries that have lived with Varroa mite for many years suggests that pollination is likely to become a more actively managed component of berry production.
One of the key lessons from international research is that different berry crops have very different pollination requirements.
Blueberries: A highly pollination-dependent berry crop Blueberries are highly pollination-dependent, particularly for fruit set, berry size and yield. Although blueberry flowers are self-fertile to varying degrees depending on the cultivar, they benefit enormously from repeated insect visits. The flowers are pendantshaped, their pollen is relatively difficult to transfer, and many varieties produce larger, more uniform fruit when pollen is moved between flowers by bees.
The good news is that overseas experience indicates Varroa mite is unlikely to cause a collapse in berry production. Instead, the impacts are expected to be more gradual and largely economic, including increased hive rental costs, greater competition for pollination services and an increased focus on maintaining pollinator health and diversity.
Research has consistently shown that adequate pollination improves:
The one thing that you can do now is to actively plan for pollination in the same way you do all your other critical crop inputs.
• • • • • •
fruit set berry size uniformity firmness harvest timing overall yield
Growers are strongly encouraged to download the Pollination Guide for the Australian Berry Industry at bit.ly/BA-Pollination-Guide
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Blackberries: More resilient, but still benefiting from bees
Internationally, blueberries are considered one of the horticultural crops most vulnerable to reduced pollination services. As access to managed honey bee hives becomes more competitive, blueberry growers are expected to face the greatest pressure to secure reliable pollination.
Most commercial blackberry cultivars are self-fertile and capable of producing crops without extensive insect activity. However, bee visitation will dramatically improve overall marketable yield, berry size, drupelet fill and fruit uniformity.
Strawberries: Self-pollinating doesn't mean bees don’t matter
While blackberries are expected to be slightly more resilient as pollination dynamics change, they should not be considered independent of pollinators.
Strawberries are often described as self-pollinating, but that description can be misleading. Each strawberry flower contains hundreds of individual ovaries.
What has happened overseas?
Every ovary that is successfully fertilised develops into an achene (the tiny ‘seeds’ visible on the fruit surface).
Perhaps surprisingly, countries such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and many European nations have not experienced widespread declines in berry production due to Varroa mite. Instead, growers have adapted.
These fertilised achenes release plant hormones that drive the expansion of the surrounding fruit tissue. The result is simple: the more complete the pollination, the larger and more symmetrical the berry.
Common responses include: • increasing the use of managed honey bee hives • booking pollination services earlier • encouraging native and wild pollinators through habitat management • integrating pollination planning into crop management
Without sufficient bee activity, strawberries will usually still produce fruit, but growers are more likely to see: • • • • •
misshapen fruit reduced berry size poorer firmness shorter shelf life lower Class 1 pack-out
Rather than causing dramatic production losses, Varroa mite has shifted pollination from being an assumed service to a systematically planned production input.
For strawberries, the greatest risk associated with declining pollination is not reduced fruit set but reduced fruit quality.
Honeybees don’t have the monopoly on pollination Although honey bees remain the cornerstone of commercial pollination, they are only part of the picture. Research increasingly highlights the value of diverse pollinator communities, including native solitary bees, stingless bees in northern Australia, hoverflies and other beneficial insects.
Raspberries: Every drupelet counts In Australia, where the crop is almost entirely grown in tunnel-based production systems, raspberries are particularly dependent on effective insect pollination to produce high yields of fully formed, marketable fruit, because each berry consists of many individual drupelets that must be successfully pollinated.
A diverse pollinator population can improve pollination reliability, particularly during periods of poor weather or when honey bee activity is reduced. Maintaining flowering vegetation, shelterbelts and native habitat around farms can help support these beneficial insects while contributing to broader farm biodiversity.
Where pollination is inadequate, growers may see: • • • •
crumbly berries incomplete drupelet development reduced berry weight lower marketable yield
International studies generally report measurable improvements in fruit quality and berry weight when bees are active during flowering.
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A Calliphora albifrontalis fly about to feed on a blueberry flower Photo credit: Dr Sue Jaggar
A managed honeybee visiting strawberry flowers in Stanthorpe Photo credit: Glenda Riley
A native Reed bee on Rubus Photo credit: Alison Hoelzer
A native hoverfly visiting a blackberry flower in Tasmania Photo credit: Jane Richter
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Pollination is not just a numbers game
Start now to prepare for the future
While the spread of Varroa mite is already changing the availability of honey bees, it is important to remember that successful pollination depends on more than just bee numbers alone.
Australia's berry industry has an opportunity to prepare now before the full impacts of Varroa mite are felt. Growers can begin by considering several practical questions:
A range of factors influence how effectively flowers are pollinated, including:
• D o I understand the pollination requirements of my crop and cultivars?
• w eather conditions during flowering, particularly rain, wind and cool temperatures that reduce bee activity
• How dependent is my business on feral honey bees? • I f managed hives become more expensive or harder to source, what is my contingency plan?
• hive strength and colony health
• C ould on-farm habitat support a more diverse pollinator community?
• the timing of hive placement within the crop • flowering intensity and duration
• A m I monitoring fruit quality in a way that could identify pollination issues early?
• competition from surrounding flowering plants • crop nutrition and plant health
These questions are likely to become increasingly important as pollination becomes a more actively managed part of berry production. The spread of Varroa represents a significant change for Australian horticulture, but it does not signal a crisis for the berry industry. Instead, it marks the beginning of a transition.
• cultivar characteristics and flowering biology For this reason, seeing bees in the crop does not necessarily mean pollination has been optimised. Likewise, a poor pollination outcome is not always the result of too few bees.
Ultimately, the future of pollination in Australia's berry industry will rely not only on managed honeybees but on recognising the value of all pollinators and managing farms in ways that support them.
As Australian growers adapt to life with Varroa mite, the focus needs to shift from simply asking "Are there enough bees?" to the broader question of "Are we creating the best possible conditions for effective pollination?" Integrating pollination into overall crop management will help growers maximise fruit quality and make the most of every bee visit.
The lesson from overseas is clear: successful growers are not simply managing crops, they are managing pollination. Building resilient pollination systems through strong partnerships with beekeepers, supporting diverse pollinator communities and understanding the pollination needs of individual crops will help ensure Australian berry businesses continue to produce the high-quality fruit consumers expect in the post-Varroa era.
BLUEBERRIES & RUBUS
STRAWBERRIES
ensuring reliable pollination will remain essential to achieving premium yields
maintaining fruit quality will be the key challenge
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Lessons from New Zealand: Living with Varroa mite LESSON 1: DON'T RELY ON FERAL BEES Before Varroa mite, wild honey bee colonies contributed significantly to crop pollination. As the mite spread, feral populations declined dramatically, and growers who had previously relied on ‘free’ pollination found they needed to source managed hives.
Don't assume adequate bee numbers will be present during flowering. Pollination should be planned like irrigation or fertiliser.
LESSON 2: BOOK HIVES EARLY As demand for commercial pollination increased, competition for healthy colonies also grew. Growers who established long-term relationships with local beekeepers were generally better positioned to secure quality hives during peak flowering periods.
Develop relationships with beekeepers well before flowering and communicate expected bloom dates as accurately as possible.
LESSON 3: POLLINATION IS ABOUT QUALITY AS MUCH AS YIELD Many berry growers discovered that inadequate pollination did not necessarily reduce the number of berries harvested, it reduced the proportion of premium fruit. Smaller berries, uneven fruit development and reduced firmness all affected marketable yield and pack-out.
Pollination influences profitability, not just production.
LESSON 4: HEALTHY LANDSCAPES SUPPORT HEALTHY POLLINATION With fewer feral honey bees available, greater attention has been given to maintaining habitat for native pollinators and ensuring floral resources are available before and after crop flowering. While wild pollinators are unlikely to replace managed honey bees entirely, they can improve pollination resilience and complement commercial hive services.
Pollinator-friendly farms are often more resilient farms.
LESSON 5: POLLINATION BECAME PART OF CROP MANAGEMENT Perhaps the biggest change has been cultural. Pollination is no longer viewed as something that simply happens. Successful growers monitor flowering, assess bee activity, evaluate fruit quality and work closely with their beekeepers to optimise outcomes.
The most successful businesses actively manage pollination as an essential production input.
The New Zealand experience demonstrates that berry production can continue to thrive in the presence of Varroa mite but only when growers adapt. Planning ahead, valuing pollination and investing in strong partnerships with beekeepers have become key ingredients for success.
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ORE ALWAYS READ LABEL BEF
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I N D U S T R Y
New Membrane Water Treatment Technologies Helen Newman, WA Berry Industry Development Officer, Agricultural Produce Commission
• As fresh water resources become increasingly scarce in WA, there is an increased focus on the potential to utilise the state's plentiful but brackish water sources • Water Corporation WA is investigating two high-recovery desalination technologies, electrodialysis metathesis (EDM) and integrated forward-reverse osmosis (iFORO), that may unlock barriers to the use of brackish waters • The technology could also be used to complement existing on-farm desalination systems, improving efficiency and providing more control over the chemistry of treated water Electrodialysis metathesis (EDM) and forward osmosis (FO) use fundamentally different mechanisms to remove salts from water (ion exchange and non-pressure-driven osmosis) that mitigate the issue of scaling, increase recovery rates and improve energy efficiency. Both technologies could be used to complement RO systems, and EDM could potentially serve as an independent water treatment option.
Conventional hydraulic pressure-driven desalination technologies, such as reverse osmosis (RO), often operate at low recovery rates due to scaling from silica and inorganic salts. These systems consume substantial energy and chemicals and generate large volumes of brine (concentrated wastewater) that are difficult and costly to dispose of. BOX 1 explains the different hydraulic pressuredriven membranes and what they are often used for.
BOX 1. Conventional hydraulic pressure-driven membrane types Hydraulic pressure-driven membranes act as barriers that allow the passage of water, but stop unwanted substances such as salts, organic matter, and other particles. They are made from polymer-based films, ceramics, and other materials, configured in tubular, hollow-fibre, or flat-sheet arrangements. Pressure is used to force water through these membranes, with pore size determining the level of filtration and the energy needed to push water through. (Figure 1) • Microfiltration (10 to 0.1 micron): removes large contaminants such as suspended solids, oil emulsions, cells, and bacteria. Often used as a pre-treatment for reverse osmosis. • Ultrafiltration (0.1-0.01 micron): removes everything microfiltration does plus proteins, viruses, and other pathogens. Often used as a pre-treatment for nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. • Nanofiltration (0.01-0.001 micron): removes everything ultrafiltration does plus pesticides, herbicides, dissolved organics, most tannins, and divalent and multivalent ions (e.g. Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe3⁺, CO₃²⁻). Often used for water softening. • Reverse osmosis (0.001-0.0001 micron): removes all contaminants including monovalent ions (e.g. Na+, Cl-, K+, F-).
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Figure 1. Hydraulic pressure-driven membrane filtration types
Electrodialysis metathesis (EDM)
EDM has reached a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7 through large-scale demonstration projects in Texas and the Netherlands. Local testing under Australian groundwater chemistries is essential to confirm its performance in Australia.
Electrodialysis metathesis (EDM) is an advanced form of electrodialysis that uses ion exchange membranes and an applied electric field to selectively separate and rearrange dissolved ions. The electric field induces metathesis reactions that convert sparingly soluble salts into highly soluble forms which are separated by ion exchange membranes into distinct streams (BOX 2).
TLR is a type of measurement system used to assess the maturity level of a particular technology on a scale of 1 to 9. This is a useful scale to understand when looking at new and novel technologies. Read more here: bit.ly/BA-TRL
Selective ion separation allows scale-forming ions such as calcium sulfate to be isolated from one another, significantly reducing the risk of membrane fouling. This enables EDM to operate at much higher water recovery rates than RO.
At the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant in Texas, RO has traditionally been used to transform brackish groundwater into fresh drinking water. The existing RO system recovers approximately 83% of the feedwater, with the remaining concentrated brine disposed of through deep-well injection. When EDM was tested at the plant, water recovery increased to as much as 90%, representing a 7% improvement over RO alone. When EDM was used as a post-RO treatment for the brine stream, total water recovery exceeded 98%, reducing
Another advantage of EDM is that it can be finely tuned through voltage control to meet specific water quality needs. Instead of removing all salts, as is the case with RO, you can selectively remove and/or retain salts as needed, offering greater flexibility across varying groundwater chemistries.
the waste brine volume to less than 2%.
