Summerfruit magazine September 2020

SUMMERFRUIT S EP T E M B E R 2 020

ISSU E 42

The Magazine of Summerfruit New Zealand

+ Eating quality is where it's at! + Mycorrhizae: The power beneath your feet! + Young growers with bright futures

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7

Meet the team

34

Regional round up

ON THE COVER

Bright futures

CONTENTS 2

10

Tim Jones

Richard Mills

From the chairman

NZ market update

24

Remain vigilant against wheat bug

3

14

Cressida Patrick

Summerfruit NZ

Jack Hughes

Bright futures

News & events

4

Research update

16

25

Victoria Harris

Mycorrhizae: the power beneath your feet!

30

7

18

32

Jack Hughes

Stephen Darling

Georgina Griffiths

From the interim chief executive Richard Palmer

Meet the team

Molly Callaghan

Apricot Co

25

Biosecurity update Juan Rosales

Forecast

8

20

34

Craig Hall

Cressida Patrick

Roger Brownlie and Earnscy Weaver

Export update

Market access update

Regional round up

Grace Fulford, packhouse manager at Omahuri Orchards, Hastings

Summerfruit is the official magazine of Summerfruit New Zealand and is published twice a year.

Published by Summerfruit New Zealand ISSN 1178-2897 Š 2020 Summerfruit NZ. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

Contact details PO Box 25255 Wellington 6140 Phone: 04 830 0935 www.summerfruitnz.co.nz Advertising sales Julianne Orr Phone: 021 0299 1533 Email: julianne220@gmail.com Design by Blue Storm Design Printed by Garratt Print

1

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

BE PREPARED With spring well underway growers’ thoughts are turning towards the fast-approaching season and the uncertainty we face on many fronts. As you know, Summerfruit NZ is working hard on helping the industry find solutions to the looming seasonal labour crisis and the airfreight logistical problems facing the industry. Richard’s report in this magazine outlines just what the Summerfruit NZ team and sub-committees have been working on so I won’t go into detail here except to pass on my thanks to everyone who is contributing. There is no such thing as a silly idea and no stone is being left unturned to come up solutions for our levy payers.

The recent re-emergence of Covid-19 in the Auckland community and the subsequent lockdown our largest city underwent should make it plain to those of us in the regions, that we need to be prepared for something similar to occur during our harvest and possibly in one of our growing regions. Some in the summerfruit industry would have had experience with operating in lockdown conditions at the end of our season in 2020, but many would have finished by late March. I can only encourage you to put some thought into how you may have to change the way you structure your business operations to meet the requirements of operating during a Level 3 or 4 lockdown and be prepared for this to occur.

Have a conversation with some apple, kiwifruit or grape businesses who had to react so quickly earlier in the year to learn from them and research the information available online. There is a wealth of information on the Summerfruit NZ and Horticulture NZ websites that I can only encourage you to utilise.

As you read through this magazine you will find four grower profiles that give me real encouragement that we have some young, keen and passionate summerfruit people emerging and taking a real interest in making summerfruit a lifelong career. We need to do more than just promote the opportunity to young people – it is up to us as owners and managers to provide career pathways for these keen youngsters. They want the opportunity to be the managers and orchard owners of the future and I for one think we fall down here and need to do better… perhaps something to think about is how we can build upon the youth we have now and encourage more to give summerfruit a go.

Another common theme in these profiles was the call to work together more as an industry and I’m happy to say this was also common feedback we received during recent industry review stakeholder meetings. The review hasn’t been forgotten or even put to one side, we are still working hard to implement outcomes, but sometimes collaboration takes time and we are leading the charge here. Other product groups are just starting these conversations and we will need to have more ourselves, so please continue to feed your thoughts to the team in Wellington or any of your local Board members. Our focus right at the moment though is on the current seasonal and Covid response issues, which we are determined to provide assistance for, to our levy payers.