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BOX 2. Ion exchange membranes and EDM Ion exchange membranes selectively transport dissolved ions under the influence of an electric field while preventing the passage of ions with the opposite charge. Cation exchange membranes allow only positively charged ions (cations) to pass, whereas anion exchange membranes allow only negatively charged ions (anions) to pass. (Figure 2) These membranes form the basis of electrodialysis technologies, which separate salts by electrically moving ions rather than by forcing water through a membrane under pressure. (Figure 3)
Figure 2. Close-up schematic of ion exchange membranes showing the selective permeability of a cation exchange membrane (left) and anion exchange membrane (right)
Figure 3. Schematic of the EDM system being tested by Water Corporation in WA. An electric field is applied to the salty feed water that converts sparingly soluble salts into highly soluble forms so that can be separated by the membranes: e.g. calcium sulfate (CaSO4) is converted into highly soluble sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) and calcium chloride (CaCl2).
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Integrated Forward and Reverse Osmosis (iFORO) Unlike RO, where water is forced through a membrane under pressure, the natural movement of water across the FO membrane means there is less propensity for fouling.
Traditionally, RO needs elaborate pre-treatment to prevent fouling of the membrane and excessive energy consumption. In an iFORO system, forward osmosis does the pre-treatment in one energy-efficient step, removing most contaminants before they reach the RO membrane. This minimises scaling on the RO membrane, increasing its efficiency (reducing energy consumption) and reducing maintenance requirements. iFORO systems currently operating in WA are achieving recovery rates on brackish groundwater of up to 90%.
Brine generated by the RO step in the process is fed back into the FO draw solution, creating a closed loop. The process of osmosis and forward osmosis is explained in BOX 3. Figure 5 shows a schematic of the iFORO prototype developed by CSIRO and being tested by Water Corporation in WA. (Figure 6)
Forward osmosis uses a highly concentrated draw solution to facilitate the natural osmotic movement of water from a ‘dirty’ feed solution into a solution that can be efficiently processed by RO. Sodium (Na) is often used in the draw solution as it is easily removed using RO.
BOX 3. Osmosis and Forward Osmosis Osmosis is the passive movement of water molecules across a semipermeable membrane from a region of low salt concentration to a region of high salt concentration until the same salt concentration (equilibrium) is reached on both sides of the membrane. Salt particles can’t cross the membrane, so the water must pass from one side to the other to achieve equilibrium. In the case of forward osmosis (FO) a highly concentrated sodium (Na) draw solution is used on one side (Side B) of the membrane to encourage the passive movement of water across the membrane from Side A. (Figure 4) A salt concentration gradient is always maintained to ensure the continual movement of water; equilibrium is never reached in the FO system, as it would cause the movement of water to stop.
Figure 4. Diagram showing how fresh water moves across the semipermeable membrane from the feed water stream into the concentrated sodium draw solution through passive osmosis.
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Figure 5. Schematic showing the integrated forward osmosis (FO) reverse osmosis (RO) process
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Figure 6. Water Corporations iFORO prototype fits in a 20-foot shipping container and can treat up to 10,000 litres of per day. Courtesy CSIRO.
Acknowledgements Thank you to Sebastien Allard and Ramesh Thiruvenkatachari, Senior Research Scientists at CSIRO, for your technical input for this article. Thank you also to Anthony Bodycoat, Principal - Regulation & Research (R&D) at Water Corporation, for hosting the horticulture industry visit to the WA Water Research and Innovation Centre, where we were able to see iFORO and EDM in action.
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Lessons for Conservation Biological Control in Raspberries: When Mixed Species Flower Strips Don't Work Dr Jon Finch, Researcher in Entomology, University of Tasmania-Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
• The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture conducted conservation biological control (CBC) trials on commercial farms with the aim of creating an environment where existing natural enemies could survive, reproduce and provide more effective pest control • While the trials were challenging to establish, some key take-home messages have been prepared and are shared here • Successful IPM comes from understanding the ecology of the whole production system and identifying the integrated factors limiting beneficial insects What is the concept of Conservation Biological Control?
Tasmanian CBC trials The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) recently conducted CBC trials on Tasmanian commercial farms as part of the ‘Integrated pest management approaches to address pest challenges in raspberry and blackberry (RB21000)’ project, funded by Hort Innovation’s raspberry and blackberry research and development levy, and contributions from the Australian Government.
Conservation biological control (CBC) is an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy that aims to improve natural pest suppression by supporting beneficial insects already present on the farm. These beneficial insects may either prey directly on pests or develop inside a host insect, eventually killing it. Beneficial insects with this unusual life cycle are known as parasitoids. CBC seeks to create an environment where these existing natural enemies can survive, reproduce and provide more effective pest control.
The aim of the CBC trials was to determine whether carefully selected flowering resources would increase populations of beneficial insects within adjacent raspberry crops and improve biological control of important raspberry pests. Flowering plants were selected after examining the existing CBC literature and choosing plants with a proven record of appealing to beneficial insects in other crops.
A common CBC approach is to establish flowering plants around crops. These plants provide shelter, pollen and nectar to improve the survival and reproduction of many beneficial insects. However, simply adding flowers to a farm does not necessarily improve biological control. CBC works where there is a clear ecological link between the flowering plants, the beneficial insects and the target pests.
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Two 50-metre mixed species flowering strips were established within the leg rows between raspberry tunnels on two farms. The strips comprised a mix of flowering species selected to provide flowers throughout
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Providing the players with better nutrition may improve performance, but only if nutrition is the factor limiting the team's success. If the problem is injury, fitness, or coaching, improving nutrition alone is unlikely to change the outcome.
the growing season. These included calendula, basil, buckwheat, coriander and English lavender. The research team discovered that establishing flowering strips from seed in leg rows was not without its challenges. Each leg row was mown and covered with a layer of compost before sowing. In subsequent seasons, herbicides were used to reduce grass competition within the strips and promote the flowering plants.
The same principle applies to biological control. Flowering plants will likely only improve pest suppression if access to pollen or nectar is a limiting factor for the reproduction and healthy survival of beneficials. The results suggest these are not in fact limiting factors in Tasmanian raspberry production and other limitations may be at play.
Not all flowering species persisted beyond the first season. Buckwheat, for example, established well initially but gradually disappeared over time. Over two seasons, the TIA research team monitored both pest and beneficial arthropod populations in raspberry plants growing adjacent to the flowering strips.
What other factors should be considered? Many of the key pests in temperate raspberries, including two-spotted spider mite, western flower thrips and mirids, are controlled by predatory mites and predatory insects that do not appear to be strongly limited by access to floral resources. Their abundance and effectiveness are likely to be influenced by many interacting factors across the farming system.
What were the outcomes? The mixed species flowering strips established relatively well and produced abundant flowers throughout the season. However, despite this, the TIA team detected no measurable increase in predator or parasitoid abundance within adjacent raspberry crops and no corresponding reduction in pest populations.
These may include a combination of crop protection treatment use (including insecticides, herbicides and fungicides), tunnel temperature and humidity, crop sanitation practices, harvesting operations, substrate management, fertigation, and prey availability.
Although this was not the outcome the research team had hoped for, negative results provide valuable information and can make a positive contribution to longer-term understanding. They help to identify which IPM strategies are most likely and least likely to deliver benefits under commercial Tasmanian conditions.
Is there a place for CBC in Rubus production?
There were several observations that sparked researcher interest and increased their current knowledge. Some flowering species, particularly calendula (Figure 1), were shown to provide overwintering habitat for significant Rubus pests, including bronze leaf beetle and green vegetable bug. One important lesson was that flowering plants may support both beneficial insects and pest species simultaneously. This reinforces the importance of carefully selecting, trialling and monitoring plant species when designing CBC programs.
Yes, but maybe not in temperate regions under current pest and disease pressure. The mixed flowering species trial results do not mean CBC is ineffective in all scenarios. Rather, it highlights that CBC needs to be carefully targeted. Before introducing flowering habitat, it is important to understand what is limiting the beneficial insects responsible for controlling key pests. Parasitoid wasps often benefit from access to pollen and nectar. With flowers, parasitoids live longer, lay more eggs and kill more pests. In systems where the key natural enemies are parasitoids, mixed flower strips may still be a valuable tool for pest management.
What is the take-home message from this trial?
For example, CBC may still have a valuable role in subtropical Rubus production systems. Project partners, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW DPIRD) are continuing to investigate CBC approaches for stink bug management in systems
Conservation biological control is not simply about adding flowers to a farm. A useful analogy may be to think of CBC as an attempt to improve a sporting team’s performance.
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where native egg parasitoids, such as Trissolcus wasps, occur naturally. In these situations, flowering plants are very likely to improve the survival and effectiveness of parasitoids that directly attack the target pest. Unlike the Tasmanian leg row CBC approach, the NSW team are trialling pot-grown mixed CBC plants within raspberry rows (Figure 2). This approach is being tested to avoid direct seeding establishment issues and increase the number of flowers available to beneficial insects within the crop. The results of this trial will become available in late 2027.
What can growers do now? The findings from the Tasmanian trial on mixed species flower strips should not discourage growers from considering CBC. The key learning is to take a systems approach to pest management. Rather than focusing on a single intervention, growers should aim to create conditions that allow key beneficial species to thrive throughout the production system. This may include:
Figure 1. Calendula established well in the leg rows on raspberry farms but unfortunately proved a popular food source for several key pests, including green veggie bug and bronze leaf beetle
• s electing crop protection treatments that minimise impacts on predatory mites and other beneficial insects
Photo credit: Jon Finch (UTAS-TIA)
• a voiding unnecessary calendar-based crop protection treatment applications that remove both pests and their natural enemies • i mplementing regular crop monitoring so management decisions are based on pest and beneficial populations rather than predetermined spray schedules • r eleasing biological control agents at appropriate times and densities • c onsidering how the wider production system, including climate, irrigation, fertigation, harvest practices, pesticide programs and other horticultural practices, may be influencing beneficial insect populations As it continues, the project is reinforcing an important principle of IPM: there is rarely a single solution to improving biological control. Successful IPM comes from understanding the ecology of the whole production system and identifying the integrated factors limiting beneficial insects. Growers should continually ask themselves: What is limiting biological control in our production system, and how can we remove those constraints?
Figure 2. Unlike the Tasmanian trial, the NSW DPIRD team are evaluating potted flowering plants within raspberry rows to improve establishment and increase floral resources available to beneficial insects targeting stink bugs Photo credit: Jaher Ahmed (NSW DPIRD/ UTAS-TIA)
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Register at
bit.ly/BA-Webinar291026 THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER 2.30–3.45PM AEDT
Rubus IPM: Making the Right Decisions This Season Block out your calendar and join Jon Finch (TIA) and Rubus IDO Mark Salter (Fruit Growers Tasmania) for this webinar where they will share the latest findings from the 'Integrated pest management approaches to address pest challenges in raspberry and blackberry (RB21000)' and discuss what they mean for practical pest management decisions this season.
Acknowledgements The Integrated pest management approaches to address pest challenges in raspberry and blackberry (RB21000) project had been funded by Hort Innovation, using the Raspberry and Blackberry research and development levy, contributions from the Australian Government, and co-investment from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, Agriculture Victoria, and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. It is supported in local regions by industry development officers of the Facilitating the development of the Australian berry industries (MT22010) project. Dr Jon Finch | jonathan.finch@utas.edu.au
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Fusarium Wilt in Blackberries Gaius Leong, Berry Industry Development Officer, NSW DPIRD
The global berry industry has experienced rapid growth in the past two decades, driven by increasing consumer demand for healthy, fresh and convenient berry products. However, the expansion of berry production and international trade has also increased the industry's vulnerability to pest and pathogen incursions. The interstate movement of nursery stock or planting material and the international movement of genetic material in and out of the country have significantly increased the risk of biosecurity threats. Fusarium wilt, particularly Fusarium oxysporum, is a soil-borne fungus that is responsible for significant yield losses across various fruit crops. In the berry category, it is a common disease that affects strawberries in warm to hot growing conditions. Because the pathogen can survive in the soil for many years, it is extremely difficult to eradicate and manage. Disease identification
Host range
The earliest symptom of the disease is the wilting of leaves at the infected area. The point of infection mostly occurs from the base, and as such, early symptoms are often characterised by the wilting of the older leaves as the infection works its way up the plant.