The season is fast approaching so may I pass on my best wishes to you all… I hope the spring is kinder to you than the last couple have been, and we come through with a good crop. Good luck!

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

TIM JONES

2

EARNSCY WEAVER

GEORGINA GRIFFITHS

VICTORIA HARRIS

JACK HUGHES

Always entertaining as well as informative, Earnscy’s regional round up brings you right up to date with Central Otago summerfruit news.

Get the lowdown on the Highs and Lows coming your way as Georgina’s forecasts for our main growing regions help build a picture of what to expect over the next few months.

Summerfruit magazine’s editor finds the future’s looking bright with the next generation of summerfruit growers ready to step up.

Research & development manager Jack Hughes has been with Summerfruit NZ for nearly a year now, but we only just get to meet him in this issue’s meet the team feature on page 7.

SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

2 2

20 21

1

Conference Usually by this time of year our conference location has been decided, venues booked and we’d have a few speakers under our belt.

Unfortunately, at this point we’re not sure what next year’s conference is going to look like yet or if it will be going ahead at all, with New Zealand’s border closed to international visitors. What is certain though, is that whatever is planned, you’ll be the first to know.

5

Summerfruit NZ’s Handpicked campaign has brought government departments and agencies, as well as local and district councils, together to

work on solutions to the 2020-21 season labour shortage.

Targeting everyone from students to the recently unemployed, this campaign has

2

NEWS & EVENTS

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2021 The Chinese New Year of 2021 falls on 12 February and lasts until 27 February.

Increasingly this festival is celebrated across the world as well as by nations with large Chinese populations such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Vietnam.

Are wrist bands right for you?

3

Useful for training new harvest staff and helpful for QC staff, our range of wrist bands can be purchased directly from our portal or from Richard Mills. Call Richard on 021 632 559 to discuss what wrist bands are right for you this season.

EVENTS DIARY NOVEMBER

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growers at its centre and the need to get summerfruit to market wherever that market is.

Asia Fruit Logistica ON Online only, 18-20 November 2020

Otago Pop Up Shop

Primary Industries New Zealand Summit & Awards Wellington, New Zealand, 23-24 November 2020

Two pop up job shops are being held in Otago to help connect local employers with potential staff.

FEBRUARY

In Queenstown, an event is planned for 10 October and in Dunedin, the postponed September event is planned for 5 November.

APRIL

If you are interested promoting your vacancies at these events, please call Mel Warhurst on 029 921 3919 for more information.

MAY

Fruit Logistica Berlin, Germany, 3-5 February 2021 Global Cherry Summit San Francisco de Mostazal, Chile, 22 April 2021 IX International Cherry Symposium Beijing, China, 20-24 May 2021

3

FROM THE INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE

A COVID YEAR The theme of 2020, Covid-19 has again struck New Zealand and gives rise to the associated challenges of essential work and worker movement contact tracing, and the spectre of an extended lockdown affecting communities. While not that challenging for our sector in Level 2, the repeated closure of independent retailers under Auckland’s Level 3 lockdown is a red flag for the approaching domestic summerfruit season, and a rule that Summerfruit NZ has put its efforts behind to change along with the rest of the horticulture sector.

Pukekohe vegetable growers have also faced significant delays in moving people and produce across the Auckland border, an issue which may challenge our sector both domestically and in terms of export airfreight. There are many lessons from these internal Auckland border restrictions that we can learn from to be well prepared in the event a similar lockdown occurs in our season.

As I reported in the last issue, Covid-19 has struck hard, becoming the resounding issue facing us, the broader horticulture sector, and indeed New Zealand. The election provides an opportunity for the next Government to move on from a purely health response, to one more nuanced and focused on the longer term, as we now realise that Covid-19 is not about to disappear. Unfortunately, pushing out the election date further delays a more comprehensive reset, including getting policy decisions that will support our ability to play an important part in the export-led recovery. Extensions to the wage subsidy also mask the underlying employment situation, which is having effects on decision making in relation to support for RSE Approvals to Recruit (ATRs) in some regions.

On a more positive side, the support we’re receiving from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Ministry for Social Development (MSD), especially in Central Otago, is having a positive effect in implementing the sector plan to support access to labour for growers.

In the next few weeks, the new pages on the Work the Seasons website will be available, and at a local level, there are options about to be tested with growers for transport and jobs fairs. In addition, the support from the Central Otago District Council has been particularly useful, and we’re partnering with NZ Apples and Pears to help each other cover Hawke’s Bay and Central Otago.

The work we’re doing nationally to identify various employee cohorts and then create incentives and remove barriers is coming along well – again with strong support from MPI and MSD, in particular to roll out collateral and work on solutions.

Without doubt, there will need to be a focus on employing New Zealanders.

4

SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

breakfasts for employees, investigating transport options for those accommodated elsewhere in the region already, and thinking about incentives, will all be crucial business level approaches to help attract seasonal workers.

For airfreight, even if a support mechanism is in place, there are several issues that growers and exporters must consider given the likely constraints on capacity, destinations, timing, and departure locations. Firstly, while

early discussions suggest some flights may go from Christchurch, the bulk of airfreight departures are expected from Auckland. This will add significantly to the road freight Much of the work we’re doing is to remove potential barriers to capacity, and timing will be crucial. getting Kiwis into regions for seasonal work. All growers and packers will need to make a genuine effort to employ New Zealanders.

The entry to New Zealand of skilled migrants is also an issue for the primary sector – the situation facing agricultural contractors has been well highlighted in the media. Most are aware there have been changes to the entry requirements for skilled migrants.

Anyone looking to secure visas for skilled workers should apply as early as possible to give time for processing and dealing with any issues that may arise.

Exports As noted at the AGM in July, the prospects for scheduled international air services look very uncertain and are likely to remain limited through the export season. This has been another area of focus for Summerfruit NZ, and recently we met with government agencies to discuss possible support options to ensure airfreight capacity. The Government has recently extended the airfreight support scheme to the end of November so we remain hopeful of a support mechanism to cover our season. Discussions are being had about the potential for multi modal shipments, or trans shipping via hubs, as some of our export destinations are not currently being served by scheduled air services (for example Bangkok).

Our message to the Government has been that exports are a crucial part of the industry, and when export fruit is pushed onto the domestic market the whole sector suffers. Hence much of our focus is on ensuring that airfreight capacity is available for what could potentially be a large cherry crop.

Work ahead While Summerfruit NZ is working with the Government on policy to mitigate the labour and airfreight challenges, there is much that can, and must, be done at a local level to attract seasonal labour. The substantial change in the type of employees available to our sector will require different and novel solutions to attract and retain them. Searching out local accommodation such as homestays or bed and

For those without export scale, securing space on flights will be more difficult; there is a need to work together to give loading certainty for the scheduled capacity that does exist, and then attract extra capacity into the mix. Providing certainty to airlines as early as possible will reduce their anxiety about allocating capacity to our season. At a national level, we’re working on monitoring the crop to provide an overview to freight stakeholders and support their planning.

So, while challenges exist for the coming season, there are solutions starting to become available – the labour work is making good progress and I encourage everyone to think about new ideas and alternatives. We continue to hear that demand

for fresh fruit remains strong in export markets so the opportunity there remains positive. At a domestic level, wholesalers and retailers reiterate the results from last season’s great tasting crop – overall prices and sales volumes were up as consumers came back for more. The expectation is there that, if we can repeat this again in 2020-21, giving our consumers a great product that they keep coming back for, domestic sales will be strong.

Industry review In early August, meetings in Central Otago and Hawke’s Bay enabled us to hear from growers their views about the industry review and the Board proposal. Overall views were very positive about the proposal, but there were a couple of issues that we need to develop further thinking on, including aligning the voting and levy, and the Board makeup. I welcome views on the latter so that we can present options for detailed analysis and ultimately to propose any changes for members to vote on through a constitutional change.