Fusarium oxysporum is a fungal species complex consisting of many specialised forms known as formae speciales (f. sp.), each adapted to infect specific host plants. For example, F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici affects tomatoes, f. sp. cubense affects banana, and f. sp. fragariae affects strawberries.
In the case of infection occurring from cutbacks (pruning wounds), the first signs of wilting leaves will occur close to the pruning wound. Discolouration of the stem occurs soon after, with more extensive wilting and discolouration of the leaves. The discolouration of the stem is visibly distinctive, as only a cross-section of the cane’s vascular system is affected at the beginning, which leads to a longitudinal discolouration on one side of the cane. In later stages of infection, spore masses are also commonly observed on necrotic parts of dead and dying plants.
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Early this year, the first official report of F. oxysporum f. sp. mori was reported on the mid-north coast in a blackberry crop. Infection rates were reported at < 2%, which indicates the likelihood of varietal resistance or existing control with current fungicide use patterns.
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Management options Proactive measures are the best means of control. Avoiding infected soil and ensuring stock plants are disease-free are key to managing disease occurrence. Reducing inoculum in the soil pre-plant through fumigation is another way to reduce risk. However, as blackberry roots are notoriously vigorous, it might only provide temporary respite until the root system moves beyond the treated area. Soil-borne spores can also be spread by the movement of soil and plant material on farm equipment and workers’ footwear. Cane discolouration and a Fusarium wilt spore mass
Ensure that harvest and pruning crews moving between farms use uninfected gear. It is of paramount importance that pruning crews entering your property sterilise and sanitise their equipment and footwear before entering the crop. Addressing the transmission of aerial spores (which can be carried through water and air) is also key to reducing their spread. Remove and burn wilting canes at the first sign of infection before spore masses develop on affected canes. Management of Fusarium wilt has been most effectively achieved by selecting varieties resistant to the disease, a process carried out through rigorous screening in a breeding program.
Note: There are currently no chemical crop protection treatment options available for Fusarium wilt in blackberries. Discoloured canes and wilting, discoloured leaves
A plant at a late stage of infection, after multiple cane death and removal
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Research Update: Best Practice Pollinator Management for the Rubus Industry (RB23002) Julian Brown, Nicole Rafferty, and Margaret Mayfield, the University of Melbourne
• Based on our findings to date, the NSW-QLD Rubus growing regions would be least impacted by reduced or more costly honeybee pollination services because stingless bees and potentially hoverflies can be managed there. • The VIC, TAS, and WA growing regions may be more heavily impacted due to the relatively higher dependence on honeybees and the absence of managed Rubus pollinators. • All Rubus pollinator groups, managed or otherwise, could benefit from the enhancement of on-farm floral resources to promote colony health, which is the next stage of our research. across all sites, and were the only bee species recorded visiting Rubus at the two sites in WA and one site in VIC. Native sweat bees (Lasioglossum species) were recorded visiting Rubus at 70% of farms, from northeast NSW, through VIC and into TAS. They typically occurred in low numbers relative to honeybees, though at one site they comprised around one-third of all visits to Rubus flowers.
Raspberry and blackberry growers have invested their research and development levy through Hort Innovation into the ‘Best Practice Pollinator Management for the Rubus Industry (RB23002)’ project being delivered by the University of Melbourne. The main aim of this project is to provide Rubus growers around the country with information about which insects, other than honeybees, are likely pollinating Rubus and what can be done to support different insect pollinators on-farm. We are two years into the project, so it is time for another update.
There was a clear north-south divide in the presence of native stingless bees (Tetragonula carbonaria), confined to northeast NSW-southeast QLD, and native reed bees (Exoneura species) which were confined to VIC and TAS. Stingless bees were present at all NSW-QLD farms and visited Rubus flowers in numbers comparable to honeybees, while reed bees were present on only three of eight farms in VIC and TAS where they comprised around 20% of visits to Rubus flowers on average.
We have recorded flower-visiting insects on 13 Rubus farms covering the major Rubus growing regions of Australia: Tasmania (TAS), central Victoria (VIC), northeast New South Wales-southeast Queensland (NSW-QLD), and Western Australia (WA) (Figure 1, WA not shown). These surveys were conducted at different times of year to match peak Rubus flowering in each region, which was primarily Spring-Summer except for in southeast QLD where Rubus flowered in winter.
Exotic bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) were present on only two farms, both in TAS, visiting Rubus flowers in relatively small numbers (< 5%), and there was one farm in TAS where native cellophane bees (Leioproctus species) comprised around 1% of visits to Rubus flowers.
The composition of Rubus-visiting insects varied substantially between regions. European honeybees (Apis mellifera) were the dominant flower visitors
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protruding from the soil. While sweat bees are widely distributed across Australia, reed bees are relatively confined to the wetter and cooler southern coastal areas.
Spatial patterns in the composition of Rubus-visiting bees can be explained by the natural distributions of native bees and the management of native and nonnative bees. The dominance of honeybees across sites can be explained by the fact that they are managed crop pollinators in all growing regions. Native stingless bees are also managed crop pollinators, though they are primarily tropical and sub-tropical species restricted to warmer climates.
In addition to bees, hoverflies (Eristalis, Melangyna, and Simosyrphus species) were found visiting Rubus flowers in small numbers (< 5% of visits) across all sites (data not shown). Hoverflies were not managed at the sites we surveyed, but recent research in NSW and TAS indicates that they could be managed as effective Rubus pollinators in cold and warm areas (Davis et al., 2026).
Bumblebees can be managed, though not at any of the sites we surveyed, so the relatively low number of visits were from feral colonies currently confined to TAS. Native sweat bees and reed bees are not currently managed, and had naturally colonised the farms where they were recorded visiting Rubus flowers, with sweat bees observed nesting in the exposed soil at the base of Rubus canes and reed bees nesting within Rubus cane stubs
Treatment-resistant Varroa mites have recently been detected in QLD, NSW, SA and VIC, threatening the future security of Rubus pollination. Based on our findings to date, the NSW-QLD Rubus growing regions would be least impacted by reduced or more costly honeybee pollination services because stingless bees
Figure 1. The proportion of visits to Rubus flowers by six different groups of bees across 11 Rubus farms in southeast Australia
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Reed bees can be housed in artificial nests (e.g. balsa wood) and transported to new locations where they visit nearby flowers (Wang and Brown, 2026). Sweat bees might be encouraged to nest in soil mounds created around farms where no crop protection treatment spraying occurs, though more research is required. All Rubus pollinator groups, managed or otherwise, could benefit from the enhancement of on-farm floral resources to promote colony health, which is the next stage of our research.
and potentially hoverflies can be managed there. The VIC, TAS, and WA growing regions may be more heavily impacted due to the relatively higher dependence on honeybees and the absence of managed Rubus pollinators. Recent advancements in managing hoverflies as Rubus pollinators in temperatures that are too low for stingless bees are encouraging. There is also the possibility of managing the native reed bees and sweat bees that already nest on some Rubus farms (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Nest locations of native bees that naturally colonise Rubus farms and pollinate Rubus flowers
Further reading DAVIS, A. E., ROWBOTTOM, R., SCHMIDT, L. A., PRERADOVIC, J., SANTOS, K. C., DAWSON, B. M., MANRIQUE, M., WRIGHT, D., SHERMEISTER, B. & HOCKING, B. 2026. Managed fly pollinators ensure berry crop yields under variable weather conditions. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 400, 110254. WANG, M. & BROWN, J. 2026. Establishment of a Native Cavity‐Nesting Bee (Exoneura robusta) After Translocation Into an Urban Environment. Ecology and Evolution, 16, e73567.
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A D V E R T O R I A L
C O N T E N T
MarMac Twin Puff
Cleaner Fruit. Better Coverage. Easier Operation. Marshall Machinery has officially released its latest-generation MarMac strawberry sprayer, the Twin Puff, to better meet the growing demands of strawberry growers. Developed from years of experience by Marshall Machinery — building tabletop strawberry sprayers since the industry first expanded on a large scale in Australia in 2015 — along with extensive field testing and direct grower feedback, the new Marmac Twin Puff has been engineered to help growers produce cleaner fruit with improved spray coverage, greater operator comfort, and enhanced safety. Designed specifically for strawberries grown on tabletops under tunnels or in open-field applications, the machine makes the demanding task of spraying strawberries easier, more efficient, and more precise, while using minimal water and chemical input. The latest Marmac Twin Puff system delivers highly consistent droplet size and airflow, providing industry-leading crop penetration and spray coverage flexibility throughout the season. Different droppers can also be fitted when required, allowing growers to better target hanging fruit or runners in nursery applications.
The revolutionary boom design, developed by Marshall Machinery, allows spray nozzles to be repositioned in seconds, giving operators virtually unlimited incremental angle and rotational adjustment to accurately target the crop as canopy structure changes throughout the season. The updated design also significantly reduces long-term maintenance and operating costs through simplified engineering, including minimal air ducting hoses and the use of hydraulically driven high-volume, low-pressure centrifugal chemical pumps and fans. Marshall Machinery says the new sprayer can be fitted to a wide range of suitable tractor makes and models. However, the company recommends pairing the machine with the latest Deutz-Fahr DF 5115, which Marshall Machinery can offer as a complete package with the sprayer. The Deutz-Fahr DF 5115 features an automatic variable TTV transmission and single-touch joystick controls,
The first MarMac Twin Puff operating just outside of Bundaberg
offering operators precise machine handling, improved ease of operation, and enhanced safety through a Category 4 pressurised cabin system. The Marmac Twin Puff trailing tank also features an exceptionally low centre-ofgravity design for improved stability and safety in demanding conditions. In addition, the hydraulic power pack is mounted on the tractor’s three-point linkage, eliminating PTO angle issues while turning and further improving reliability and machine longevity. According to Marshall Machinery, the new Marmac Twin Puff represents a major step forward in strawberry spraying technology, combining efficiency, flexibility, operator safety, and reduced running costs into one advanced package.
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S T R A W B E R R I E S
Building Better Berries: Inside the Australian Strawberry Breeding Program Katie O’Connor – Senior Plant Breeder & Jodi Neal – Principal Plant Breeder, Australian Strawberry Breeding Program Team, Queensland Department of Primary Industries An update from the project ‘Australian Strawberry Breeding Program (BS22000)’
• Developing a new strawberry variety takes years of crossing, testing, selection and validation • This article explains how the Australian Strawberry Breeding Program turns industry priorities into new variety candidates, using field data, grower feedback, plant health testing, DNA tools and long-term genetic improvement to deliver strawberries that are productive, reliable, high quality and suited to Australian growing conditions Breeding for the Next Generation of Australian Strawberries Developing a new strawberry variety is a long-term investment in the future of the Australian strawberry industry. Growers need varieties that yield well, taste great, handle local conditions, resist key diseases, robustly move through the supply chain, and fit commercial production systems. Consumers expect fruit that look beautiful, taste excellent and are consistent. Nurseries need clean, true-to-type planting material that can be multiplied reliably. A successful breeding program sits at the centre of these needs. The Australian Strawberry Breeding Program (ASBP) works across this whole pathway. Each year, new crosses are made, seedlings are assessed, selected accessions (breeding lines) are tested in trials, and the strongest candidates move toward on-farm evaluation (Figure 1). Every stage has a distinct purpose. Early stages help sort through large numbers of genetically different plants. Later stages test whether the best accessions are consistent, commercially useful, and worth progressing towards release.
Figure 1. Australian Strawberry Breeding Program breeding pipeline trial stages
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Two priorities: population improvement and product development
Genetic gain: improving the population over time Genetic gain is the cumulative improvement achieved in the breeding population over time. For strawberries, this may mean improving yield, fruit size, flavour, firmness, disease tolerance, harvest efficiency or consistency across regions. The aim is not simply to find one good plant, but to shift the breeding population in a positive direction so that each generation gives the program a better chance of producing varieties that meet industry needs.
A breeding program has two main, and linked, priorities. The first is population improvement. This means choosing which parents to use in crosspollinations, and why. Some parents are chosen because they carry useful genetics for flavour, yield, fruit size, disease tolerance, early production, plant architecture or regional adaptation. These parents may not be suitable as commercial varieties themselves, but they can still be valuable if they help produce better seedlings in the next generation.
In the ASBP, genetic gain is pursued through both longterm parent selection and short-term commercial testing. The program uses field data, grower feedback, disease screening, pedigree information, DNA marker data and statistical analysis to make selection decisions. This gives us more than one line of evidence when deciding which parents to use and which accessions to progress.
The second is product (variety) development. This is the process of advancing individual accessions through the breeding pipeline to test whether they are commercially viable. A potential variety needs more than one good trait. It must combine yield, timing, fruit size, quality, flavour, firmness, shelf life, disease tolerance, harvest efficiency, regional fit and grower acceptance.
Selection intensity: balancing progress and diversity Selection intensity describes how stringently the breeding program selects from the available population. Because strawberry varieties must combine many traits, selection needs to be narrow enough to remove accessions with limited breeding or commercial value but broad enough to retain individuals that carry useful trait combinations for future improvement. Screening many seedlings increases the chance of finding rare combinations of useful traits. In the breeding pipeline, early selection removes clearly unsuitable material before resources are invested in clonal trials, while later selection becomes more detailed and evidence-based.
In summary: population improvement builds the genetic base for future progress, whilst product development assesses whether individual accessions are ready for industry.
The breeder’s equation The breeder’s equation describes the main factors that determine how quickly a breeding program can improve a population. It can be summarised as:
High selection intensity must be balanced with longterm diversity, however. If selection is too narrow, useful genetics can be lost and relatedness can increase. Parent choice therefore considers complementary traits, pedigree, relatedness and breeding purpose. One parent may be used for flavour, another for disease tolerance, and another for early yield or fruit size.
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Selection accuracy: making better choices from better evidence
Generation length: reducing time between breeding cycles
Selection accuracy is about how well selection decisions identify the best genetics. A plant can look strong in one season because conditions were favourable, or weak because it was exposed to a local stress. Replicated trials, repeated harvest data, multi-year testing and sound statistical analysis help separate genetic performance from seasonal and environmental noise.
Generation length is the time between choosing parents and using their offspring as parents in the next cycle. Shorter cycles can increase genetic gain per year, but only if selection decisions remain robust and reliable. In practice, this means moving faster for population improvement where the evidence supports it, while still applying rigorous testing before commercial release.
The ASBP also uses improved trial design, better statistical analyses and grower feedback to improve selection accuracy. Statistical analysis helps the ASBP make fairer comparisons between accessions, especially when trial seasons or harvest conditions differ. Grower feedback from on-farm trials adds a commercial reality check, because growers test whether accessions work under real production conditions. For industry, the practical benefit is better confidence that the accessions moving forward are genuinely useful, not just the plants that happened to look good in one place or one season.
Genomic prediction is one tool that can help reduce breeding cycle time. It uses DNA marker information from across the genome, together with past trial data, to estimate how an accession is likely to perform for important traits. In practical terms, it gives breeders an earlier indication of which seedlings may be worth using as parents, before several seasons of clonal trial data are available. This is different from releasing a variety earlier. Using an accession as a parent can accelerate long-term improvement, but commercial release still requires field data, on-farm validation, grower feedback and clean plant material.
Genetic variation: maintaining useful diversity
From candidate variety to clean planting material
Genetic variation is the raw material of breeding. Without useful differences between plants, there is little opportunity to improve the population. The Australian industry also needs varieties suited to different regions and production systems, so the program must maintain enough diversity to respond to subtropical, temperate and Mediterranean growing conditions.
Once an accession has strong trial performance and grower support, the work does not stop. A commercial candidate must also be ready for reliable propagation. Nurseries need disease-free, true-to-type mother stock so that planting material can be multiplied with confidence.
Maintaining variation does not mean keeping everything; it means using the right diversity. Parents are chosen to combine complementary strengths, such as high yield with strong flavour, larger fruit with firmness, or disease tolerance with good commercial fruit quality. The ASBP also brings in new genetics through seed exchange programs, including material from the University of Florida for the subtropical and Mediterranean breeding nodes, and Vissers Plant Innovators in the Netherlands for the temperate node. These exchanges help introduce useful traits, including excellent flavour, disease resistance and broader adaptation, while pedigree and DNA marker information help monitor relatedness, check identity and manage the breeding population over time.
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The ASBP conducts in-house virus indexing to test for the presence of viruses before material is supplied for propagation. Biological virus indexing involves grafting leaflets from test plants onto indicator plants, which show disease symptoms if virus is present. Molecular testing uses laboratory methods to look for specific viruses or pathogens directly in the plant material. Once plants have passed these tests, they are sent to AgriBio, an agricultural systems biology research centre in Victoria. AgriBio provides a second independent testing step for viruses and other pathogens, adding confidence in the health status of candidate varieties and mother stock. The ASBP also maintains material in tissue culture, which provides a secure source of clean material for future multiplication.
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Continuous improvement, guided by industry
Acknowledgements The Australian Strawberry Breeding Program has been funded by Hort Innovation using the strawberry research and development levy and matched funds from the Australian Government, with cocontributions from the Queensland Government through the Department of Primary Industries.
The breeding program is a continually improving system. Industry feedback shapes breeding targets, trial design, selection decisions and commercialisation priorities. Reference groups, field days, on-farm trials and direct grower feedback help identify what is working, what is missing, and which traits need more attention.
We thank the contributions by the Temperate, Subtropical and Mediterranean Reference Groups who have helped guide the program, the Industry Development Officers, and all other industry members who provide feedback, advice, and support.
The ASBP also works with external research and industry groups to strengthen different parts of the breeding pipeline. We are continuously looking for practical ways to improve each part of the breeder’s equation, including better parent choice, stronger trial data, improved statistical analysis, useful new genetics, disease screening and tools such as genomic prediction.
We are also extremely grateful to all the fruit producers in all states who have trialled, collected data on, and given feedback on our onfarm accessions. This has helped us make more informed and better commercial judgments. The Australian Strawberry Breeding Program team members include Jodi Neal (project lead), Michaela Antoine (Perth field assistant), Freya Brinkley (Nambour lab assistant), Joanna Gillespie (genetics and virus indexing), Dilmini Hettiarachchi (PhD student), Lilian Kass (Nambour field assistant), Dale McKenna (Nambour field technical officer and hydroponics), David Oag (Granite Belt trial manager), Alan Noon (Wandin field assistant), Katie O’Connor (breeding and genomics), Michelle Paynter (virus indexing, tissue culture, and pathology), Karen Spencer (Wandin operations manager), Laura Esquivel García (PhD student), and Louella Woolcock (Nambour field and glasshouse operations manager).
Conclusion Breeding is a continuous cycle of crossing, testing, selection and validation, supported by many people and many types of evidence. Field, nursery, tissue culture and pathology teams help generate and maintain the plant material, collect trial data and check plant health. Geneticists, biometricians and data analysts help turn complex results into information breeders can use for parent choice and selection. Growers, commercial partners and industry representatives then provide the practical test: whether potential varieties perform under real production and market conditions.
AI tools were used to assist with article structure, drafting and editing; all content was reviewed and approved by the authors.
The aim is not simply to release more varieties, but to release better varieties that are productive, reliable, high quality, suited to Australian production systems, and supported by clean planting material for nurseries and growers. Each season adds new data, feedback and challenges, helping the ASBP make better decisions and keep improving the value it delivers to industry.
If you’d like more information or have feedback to share, please contact Jodi Neal at jodi.neal@dpi.qld.gov.au or on 07 5381 1352. Your insights are crucial to the success of the program, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.
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Impact of Package Coating ‘ZXT’ on Postharvest Quality of Strawberries ‘Driving ag-tech adoption across Australia (AS20007)’ Saeedeh Saberi, Roberto Marques, Leisa Bradburn and Jodie Campbell, Supply Chain Innovation team, Queensland Department of Primary Industries
The trial tested if a new packaging technology can reduce disease and extend strawberry shelf life. Coated and non-coated standard 250g flat punnets were compared using ‘Albion’ and ‘Cabrillo’ strawberries grown in Stanthorpe. Fruit were harvested at early-to-mid and late season and stored at 4°C for up to 15 days. Key findings
The opportunity
• D ecay started 2–3 days later in coated compared to uncoated punnets for both cultivars and harvest times, with initial onset at 10—13 days (1st harvest) and 3—7 days (2nd harvest) after harvest.
Strawberry is a popular fruit, valued for its health benefits and convenience as a ready‑to‑eat snack. Due to its high moisture content, thin skin, soft texture and high respiration rate, fresh strawberry fruit is highly vulnerable to physical damage, dehydration, softening, decay and rapid deterioration.
• P ackaging coating reduced disease incidence early in storage, especially for late-harvested ‘Cabrillo’ fruit.
Cultivar plays a major role in the postharvest performance of strawberries. It influences most fruit quality traits (except moisture loss), chemical composition and susceptibility to decay. Packaging also plays a vital role in protecting strawberry fruit from mechanical damage, moisture loss and microbial development through the supply chain.
• S trawberry shelf life was mainly limited by physical damage and dehydration, not disease in early storage, so the effects of coating on overall shelf life were not clear. • Cultivar affected disease development during storage. • R esults depended on the mixture of coating, harvest time, variety and storage conditions, and should be cautiously interpreted as the work was limited, including samples from a single farm and season, two harvest times, two varieties and one storage temperature.
In this article, we report how effective the packaging coating ZXT-724 (‘ZXT’) was in extending the postharvest quality of the strawberry cultivars ‘Albion’ and ‘Cabrillo’ packed in coated and uncoated punnets. ZXT supplied by OSY Group is a water‑based packaging coating compliant with applicable food contact material (FCM) regulations. It is applied to package surfaces, forming a durable microscopic layer. This layer does not transfer to the fruit and is designed to physically disrupt microbes on contact, helping to reduce contamination and potentially extend shelf life.
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What did we do?
Data analysis • A nalysed changes in fruit quality over time using statistical models that account for differences between cultivars, harvest dates and punnet treatments
Fruit sampling and handling Strawberries of cultivars ‘Albion’ and ‘Cabrillo’ were harvested at Ashbern Farms in Stanthorpe on two harvest dates (Table 1).
• F ocused on the likelihood of loss of shelf life or disease development at each stage of storage
Table 1. Harvest dates of ‘Albion’ and ‘Cabrillo’ strawberries from Stanthorpe
Storage relative humidity (%)
Harvest
Cultivar
Harvest date
First
‘Albion’
03/12/2024
> 75
‘Cabrillo’ 03/12/2024
> 75
Second*
‘Albion’
04/05/2025
> 90
‘Cabrillo’ 30/04/2025
> 90
What did we find? Overall visual quality • V isual quality declined during storage, with a similar rate of decline in coated and uncoated punnets (Figure 1) • P hysical damage during harvest and packing, and dehydration were the leading causes of quality losses, with physical damage accounting for the greatest proportion of fruit failing to meet quality standards • S ymptoms became noticeable from 6 days after harvest and severity increased gradually over time at 4°C (Figure 2) • P hysical damage was more severe in the first (early-mid season) harvest, likely due to rainfall before harvest making fruit softer and more susceptible to handling damage
* Fruit was collected during the final weeks of production for the Stanthorpe property.
• D ehydration was less severe in the second harvest (late season) due to higher storage relative humidity (RH). This suggests storage under less than optimum RH (typically found in domestic refrigerators) will likely result in quicker quality loss
Strawberries were commercially packed into standard 250g hinged-lid flat clamshell punnets. Half of the punnets had been pre-treated with ZXT coating to compare against untreated punnets. The punnets were then transported in coolers to our Department of Primary Industries (DPI) postharvest facilities at Gatton and held at 4°C to simulate typical retail display and domestic refrigerated conditions.