As the growing season gets underway in earnest, I wish you all the very best for frost fighting in what have been quite extraordinary temperatures across the country. Summerfruit NZ continues to work hard for your industry and, as always, we appreciate your feedback and perspectives to help us achieve for you.

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Earn good money on a summerfruit orchard this summer.

work

You could be outside picking delicious apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, or plums surrounded by stunning views of Hawke's Bay, Marlborough or Central Otago. Or you could be inside sorting and packing fruit for sale.

play

When you're not working there's lots of things to do whether you're after adrenalin and adventure or want to explore local wineries, culture and sights.

stay

Get your friends together and have fun earning good money and staying in on-orchard accommodation, hostels or campsites in one of New Zealand's beautiful regions.

For more information check out the Work the Seasons website.

6

SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

www.worktheseasons.co.nz/horticulture

MEET THE TEAM

Get to know research and development manager Jack Hughes in our series on the Summerfruit NZ team

RESULTS DRIVEN Tell us a bit about yourself, Jack, and your background.

What is your role at Summerfruit NZ and what does it involve?

I grew up on a pip and stonefruit orchard in Longlands, Hastings.

It was a 12 acre ‘rehab’ block that my Dad, Pat, developed after WW2. It supported a family of six kids. There was a boomer decade with the newly imported Haven peach series from Michigan. A childhood memory was watching buyers from auction markets like Radleys, visiting and enjoying eating ripe peaches with the juice running down their shirts.

My part-time, contract R&D manager role at Summerfruit NZ involves running Summerfruit NZ’s R&D programme. In my first year, it has involved monitoring the projects already underway and planning the next steps. I guess I am hard-wired to focus on getting practical, take home results from our R&D investment.

We have a Summerfruit NZ in-house joke that I have the bad cop role as far as our service providers go.

I went to Lincoln because it was the furtherest from home. An exchange programme at Oregon State was a good introduction to a bigger world and later on, time at Cornell University exposed me to some really good science. I dragged my wife, Carol, back to New Zealand from Massachusetts. Life in little old Hawke’s Bay in the 1980s was pretty quiet compared with Boston but it’s all good now. I accepted a job with DSIR to manage the Hawke’s Bay research orchards and enjoyed 12 years there getting involved in R&D. With deregulation of the apple industry came an offer to join consultancy firm, Agriculture NZ. A few years later a group of us negotiated a management buyout of the business and formed Fruition. It’s been a very satisfying journey and we’re closing in on 20 years now and going from strength to strength.

Another key aspect is working out how to leverage our scarce funds to get the most mileage from them in the areas where we most need it.

What part of your role do you enjoy the most? And the least?

I really enjoy working with ‘team Summerfruit’. There are so many dedicated and skilled people contributing to the industry in many different ways.‘Email wars’ are in my not fun department. It’s easy to become a bit of a slave to the ever demanding inbox.

How are you contributing to the summerfruit industry?

I think there’s a big challenge when we compare summerfruit’s situation with IFP with pipfruit. Our current use of old school chemistry and lack of registration of newer generation products puts us maybe 20 years behind apples. I’d like to help close that gap as quickly as possible.

I think there’s enormous unrealised potential with summerfruit.

They are all such fantastic fruits when grown well. I’d like to help with kicking off a resurgence in the industry – better varieties grown better to get good fruit to our customers.

When you’re not working what do you get up to?

I try and keep up with Ricko (Richard Mills) on the mountain bike and I’ve been a bit of a DIY ‘reno’ guy of late. Or, as my granddaughter more accurately puts it, slapping and banging.

Jack with his grand-daughter, Sylvie Brazier.

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EXPORT UPDATE

By CRAIG HALL

Firstly, the Covid pandemic. The first wave of Covid-19 started as we were finishing last cherry season, which was fortunate for our exports. But what happened initially was that all offshore markets went into various types of lockdown. This meant the supply chain stopped because people working in ports, or trucking and cool stores, and the markets, were prohibited from moving or going to work. Supermarkets were closed, or at least working at a reduced capacity. Slowly through the year we have seen markets open again as countries learn to deal with life under the pandemic. If, there was a resurgence in Covid cases in any of our traditional cherry markets, it would mean these markets would have to go back into lockdown. Depending on timing, this could have significant impact on demand for New Zealand cherries.

A CHERRY MARKET OUTLOOK At the time of writing the New Zealand cherry season is still five months away. It is hard to forecast market conditions that far out from any season, let alone in 2020 when the world we live in is facing the global pandemic. Ultimately the market conditions will come down to supply and demand. Here, I will only consider one side of that equation – the demand side. I won’t look at the supply considerations such as weather, labour and logistics, this time.

Right now though, there is no reason to think there won’t be the usual demand for cherries in our traditional markets. Like New Zealand, there doesn’t seem to be any significant downturn in the economies of our trading partners due to Covid-19. But … this could still be coming in the back half of 2020 and at the start of 2021. How countries deal with any resurgence in Covid will impact their economies.

Significantly demand for our cherries, and the values they command, are determined by our quality. I’m not saying anything new when I say that targeting the high end of the market is New Zealand’s place in the market. Our demand is driven by taste, firmness, colour and size. Perhaps this year we will see more demand created by the New Zealand clean, green image. If we are Covid free, this may also resonate positively with the consumer.

So, what could impact demand?

The answer is everything that normally impacts it in any cherry season. From our competitors’ supply – quality and quantity – timing of Chinese New Year, offshore people movement and distribution, consumers’ ability to pay, and value vs quality of our cherries. As we get nearer the season all these factors will start to become clearer and exporters will settle on their strategies to maximise the crop value.

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

Craig with Veerin Graham from importer, Navatan.

The timing of the season in relation to Chinese New Year demand will also have an influence. Airfreight demand is likely to start from 22–25 January. Likewise, the timing of the season will determine how much seafreight can be loaded for arrival in early February before Chinese New Year. Post Chinese New Year we have traditionally seen China and Taiwan demand slow down for a week to 10 days as people return to their homes for the

holiday. The restrictions in people movement in these countries may mean people will stay in the main cities this year, which could mean more demand straight after the holiday weekend.

In summary, from a market demand point of view, there is not a lot different to any other normal year. The major cloud hanging over our heads is the uncertainty of Covid and what that could bring between now and the season.

Chinese New Year begins 12 February 2021.

New Zealand cherries in a Thailand supermarket.

Our competitors are not likely to change from a normal year. Our normal competition from Chile, mainland Australia and Tasmania will be in the markets at the same time as our supply. Chile will again focus on seafreight to China targeting the Chinese New Year demand from mid-January. Australia are facing some of the same logistics issues that our industry is facing, but assuming they can get fruit to market, the most influential impact for us will be the supply from Tasmania, and their quality and price compared to ours.

LET’S WORK TOGETHER At MG Marketing our relationship with the growers we work with is one of partnership, with the overriding objective being to make your growing enterprise an outstanding and sustainable success, regardless the size of your business.

You focus on what you do best – growing quality produce and we MG Marketing provide a proven, constructive, profitable link between our many produce growers, retail and food service clients.

Such a partnership secures you a healthy income and value for your efforts.

MG’s highly experienced procurement team maintains close and regular contact with you as a Summerfruit supplier, offering tailored practical advice and support.

They also undertake a multitude of related tasks, to ensure growers benefit from efficiency improvements and market feedback. These may include, for example, on-line receipting systems, general administrative support, business reviews, transport and packaging options and quality control measures.

If you would like to know more about any of these areas, please contact our procurement team.