Shelf life • F ruit quality remained high during the first few days of storage, with spoilage increasing rapidly after 7-10 days (Figure 3) • T he coating delayed shelf life loss but did not extend overall shelf life under the trial conditions, as physical damage and dehydration may have masked any benefits in reducing decay
Fruit quality evaluation Strawberry punnets were: • A ssessed daily for any visible decay up to 15 days after harvest
• S helf life varied between the two harvest dates. Fruit from the first harvest declined more rapidly and reached peak spoilage earlier, while fruit from the second harvest showed a slower, more gradual increase in spoilage. This indicates that storage performance can vary substantially depending on storage conditions
• S cored for overall visual quality every 2–3 days on a 5 to 1 scale, where 5 is excellent and 1 is very poor, which combined physical damage, dehydration, and disease (decay) • E valuated for shelf life every 2–3 days, which was defined as the time from harvest until a punnet would be considered unacceptable by a typical consumer (overall visual quality ≤ 2)
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• T he improved shelf life observed in the second harvest fruit may be due to the higher RH, harvest period, or a combination of both
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Figure 1. Decline in visual quality of ‘Albion’ and ‘Cabrillo’ strawberries over storage time at 4°C, comparing fruit stored in coated and uncoated punnets
Figure 2. Examples of physical damage on ‘Albion’ fruit and dehydration on ‘Cabrillo’ fruit on the same punnets held at 4°C for 1, 6, and 10 days after harvest (DAH)
Figure 3. Probability of reaching the end of shelf life over time at 4°C for early-to-mid and late season strawberries
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Disease development • F or both trials and varieties, the onset of disease was delayed by 2—3 days in treated compared to untreated punnets, starting at 10—13 and 3—7 DAH for the 1st and 2nd harvest times, respectively
• C ultivars performed differently during late storage. ‘Cabrillo’ developed disease more slowly, while ‘Albion’ tended to have higher disease levels by the end of storage
• D isease remained low during the first week of storage but increased quickly as storage time extended (Figure 4)
• F ruit from the later harvest showed lower disease levels overall, although this may have been due to harvest period, higher storage RH, or both
• Z XT-coated punnets generally had similar or slightly lower disease levels up to 10–12 days after harvest) (Figure 5)
• S torage time and cultivar had the biggest effects on disease development. Coating affected when disease developed but did not consistently reduce disease levels
Figure 4. Increase in diseased punnets over time at 4°C for ‘Albion’ and ‘Cabrillo’ strawberries and two harvest times.
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Figure 5. Examples of ‘Cabrillo’ strawberries 5 and 9 days after harvest (DAH) held at 4°C in ZXT-coated (left) and uncoated (right) punnets. Differences were not always obvious.
Key actions for industry
References
• T here is an opportunity to improve outcomes through improved handling practices
Berry good practice guide 2025, Version 1 Dong, W. et al. 2020. Effect of genotype and plastic film type on strawberry fruit quality and post-harvest shelf life. International Journal of Fruit Science
• P re-cool fruit to below 10°C for packing as soon as possible after harvest and to less than 5°C before transport to market and maintain the cool chain
Acknowledgements
• M inimising physical damage during harvest and packing is critical to extend shelf life
We thank Ashbern Farms for support with on-farm sampling and packing operations at Stanthorpe and OSY Group for coating material and feedback on trial results. This study was done as part of the project ‘Driving ag-tech adoption across Australia (AS20007), which is funded by the Hort Frontiers Advanced Production Fund, part of Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative developed by Hort Innovation, with co-investment from the Department of Primary Industries, Queensland (DPI).
• Even small amounts of damage can: • reduce visual quality • create entry points for pathogens • accelerate decay over time
• O verall, although postharvest treatments like ZXT may be useful additional tools, they do not replace best practices
Further information Jodie Campbell jodie.campbell@dpi.qld.gov.au 0467 735 036
• M aximising fruit integrity at harvest and packing along with rapid cooling and maintenance of the cool chain are still critical factors impacting on quality and shelf life of fresh strawberries
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Can Microbes Help Strawberries Beat the Heat? Dr Pippa French, Research Fellow in horticultural crop science, University of Tasmania-Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
Research into the potential of beneficial microbes
• Beneficial microbes increased sugar content and dry matter percent in fruits after a period of high temperatures
Beneficial microbes are increasingly being explored as a tool to improve plant resilience to environmental stressors. While beneficial microbes have been shown to enhance nutrient uptake, growth, and yield in strawberries, their potential role in improving heat tolerance—and maintaining fruit quality under high temperatures—remains largely unexplored.
• Microbial products appear to be making plants more resistant to accelerated ripening caused by hot weather
The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA), supported by regional berry industry partners, has been undertaking research to evaluate whether commercially available microbial products could improve strawberry fruit quality during periods of hot weather.
• Growers involved suggest these initial findings may provide valuable economic benefit
The project is being led by Dr Pippa French (Figure 1) as a component of broader research being undertaken by TIA to sustainably grow the value of cool climate horticulture in Australia (AS20004), funded by Hort Innovation’s Hort Frontiers program.
• More research is needed to confirm this hypothesis and investigate impacts on shelf life
The trial set-up and methods The one-year trial was established using the heatsensitive cultivar 'Arabella', grown in substrate under high tunnels. Five commercially available microbial products were evaluated against a control treatment which received only water. These products ranged from simple formulations containing a single beneficial bacterium, to more diverse microbial formulations comprising multiple bacterial and fungal species.
Cool climate industry challenge Australians expect high-quality strawberries yearround, but the hottest months of summer can present challenges for fruit quality. When strawberries ripen under elevated temperatures (typically above ~28–30 °C), fruit tends to be softer and more prone to postharvest breakdown, leading to increased rejection both in the field and along the supply chain.
The five treatments were applied to the substrate fortnightly from late October to early December. Irrigation, nutrition and pest management were carried out according to standard grower practices across all treatments.
With the Bureau of Meteorology confirming El Niño conditions for the coming season, the risk of heat events this summer is high, compounding these challenges.
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Figure 1. Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture researcher, Dr Pippa French, is exploring the use of beneficial microbes as a strategy for reducing the impact of heat on strawberry crops Photo credit: TIA
Additionally, after the heat event, fruit from microbially treated plants had higher sugar content and dry matter levels than fruit from untreated plants (Figure 3). These responses were observed across all microbial treatments.
From early to late December, the plants were exposed to heat stress in a greenhouse, where daytime temperatures reached 30–39°C and nighttime temperatures remained above 19°C. During this period, the microbial products were applied weekly as foliar sprays.
What could the findings mean scientifically?
Fruit yield and quality were assessed throughout the three-week heat period and during the recovery phase that followed. Measurements included fruit size, weight, firmness, total soluble solids (sugars) and dry matter content. Plant physiological responses to heat were also monitored through measurements of photosynthetic efficiency and stomatal conductance.
While the second year of the project will build understanding of the effects of beneficial microbes, researchers have a hypothesis they have been discussing with local growers that may explain the trial responses. It is generally accepted that fruit quality is impacted by the acceleration of ripening caused by hot weather, but it is possible that the microbial treatments in this trial helped moderate this response to heat. While the control plants produced more fruit early in the assessment period, their production tapered off after the first two weeks.
These first findings Microbially treated plants produced slightly less dry matter yield (the fruit components excluding water) than the control during the heat-stress period, although the differences were not statistically significant.
By contrast plants that received the microbial treatments continued to ripen fruit at a steady rate and, by the end of the study, had achieved similar total yields. A slower ripening rate could also explain the sweeter berries with higher dry matter content because a longer ripening period would have allowed more time for sugar and dry matter accumulation in the fruit.
Following the heat event, this pattern reversed, with microbially treated plants tending to produce more dry matter than the control. Overall, however, cumulative dry matter yield was similar across treatments when the heat and recovery periods were combined (Figure 2).
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Figure 2. Cumulative dry yield by treatment over time
Figure 3. Effects of microbial treatments on strawberry fruit dry matter and sugar content following heat stress
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What could the findings mean in economic terms?
Second year investigations
Fruits that ripen more slowly and have a higher dry matter content typically develop stronger cell walls, making them less susceptible to bruising and mould during handling and storage. As a result, microbial treatments may help increase marketable yield by reducing fruit rejections at a time of year when losses can be high. Higher dry matter content can also deliver logistical benefits. According to Berried in Tas Head Agronomist Sumit Bhandari, fruit with lower water content experiences less weight loss during transport. "When the berry has more water, we have to put more fruit in the punnet to account for water loss in transit," he explains. By arriving on retail shelves with stabilised weight, berries with higher dry matter content could reduce the need for overpacking, potentially improving pack-out efficiency and reducing costs along the supply chain.
There are several physiological mechanisms that will be researched in the second year to help explain why the microbially treated plants appeared less susceptible to accelerated ripening, with changes in hormonal signalling being one of these. The accelerated ripening hypothesis will be investigated by measuring fruit ripening rates and hormone profiles in microbially treated and untreated plants. Importantly, it will also determine whether the treatments affect shelf life, measuring mould incidence and quality decline during storage.
Further information Dr Pippa French | pippa.french@utas.edu.au
Acknowledgements ‘Sustainably growing horticulture value in cool climate Australia (AS20004)’ is funded through Hort Innovation Frontiers with co-investment from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture and contributions from the Australian Government. The project is supported locally by industry partners, Berried in Tas, and members of the project reference group.
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S T R A W B E R R I E S
Đặc điểm ra bông, đậu trái của ba nhóm dâu tây phổ biến Helen Newman (WA) & Sandy Shaw (VIC/SA), Cán bộ Phát triển Ngành trái mọng, Bản dịch: Chí Nguyễn
Bài viết này trình bày tổng quan về các yếu tố di truyền kiểm soát sự ra bông ở các giống dâu tây ngày ngắn, ngày trung tính và ngày dài. Cây sinh trưởng quá mạnh (phát triển sinh dưỡng quá mức) là một yếu tố gây căng thẳng ra bông thường bị bỏ qua. Để tìm hiểu tổng quan về cách các yếu tố khí hậu và kỹ thuật canh tác có thể thúc đẩy cây dâu tây theo hướng sinh trưởng sinh dưỡng hoặc sinh sản, xem bài viết “Mô hình năng suất bạn đang hướng tới là gì?” tại berries.net.au/resource/lote-mo-hinh-nang-suatban-dang-huong-toi-la-gi-klaas-plas
Sự ra bông là nền tảng của việc trồng dâu tây. Bởi lẽ, nếu không có bông thì không có trái! Sự ra bông được kiểm soát bởi nhiều yếu tố, chịu ảnh hưởng bởi sự tương tác giữa yếu tố di truyền và môi trường.
Sự phân biệt giữa các nhóm ngày ngắn, ngày trung tính và ngày dài chỉ mang tính khái quát. Vẫn có mức độ biến thiên lớn trong mỗi nhóm tùy thuộc vào đặc điểm di truyền của từng giống và cách giống đó tương tác với môi trường canh tác. Điều kiện sản xuất tại Úc rất đa dạng nên các quy tắc cứng nhắc gần như không thể áp dụng. Di truyền chỉ là một trong nhiều yếu tố cần được xem xét trong bức tranh tổng thể.
Giống ngày ngắn Còn được gọi là ‘June bearers’, các giống ngày ngắn là nhóm dâu tây sản xuất truyền thống và vẫn là nhóm được trồng phổ biến nhất trên thế giới. Các nhóm dâu tây khác đều được định nghĩa bằng cách so sánh với nhóm gốc này. Ví dụ về các giống ngày ngắn: Camarosa, Festival, Fortuna, Fronteras, Grenada, UCD Victor, Adelanto, Belvedere và Medallion. Các giống ngày ngắn bắt đầu khởi phát mầm bông khi thời gian chiếu sáng trong ngày ngắn, thường khoảng 12–13 giờ tùy theo giống. Vì đặc điểm này, chúng chủ yếu được trồng trong các tháng mùa đông và tiếp tục sang mùa xuân.
Việc phân loại giống ngày ngắn, ngày trung tính và ngày dài dựa trên điều kiện độ dài ngày cần thiết để kích thích phản ứng khởi phát mầm bông ban đầu. Sau khi đã bắt đầu ra bông, tất cả các giống dâu tây đều có thể tiếp tục tạo bông bất kể độ dài ngày, miễn là cây không bị căng thẳng. Khi mức độ căng thẳng đủ lớn, cây sẽ ngừng ra bông. Để kích thích ra bông trở lại, cây phải được tiếp xúc với các điều kiện khởi phát cần thiết (sinh sản) để ra bông trở lại.
Sau khi quá trình khởi phát mầm bông đã bắt đầu, các giống ngày ngắn có thể tiếp tục ra bông đến tận mùa hè ở Úc, bất kể độ dài ngày, nếu được bảo vệ tốt khỏi các yếu tố gây căng thẳng. Ngày dài có thể gây căng thẳng và làm giảm ra bông ở giống ngày ngắn; tuy nhiên, trong điều kiện của Úc, chỉ riêng độ dài ngày thường không đủ để làm cây ngừng ra bông hoàn toàn.
Các điều kiện có thể làm chậm hoặc ngừng phản ứng ra bông gồm căng thẳng nhiệt, căng thẳng do thoát hơi nước, căng thẳng do bệnh, cây sinh trưởng quá mạnh, thừa hoặc thiếu dinh dưỡng và các yếu tố gây căng thẳng phổ biến khác.
Hai tác nhân phổ biến nhất khiến giống ngày ngắn ngừng ra bông là bón phân quá mức và nhiệt độ quá cao. Khi các yếu tố căng thẳng được loại bỏ và ngày ngắn trở lại, cây sẽ lại khởi phát mầm bông.
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Giống ngày trung tính
Giống ngày dài
Đúng như tên gọi, các giống ngày trung tính không nhạy cảm với độ dài ngày. Chúng có thể khởi phát mầm bông dưới mọi độ dài ngày và có thể được sử dụng cho sản xuất quanh năm.
Còn được gọi là ‘everbearers’, ‘remontant’, giống ra bông liên tục hoặc ra bông trở lại, giống ngày dài về bản chất là các giống ngày trung tính nhạy cảm với nhiệt độ. Có rất ít nghiên cứu công bố mô tả chi tiết cơ sở di truyền của tính trạng cho bông liên tục ở dâu tây. Thuật ngữ này thường được sử dụng khá rộng, chủ yếu để chỉ những giống không thuộc nhóm ngày ngắn nhưng cũng không mang gen trội không hoàn toàn đặc trưng của nhóm ngày trung tính.
Ví dụ về các giống ngày trung tính: Albion, Cabrillo, Monterey, San Andreas và Alturas. Các giống ngày trung tính mang một gen trội không hoàn toàn, có vai trò kiểm soát phản ứng của cây với độ dài ngày (ở một mức độ nhất định). Trội không hoàn toàn có nghĩa là gen này không kiểm soát hoàn toàn phản ứng sinh lý. Có tới 30% biến dị di truyền của tính trạng ngày trung tính được chi phối bởi các gen khác.
Giống ngày dài có thể khởi phát mầm bông dưới mọi độ dài ngày khi nhiệt độ thấp, tuy nhiên, khi nhiệt độ đạt đến một ngưỡng nhất định, chúng trở nên nhạy cảm với độ dài ngày. Nếu nhiệt độ thấp được duy trì, giống ngày dài sẽ tiếp tục ra bông. Nếu cây bị gián đoạn khỏi chu kỳ cho trái, cây cần trở lại điều kiện nhiệt độ mát hơn để khởi phát lại mầm bông.
Các giống ngày trung tính thường được chia thành bốn loại: yếu, trung bình, mạnh và cực mạnh, dựa trên cường độ và tính ổn định của phản ứng ra bông. Hệ thống phân loại ban đầu gồm hai nhóm được đề xuất bởi Royce Bringhurst, nhà lai tạo giống dâu tây ngày trung tính đầu tiên. Ông phân loại giống thành ngày trung tính yếu hoặc mạnh dựa trên tỷ lệ cây con của một dòng vô tính ra bông trong mùa hè tại các vườn ươm dâu tây ở vùng cao California.
Trong các hệ thống sản xuất mà nhiệt độ trung bình 24 giờ hiếm khi vượt quá 18°C và tất cả các yếu tố khác đều thuận lợi, giống ngày dài và giống ngày trung tính rất khó phân biệt. Bởi vì điều này cho nên trong ngành dâu tây có nhiều nhầm lẫn và một số người sử dụng hai thuật ngữ “giống ngày dài” và “ giống trung tính” thay thế cho nhau. Tuy nhiên, trong các hệ thống có điều kiện nhiệt độ khắc nghiệt hơn, người trồng sẽ thấy sự khác biệt rõ rệt giữa hai nhóm giống này.
Các giống ngày trung tính cũng có thể chịu tất cả những yếu tố căng thẳng tác động đến các nhóm khác. Ví dụ, tương tự giống ngày ngắn và giống ngày dài, giống ngày trung tính có thể bị căng thẳng sinh lý trong những tháng nóng nhất trong năm và ngừng ra bông do căng thẳng nhiệt nghiêm trọng. Tuy nhiên, việc cây khởi phát mầm bông và quay lại sản xuất sau khi căng thẳng nhiệt chấm dứt không phụ thuộc vào bất kì yêu cầu nào về độ dài ngày. Tất cả những gì chúng cần để tiếp tục khởi phát mầm bông là loại bỏ các yếu tố gây căng thẳng.
Điều kiện để cây tiếp tục ra bông
Độ dài ngày kích hoạt ra bông
Giống ngày ngắn
Ngày ngắn – 12-13 giờ hoặc ít hơn
Giống ngày trung tính
Không nhạy cảm với độ dài ngày
Giống ngày dài
Ngày ngắn trở lại và các yếu tố gây căng thẳng sinh lý được loại bỏ Ở bất kỳ độ dài ngày nào, miễn là cây không bị căng thẳng sinh lý
Không nhạy cảm với độ dài ngày cho đến khi nhiệt độ trung bình 24 giờ vượt quá 18°C
SPRING 2026
AUSTRALIAN
Điều kiện cần để kích hoạt cây ra bông trở lại
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Loại bỏ các yếu tố gây căng thẳng sinh lý Nhiệt độ trung bình 24 giờ dưới 18°C và loại bỏ các yếu tố gây căng thẳng sinh lý
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Hình 1. Độ dài ngày trung bình hằng năm tại bốn vùng sản xuất dâu chính ở Úc
Hình 2. Nhiệt độ trung bình 24 giờ hằng năm tại bốn vùng sản xuất dâu chính ở Úc. Được đăng lại với sự cho phép của Cục Khí tượng Úc, © 2025 Commonwealth of Australia
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Tại sao những thông tin này lại quan trọng? Tùy vào môi trường canh tác và mô hình năng suất mà bạn đang hướng tới, một số nhóm giống sẽ phù hợp hoặc có nhiều ưu thế hơn những nhóm khác. Các điểm chính cần xem xét: •
Đánh giá điều kiện môi trường tại khu vực trồng để xác định nhóm giống phù hợp nhất, đặc biệt lưu ý độ dài ngày, nhiệt độ trung bình và khoảng thời gian thu hoạch mục tiêu.
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Khi lựa chọn giữa giống trung tính và giống ngày dài, cần xem xét kỹ dữ liệu nhiệt độ trong quá khứ và các yếu tố căng thẳng tiềm ẩn khác tại địa điểm trồng để xem liệu có điều kiện nào có thể làm giảm ra bông ở giống ngày trung tính hoặc làm gián đoạn phản ứng ra bông của giống ngày dài trước khi điều kiện trở lại trạng thái phù hợp để khởi phát ra bông lại hay không.
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một hệ thống trồng trọt mà sự khác biệt giữa hai thuật ngữ này là quan trọng, hãy luôn kiểm tra với chương trình lai tạo giống để xác minh nguồn gốc di truyền. •
Các nhà khoa học đã tranh luận về cách phân loại dâu tây và các định nghĩa liên quan trong hơn 60 năm. Vẫn chưa có sự đồng thuận hoàn toàn, vì vậy nếu bạn thấy khó hiểu, đừng lo lắng – điều này thực sự khó hiểu!
Cần biết rằng thuật ngữ “everbearer” và “dayneutral” đôi khi được sử dụng thay thế cho nhau trong khoa học và tiếp thị. Nếu bạn đang ở trong
Giải thích các thuật ngữ kỹ thuật:
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Trạng thái sinh dưỡng:
Đây là giai đoạn cây tập trung vào việc thiết lập cấu trúc, phát triển lá, thân và rễ.
Trạng thái sinh sản:
Giai đoạn cây chuyển từ sinh trưởng sinh dưỡng (tạo ra lá và thân) sang sinh trưởng sinh sản, tập trung vào ra bông, phát triển trái và sản xuất hạt. Nó mô tả giai đoạn cây đang tích cực tạo ra các cấu trúc sinh sản và phân bổ nguồn lực cho chúng.
SPRING 2026
AUSTRALIAN
Nếu bạn đang thử nghiệm một giống mới, hãy nhớ rằng việc ngừng ra bông không nhất thiết có nghĩa là cây thuộc phân loại khác so với tuyên bố. Trước tiên hãy xem xét các yếu tố môi trường khác và quan sát phản ứng của cây khi yếu tố căng thẳng được loại bỏ.
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Kiến thức căn bản: Tích lũy lạnh ở dâu tây Sandy Shaw (VIC/SA) & Helen Newman (WA), Cán bộ Phát triển Ngành quả mọng, Bản dịch: Chí Nguyễn
Người trồng dâu tây từ lâu đã biết rằng một số giống cần tích lũy một số giờ lạnh nhất định để đạt năng suất tối ưu. Nhưng “lạnh” là gì và tác động như thế nào? Tích lũy lạnh (hay nhu cầu lạnh) là tổng thời gian, thường được tính bằng số giờ giữa các mức nhiệt độ nhất định, cần thiết để tạo ra những thay đổi bên trong cây dâu tây, giúp cây tiếp tục chu trình sinh trưởng bình thường (hoặc tối ưu) sau giai đoạn ngủ. cây này vẫn có thể cần lưu ý yếu tố đó. Tuy nhiên, các ngành này nhìn chung đã chuyển sang những giống được lai tạo theo hướng “không cần lạnh/yêu cầu lạnh thấp”. Dâu tây cũng đã được lai tạo để ít phụ thuộc hơn vào tích lũy lạnh, và hiện có một số giống “không cần lạnh” và “yêu cầu lạnh thấp” tại thị trường Úc.
Mục tiêu của việc quản lý tích lũy lạnh ở dâu tây là giúp cây chịu được các tác động cơ học trong quá trình thu hoạch và vận chuyển, đồng thời tạo điều kiện để cây phát triển tối ưu cho trái trên ruộng.
Cây dâu tây không có trạng thái ngủ thực sự như các cây ăn trái rụng lá, quá trình sinh trưởng và trao đổi chất của cây chỉ chậm lại khi nhiệt độ thấp.
Các dạng tích lũy lạnh Tích lũy lạnh là quá trình tạo điều kiện sinh lý cho cây và có thể được chia thành hai dạng: tích lũy lạnh ngoài đồng và tích lũy lạnh bổ sung (Hình 1).
Tích lũy lạnh ngoài đồng
Trong sản xuất dâu tây, giờ lạnh thường được hiểu là tổng số giờ cây tiếp xúc với nhiệt độ từ 0 đến 7°C trước khi được trồng lấy trái trên ruộng¹. Nhiệt độ quá cao hoặc quá thấp tại vườn ươm có thể làm giảm một số tác động của quá trình tích lũy lạnh.
Nhiệt độ mát (lạnh) vào mùa thu kết hợp với quang kỳ ngắn (thời gian chiếu sáng trong ngày ngắn) kích thích hình thành mầm hoa, phát triển các tán, và làm giảm kích thước lá, báo hiệu sự bắt đầu của giai đoạn ngủ (hoặc trạng thái tương đương ngủ ở dâu tây).
Tích lũy lạnh giúp cây chuyển tiếp thuận lợi từ vườn ươm sang ruộng trồng lấy trái, và thúc đẩy sự phát triển tốt của trái và chồi sau khi cây bén rễ. Đây là phép đo áp dụng cho cây trồng tươi, không áp dụng cho cây frigo (cây giống bảo quản đông lạnh).
Khi nhiệt độ giảm và số giờ lạnh được tích lũy, các chất kích thích sinh trưởng giúp cây phát triển trở lại sau khi trồng cũng được tích tụ. Carbohydrate (đường) được tạo ra trong lá và thân cũng được dự trữ trong các tán và rễ dưới dạng tinh bột thay vì được sử dụng để hình thành lá và trái mới.
Dâu tây không phải là cây trồng duy nhất yêu cầu phải tích lũy lạnh. Rubus và việt quất từ lâu cũng từng cần phải tích lũy lạnh, người trồng các giống cũ của những
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Lượng tinh bột này là nguồn dự trữ của cây. Khi cây được trồng và bén rễ trên ruộng, cây sử dụng nguồn dự trữ đó để bắt đầu sinh trưởng mới. Điều này đặc biệt quan trọng đối với cây giống rễ trần đã loại bỏ lá, vì chúng không còn lá để quang hợp.
Tích lũy lạnh trong điều kiện cụ thể Mức tích lũy phù hợp của từng dạng tích lũy lạnh thay đổi tùy theo giống, loại cây, thời điểm trồng và điều kiện đồng ruộng. Phương pháp bảo quản lạnh cụ thể để tối ưu năng suất sẽ khác nhau tùy theo canh tác của mỗi người trồng.
Tích lũy lạnh bổ sung (trong bảo quản) Khoảng thời gian cây giống sau khi thu hoạch và đóng thùng được giữ ở nhiệt độ 1–2°C được gọi là tích lũy lạnh “bổ sung” hoặc “trong bảo quản”. Cây trong các điều kiện này không quang hợp nên không tiếp tục tích lũy tinh bột.
Vấn đề càng trở nên phức tạp hơn, khi ảnh hưởng của tích lũy lạnh khó có thể tách biệt khỏi thời điểm gieo trồng trong các thí nghiệm ngoài đồng
Cơ chế giải thích vì sao tích lũy lạnh bổ sung có lợi cho cây giống rễ trần đã được nghiên cứu từ lâu nhưng vẫn chưa được xác định rõ. Các mẫu thử đường và tinh bột được lấy trong nhiều nghiên cứu khác nhau và đã xác nhận có sự thay đổi về loại đường và sự suy giảm tỷ lệ tinh bột, nhưng cơ chế và nguyên nhân chính xác vẫn đang được thảo luận. Có giả thuyết cho rằng điều này có liên quan đến các chất điều hòa sinh trưởng.
Định nghĩa về giờ lạnh khác nhau giữa các công ty lai tạo giống, nhà nghiên cứu và vùng sản xuất
Tích lũy lạnh ảnh hưởng đến cây trồng cho trái trên ruộng như thế nào Về cơ bản, tích lũy lạnh ảnh hưởng đến sức sống của cây. Quá trình tích lũy lạnh thường được hiểu là làm tăng sức sống của cây: cây càng nhận được nhiều giờ lạnh, kích thước cây càng lớn. Tích lũy lạnh quá ít dẫn đến sức sống yếu và cây nhỏ, không thể chịu được tải trọng trái hoặc không thể phát triển đủ nhanh để đạt năng suất tối ưu. Tuy nhiên, tích lũy lạnh quá nhiều sẽ dẫn đến sức sống quá mức của cây, dẫn đến cây phát triển sinh dưỡng và năng suất giảm.
Việc tích lũy lạnh cũng có thể có lợi cho khả năng phục hồi trong quá trình vận chuyển và trồng lại - một số thích nghi lạnh và chuyển hóa tinh bột có thể giúp cây chịu được áp lực cơ học trong quá trình thu hoạch và vận chuyển.
Những điểm thường gây nhầm lẫn
Ví dụ, cách tính giờ lạnh tiêu chuẩn của ngành dâu tây California sử dụng khoảng nhiệt độ 0–7°C và được hiểu là số giờ lạnh tích lũy ngoài đồng trước khi thu hoạch cây giống, đôi khi có thêm khuyến cáo về tích lũy lạnh bổ sung. Khuyến cáo tại một số khu vực miền Đông Hoa Kỳ bao gồm cả số giờ lạnh sau khi cây đã được trồng trên ruộng cho trái. Một số khuyến cáo của châu Âu hoặc các khuyến cáo cũ của Hoa Kỳ tính toàn bộ thời gian cây tiếp xúc với nhiệt độ dưới 7°C. Để mọi việc thêm phần phức tạp, các khuyến nghị có thể hoặc không phân biệt giữa tích lũy lạnh ngoài đồng và tích lũy lạnh bổ sung. Hầu hết các giống đều có khuyến cáo về số giờ lạnh. Điều quan trọng là phải biết nguồn gốc của giống và cách đơn vị cung cấp giống định nghĩa giờ lạnh để có thể áp dụng khuyến cáo một cách phù hợp.
Độ cao và vĩ độ thường được nhắc đến, nhưng thực chất chỉ là cách nói tắt (thuận tiện) khi đề cập đến tích lũy lạnh Các vườn ươm ở độ cao cao hoặc vĩ độ cao thường trở lạnh sớm hơn các vườn ươm ở độ cao thấp hoặc vĩ độ thấp, vì vậy giờ lạnh tự nhiên bắt đầu tích lũy sớm hơn. Tốc độ tích lũy giờ lạnh cũng thường nhanh hơn do nhiệt độ mát duy trì lâu hơn trong ngày. Điều quan trọng không phải là vườn ươm ở cao, thấp hay dưới đất, mà là cây nhận được mức tích lũy lạnh bao nhiêu và vào thời điểm nào. Những cây cần nhanh chóng tích lũy nhiều giờ lạnh sẽ tự nhiên đạt được điều đó khi được trồng tại các khu vực mát hơn.
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Ảnh hưởng của số giờ lạnh tích lũy sau khi cây đã bén rễ trên ruộng cho trái vẫn chưa rõ ràng, ví dụ như cây trồng vào mùa đông tại các vùng phía Nam, trải qua mùa đông trước khi bắt đầu sản xuất vào mùa xuân Hiện chưa có đủ nghiên cứu về vấn đề này để đưa ra kết luận chắc chắn.
Hình 1. Thông tin đồ họa về tích lũy lạnh – do Berries Australia tạo bằng ChatGPT
Chú thích1: Một số nhà nghiên cứu tính toàn bộ số giờ dưới 7°C, nhưng vẫn có tranh luận về việc nhiệt độ dưới điểm đóng băng có góp phần vào phản ứng với lạnh hay không và tác động theo cách nào. Vì vậy, một số tài liệu tính cả thời gian cây được bảo quản dưới dạng cây frigo vào tổng số giờ lạnh. Đây vẫn là vấn đề đang được tranh luận.
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B L U E B E R R I E S
Setting Vietnamese Retailers up for Blueberry Success Jenny Van de Meeberg, Head of Trade, Berries Australia An update on activities from the levy-funded project 'Berries Trade Development and Market Access project (MT23004)'
Vietnam’s decision to grant market access for Australian fresh blueberries in October 2025 created an important new opportunity for growers and exporters. The Australian Government estimates that the market could be worth approximately $4 million in its first year and $22 million within five years. However, gaining access is only the first step. The long-term success of Australian blueberries in Vietnam will depend on whether the fruit reaches consumers in the premium condition they expect. Temperature fluctuations, poor handling, weak stock rotation or an unattractive retail display can quickly reduce shelf life, increase waste and undermine confidence in the Australian offer. To support the new trade pathway, Berries Australia has developed a comprehensive suite of bilingual training materials for Vietnamese importers, buyers, distribution teams and supermarket staff. The program follows Australian blueberries from the farm through harvesting, pre-cooling, grading, packing, air freight, arrival in Vietnam, in-store cold storage and retail display. A central message is that blueberry quality must be protected continuously to deliver the best consumer experience. Fruit is cooled rapidly after harvest, and then the temperature must be maintained as close as possible to the recommended chilled range throughout transport, receiving, storage and retail display. Staff are also trained to protect airflow, keep packs dry, handle fruit gently and store blueberries away from strongsmelling products. The retail excellence component translates these technical requirements into simple daily actions. The key messages include: • P resenting Australian blueberries in a clearly defined refrigerated berry destination, with pack sizes grouped logically, labels facing forward and Australian origin messaging easy to see
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• E ncouraging staff to maintain full but uncluttered displays • Applying strict first-in, first-out stock (FIFO) rotation • I mmediately removing packs that are wet, crushed, leaking, soft or mouldy Research shows that product sampling and clear descriptions of the fruit’s sweetness, crunch, and Australian provenance can also help shoppers understand its premium value, so the training includes valuable resources to help staff sell the fruit in person in their store. The training was delivered in person in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi by Jenny Van de Meeberg, Head of Trade for Berries Australia, alongside complementary training from Australian Table Grapes. Delivering the two programs together provided greater value to Vietnamese retailers, attracted a broader attendance and reinforced consistent cold-chain and merchandising practices across two important Australian fresh-fruit categories. By investing in retail capability from the outset, the industry is helping ensure that consumers experience Australian blueberries as they were intended: fresh, firm, flavourful and unmistakably premium. The materials developed include a comprehensive Cold Chain Training pack, a session dedicated to Merchandising Retail Excellence, a back-of-store poster, a 4-page Merchandising Guide and recipe postcards for use with sampling activities in stores, all in Vietnamese.
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Retail staff from Central Retail, Farmers’ Market, Klever Fruit, Mega Market and Win Commerce were trained in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City All photos credit: Berries Australia
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Retail staff from Klever Fruit in Hanoi celebrating their training completion Photo credit: Berries Australia
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SPRING 2026
AUSTRALIAN
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B L U E B E R R I E S
‘Sekoya Pop’ – A Crunchy Revolution Wendy Morris, Berry Industry Development Officer, Queensland
Imagine a tray of blueberries sitting in cold storage for 60 days. At the end of that period, every berry remains edible and marketable while still meeting the standards of the premium category. That is the promise of ‘Sekoya Pop’, a southern highbush blueberry variety developed by Fall Creek Farm & Nursery. The first plants arrived at Smart Berries izn Crow’s Nest, Queensland, 18 months ago, and the results so far have been impressive. ‘Sekoya Pop’ is an early-season, low-chill blueberry variety that produces jumbo-sized, crunchy berries. Developed by Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, it is now grown in blueberry-producing regions around the world. Despite its exceptional firmness, which may suggest an underripe or tart flavour, the fruit is pleasantly sweet with a distinctive aroma. The plants are also resistant to several diseases, particularly blueberry rust, and are easy to harvest as the berries detach readily from the plant.
Jumbo-sized, crunchy ‘Sekoya Pop’ blueberries Photo credits: Wendy Morris and Dan Adames
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The plants are currently grown in substrate under insect netting, with pollination provided by a local beekeeper. The bees move freely through the netting, ensuring effective pollination without disrupting workers.
Farm Manager Dan Adames is encouraged by what he is seeing from ‘Sekoya Pop’. During his six years with Smart Berries, he has helped oversee the production of several varieties, including the long-established ‘Magica’, delivering a continuous harvest for 48–50 weeks of the year. Achieving consistent, year-round production is a key goal for the farm, and ‘Sekoya Pop’ is stacking up to be a valuable addition. As an early-season variety, harvesting began in April this year, and the plants have continued to produce excellent-quality fruit and strong yields through July, with no sign of slowing. Learning to grow a new variety is a challenge for any farmer. Dan and his team have experimented with different timing and yield strategies for ‘Sekoya Pop’, but for the most part, they are allowing the plants to demonstrate their natural growth habits before refining their management approach.
‘Sekoya Beauty’ has recently joined the varietal line-up, with the first commercial harvest expected in 2027. Like its other Sekoya counterpart, the variety is already demonstrating excellent disease resistance and strong, vigorous growth. Interest in ‘Sekoya Pop’ continues to build, with growers from across Australia visiting the Smart Berries Crow’s Nest site to see the variety in the field and learn more about its performance. Consumers will not have much longer to wait before tasting ‘Sekoya Pop’. Smart Berries expects to begin harvesting commercial volumes within the next 18 to 24 months, introducing a new premium blueberry to the market.
Smart Berries currently produces the ‘Magica’ variety, which delivers a 48-50 week continuous harvest from the Crow’s Nest farm in Queensland Photo credit: Wendy Morris
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About Fall Creek Farm & Nursery Fall Creek Farm & Nursery is a family-founded, international blueberry genetics and nursery company headquartered in Lowell, Oregon, USA. Established in 1978, the company breeds and supplies proprietary blueberry varieties for commercial production across different growing climates worldwide. The company is headquartered in Lowell, Oregon, approximately 25 kilometres from Eugene. Its nearby Henry Farm is the principal research and development site for breeding and trialling mid- and high-chill blueberry varieties. Fall Creek also operates breeding, research and nursery facilities in several other countries, including Mexico, Peru, Spain, the Netherlands, South Africa and Chile.
Find out more at www.fallcreeknursery.com and more about the Sekoya varieties at sekoyafruit.com/varieties
Farm Manager, Dan Adames, showing ‘Sekoya Pop’ fruit that was harvested 6.5 weeks ago and kept in cold storage Photos credit: Wendy Morris
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Understanding Blueberry Root-Crown Disorder: A Progress Update Dr Eveline Kong, William de Stefani, Nhu Quynh Thi Truong, Dr Madeleine Gleeson, Dr Alison Kelly, Dr Gerardo Nunez, Dr Chris O’Brien, Dr Thi Thao Ninh and Dr Alice Hayward, The University of Queensland ‘Understanding the cause of blueberry root wrapping and associated root crown disorders (BB23000)’
• Potting young plants from plugs into larger pots within four months seems to reduce root-crown disorder risk within the first year of planting, depending on variety • Longer plug dwelling appears to be linked to more cane detachment, and thinner shoots and roots at least for one of the varieties tested • Current data found no major tissue culture duration effect in the variety studied so far Blueberry growers across Australia and overseas have raised concerns about a physiological disorder affecting the root-crown region of the plant; observed symptoms include root curling and wrapping around the crown (with suspected girdling), restricted crown development, cane snapping (possibly linked to bark inclusion), and abnormal tissue growth at the root-crown junction. Left unchecked, these symptoms are suspected to disrupt the plant's vascular system, contributing to cane dieback, reduced yield, and in severe cases whole-plant death under high water and nutrient demand. Funded by Hort Innovation using the blueberry industry levy and contributions from the Australian Government, this UQ-led project (BB23000) is now in its second year, working to pin down the physiological causes of the disorder and identify which propagation and nursery practices influence its onset or severity, with the end goal of practical, evidence-based guidance for industry.
Figure 1. Example of the three key stages plants go through (L-R): Nursery trays, Nursery Pots then Field Pots Photos credit: William de Stefani
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What we've done Working closely with industry partners Harts Nursery, Costa, and Mountain Blue Farms, the team has established large-scale nursery trials across multiple commercial varieties, testing four variables during standard nursery production suspected to influence disorder risk: • P ropagation material type: tissue culture vs. traditional cuttings • R ooting hormone strength: a hormone-free control against three commercial IBA concentrations used to induce the roots on cuttings or tissue-cultured shoots • P lug dwelling time: how long young plants remain in small propagation plugs before potting up • T rimming method and frequency: mechanical vs. hand trimming, and how often Plants from all four trials have now progressed from nursery through to field planting across sites in NSW (Corindi and Tabulam) and are being tracked into their first year in the field. A second round of dwelling-time trials, testing even shorter durations, was added in October 2025 and is due for field planting in late 2026. In parallel, two tissue-culture (TC) propagation experiments are examining factors further upstream in the supply chain: whether clone origin and time spent in tissue culture affect plant development (Experiment 1), and whether hormone-reducing treatments applied during the final TC stage — including activated-charcoal and hormone-free media — can improve later plant establishment (Experiment 2). Both have progressed from TC stage through early nursery growth. Supporting this work, the team has developed and validated an in-house Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) method to quantify endogenous plant hormones (cytokinins, auxin, gibberellins, and abscisic acid) in blueberry leaf and stem tissue, allowing them to test whether hormone exposure during propagation carries over into nursery and field performance. LC-MS (liquid chromatography– mass spectrometry) is a laboratory technique used to separate, identify and measure chemical compounds within plant samples. A full year of quarterly monitoring has also been completed on existing commercial plantings at Costa's Dirty Creek site, tracking around 260 tagged plants across two TC propagation batches to benchmark normal versus disordered growth in a real production setting.
Separately, a 20-question industry survey — developed with UQ ethics approval and promoted at BerryQuest International 2025 and through industry channels — closed in April 2026 with 28 valid responses (including 5 international) and is now being analysed to characterise how the disorder is being experienced across the industry. The team has also completed a literature review of global blueberry propagation and cultivation practices, which is heading toward journal submission later this year. Finally, the project's research capacity has grown with a new UQ-funded PhD student Nhu Quynh Thi Truong, who joined in late 2025 to investigate how nutrition, growing substrate, and genetics shape early root development, working with international blueberry nutrition expert Dr Gerardo Nunez (University of Florida). She is trialling substrate types, a phytagel-based nondestructive root visualisation system, and a DIY root chamber, and has begun sourcing a wider range of blueberry varieties from industry partners to broaden the genetic scope of this work.
What we've found The clearest actionable result to date concerns plug dwelling time. In field surveys of the dwelling-time trial, plants of one tested variety that spent longer in nursery plugs before potting up showed significantly higher rates of branch/cane detachment once established in the field. In this variety, around 35% of plants held in plugs for 8 months developed detachment symptoms — roughly a quarter of these fatal — compared to markedly lower rates in plants potted up earlier (3–4 months), as shown in Figure 2. Basal shoot count and cane thickness followed the same pattern: plants dwelling longer in the plug consistently developed thinner shoots and roots than those moved on sooner. Alongside this, a year-long quantitative survey of existing commercial fields in Corindi found no strong difference in above-ground disorder symptoms between plants from different tissue-culture propagation batches (different duration of time spent in culture), for the single variety examined. That survey also found that plants carrying more total basal stems/canes were more likely to show cane snapping and other disorderassociated symptoms in the first five months postplanting. This is consistent with one hypothesis that higher numbers of canes may influence cane snapping potential through increased competition or poorer vascular connectivity into the crown, influencing a young plant's root-to-shoot supply capacity.
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Figure 2. Detachment history as of March 2026 for the different dwelling time (3, 4, 6 & 8 months) across 3 varieties
What's next
Early tissue-culture experiments examining the influence of mother-plant clone number and hormone-reducing treatments during propagation are also underway, though these remain at an early nursery stage and results so far show limited effect on measured plant physiology traits. This work will be reported in more depth as it progresses to the field.
Second-round dwelling time trials — testing even shorter durations down to 8 weeks — are underway, alongside continued monitoring of the hormone, trimming, and propagation-method trials as they establish in the field. The two tissue-culture experiments (clone/timein-culture and hormone-reducing treatments) are continuing through nursery stage, with field planting scheduled for October 2026. Root architecture assessments (requiring destructive sampling) and first yield data are planned through late 2026 and into 2027, which will allow the team to connect these early nursery-stage patterns to field disorder and crop outcomes. The industry survey results and literature review are both progressing toward publication, and the new PhD project examining nutrition, substrate, and genetics in early root development is underway to broaden the picture further.
Why this matters for growers Dwelling time is one of the few disorder-associated factors suspected by industry, and now also validated in our data so far, that sits within a nursery's control. However, the degree of impact appears to depend on variety at least in our early data. These findings support a best practice of potting up young plants from plugs into larger pots sooner (4 months or less) rather than leaving them in small plugs for extended periods. Plug dwelling periods of two to four months are currently being investigated in more detail to better narrow down best practise timings under our growing conditions.
Growers interested in following this project's progress, or wanting to contribute observations from their own operations, are encouraged to contact the team at QAAFI, The University of Queensland at: a.hayward@uq.edu.au or e.kong@uq.edu.au
Our current data does not suggest a major concern with time in tissue culture (batch), at least for the one variety and for the TC durations analysed in our survey to date, in the first year of field growth. We will continue to monitor the impact of tissue culture treatments, clones, batches, and nursery variables for multiple varieties over the next year.
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• THE BERRY HARD IPM CHALLENGE •
Q U 1
I
Z
A N S W E 2
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Which best describes IPM? A. Biological control instead of pesticides B. C ombine compatible management strategies to keep pests below damaging levels C. Use pesticides only when necessary D. Rotate insecticides
Explanation: IPM combines biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools into a coordinated management strategy
4
TRUE OR FALSE
Parasitoid is simply another name for a predator.
Explanation: Predators consume many prey during their lifetime, whereas parasitoids develop on or inside a single host insect before eventually killing it. Think of the “face huggers” in the film Alien (1979).
5
MULTIPLE CHOICE
A. Attract pollinators B. A ttract pests away from the crop where they can be monitored or controlled C. Improve soil fertility D. Reduce weed growth
Explanation: Trap crops deliberately attract pests away from the commercial crop, making them easier to monitor or manage
8
TRUE OR FALSE
Explanation: The aim of IPM is to keep pests below economically damaging levels while protecting beneficial insects and farm profitability.
3
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Which is the best example of Conservation Biological Control (CBC)? A. Releasing predatory mites B. S praying selective insecticides C. Removing infested plants D. E stablishing flowering plants that support naturally occurring beneficial insects
Explanation: CBC aims to support beneficial insects that already occur naturally on farms TRUE OR FALSE
A predatory mite only feeds on pest mites.
Explanation: Many predatory mites are generalists and may also feed on thrips, pollen and other tiny arthropods.
7
MULTIPLE CHOICE
What is an Action Threshold? A. The first sign of crop damage B. T he pest density at which control measures should begin C. When beneficial insects disappear D. T he maximum number of pests allowed
MULTIPLE CHOICE
What is the primary purpose of a banker plant? A. Improve soil health B. P rovide nectar for pollinators C. Trap pests D. M aintain beneficial insects when pests are scarce
Explanation: Banker plants help beneficial populations persist between pest outbreaks by providing a source of prey. Ideally, this prey item does not feed on the main crop but is a good source of food for the beneficials
10
S
The goal of IPM is to eliminate all pests from the crop.
6
What is the main purpose of a trap crop?
R
Explanation: Action Thresholds indicate when intervention is economically justified, not when the first pest is seen. Developing practical decision-support tools and action thresholds for Two-spotted mite and Australian Crop Mirid is a major objective of the Rubus IPM project
9
TRUE OR FALSE
Flowering plants always improve biological control.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
SNAP stands for: A. S helter, Nectar, Alternative prey, Pollen B. S helter, Nutrients, Aphids, Pollination C. Soil, Nectar, Alternative prey, Parasitoids D. S helter, Nitrogen, Alternative prey, Pollination
Explanation: Flowering plants only improve biological control if nectar or pollen is actually limiting key natural enemies. This was one of the findings of the Rubus IPM project conservation biological control trials.
Explanation: SNAP summarises four important resources that often support natural enemies
11
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Which is most likely to reduce biological control?
12
TRUE OR FALSE
Fungicides do not kill beneficials.
Explanation: Some fungicides, like Mancozeb, are well known to kill predatory mites. Always consider the impact on beneficials before spraying any crop protection product.
HOW DID YOU SCORE?
Every expert started somewhere. Keep learning – IPM is a journey, not a destination.
10 – 12
IPM Expert
A. C alendar applications of broad-spectrum insecticides B. Regular monitoring C. Selective pesticides D. Habitat for beneficials
Explanation: Broad-spectrum calendar sprays often remove beneficial insects alongside pests
7–9
IPM Practitioner
The Integrated pest management approaches to address pest challenges in raspberry and blackberry (RB21000) project had been funded by Hort Innovation, using the Raspberry and Blackberry research and development levy, contributions from the Australian Government, and co-investment from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, Agriculture Victoria, and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
4–6
IPM Apprentice
0–3
IPM Learner
Tabletops to Tunnels We stock the parts that make them last
Cultivate success with Elite Tunnels. We’re an Australian-owned manufacturer and global supplier polytunnels, innovative substrate gutter systems, and an extensive range of ancillary parts.
We stock complete polytunnels and a variety of ancillary parts in our Australian store to keep your operations running smoothly: C-clips • hinge-clamps sheeting rope • rope-pullers and rolls of re-covering plastic.
Contact our Global Sales Manager – Ross Watt – for availability and pricing. Tapex Group – Sales enquiries sales@redpath.com.au Telephone: +61 3 5441 8284
Global Sales Manager – Ross Watt ross@elitetunnels.co.uk Mobile: +44 (0) 7841 532 652
Our materials are proudly UK and EU sourced.
www.elitetunnels.com
PROUD BERRY INDUSTRY PARTNER