MG Procurement Team Andrew Cross 021 872 517

National Cherries

Roger Georgieff 021 229 6398

South Island Summerfruit

Rob Hollier 021 482 568

North Island Summerfruit9

NZ MARKET UPDATE

By RICHARD MILLS

EATING QUALITY A distillation of discussions with wholesalers and retailers post season (and post Covid-19 lockdown)

Eating quality is where it’s at!

After the Covid-19 lockdown finished, Richard Palmer and I took the opportunity to visit some of the retailers and wholesalers in our major market, Auckland.

The objective was to gain their perspective on the season just gone and highlight some of the issues and opportunities for the next season. I was also keen to see the coolstore facilities to follow up on some work that was done monitoring fruit temperatures leaving grower coolstores in a previous season.

Review of the NZ market The key feature from Hawke’s Bay was the October 2019 hail storm that impacted many orchards, with many severely affected. Following this, the region had a hot dry spring and summer which resulted in fruit with great eating quality and fewer rots.

Central Otago had its challenge with cold temperatures affecting cherry volumes, while the flowers were still in the bud. There were also some wet episodes in Central Otago that caught some crops at harvest time and there were some typically excellent growing conditions.

Then there was the Covid-19 shutdown and resultant uncertainty that impacted the tail end of the growing and selling season in both Central Otago and Hawke’s Bay. Late plums were particularly affected.

Marlborough cherries also had their good and bad moments with rain catching part of the crop. Nothing especially unusual here.

So, the weather threw us a mixed bag, but what actually ended up in the market place? Total sales volumes were up on the 2019-20 season! More fruit was trucked out of Hawke’s Bay in some periods, less fruit developed rots, eating quality was up, customers were coming back for more and there were occasions when more fruit could have been sold.

In Auckland, the independent retailers are about 35% of the fresh food trade and this is where a significant proportion of the cherries are sold. Both major retailers commented that they could have sold more cherries. T&G (Turners and Growers) told us that there are about 200 outfits that take cherries off their sales floor.

There was a noted shortage of quality early season and mid season fruit. More apricots also could have been sold. There seems to be an opportunity for late harvest varieties of good quality apricots, which contrasts with the earliest variety, Royal

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

Richard Mills (Summerfruit NZ) and Glenn Bewley (Countdown buyer of pip and stonefruit) discussing the cool chain.

Rosa, whose time has come and now gone. There was limited cross over between the North Island and South Island apricot harvest time which helped orderly marketing.

Nectarines are a growing section. Of the apricot/nectarine/peach/ plum offerings, nectarines may be about 40% of the total. There was good demand for both peaches and nectarines in February and March.

Peaches generally held their own this season and may have been the standout compared to last season. White fleshed fruit struggles more than the standard yellow while the non-melting textured golden peach market is strengthening. The good keeping quality will have helped.

Plums are our problem child. Retail reports too many varieties that get all mixed up on the shelves, which then leads to customer confusion. Having soft and firm styles also adds to the confusion.

always be at our ideal temperature, that’s just not going to happen. The best we can do is to have it leave home at 0-2°C and stay that way as long as possible and get it into homes with speed. And that is what occurred this season just gone.

T&G key account manager Peter Jackson and Richard Mills (Summerfruit NZ) on the T&G sales floor.

Packaging

Lessons learned from the 2019-20 season Older and poor performing varieties need to go. Those mentioned specifically include Royal Rosa apricots, MayGlo and Armredark nectarines, Fortune and Freedom plums. More generally the future of small and soft cherries from Hawke’s Bay was questioned as was late, older style peaches and nectarines from Central Otago.

Send only quality fruit. If you would not enjoy eating the fruit then don’t expect anyone else to. Maybe some blocks should not be picked if they have not yet been pulled out of the ground. As John Paynter said at the Hawke’s Bay hail meeting – make early decisions.

Avoid where possible, loose pack cherries because it’s too hard to make a profit when the wasted fruit is accounted for. Please send only firm cherries that are 28mm and bigger. Export quality is seen as ideal.

Having velocity in the market place is the model to aim for, led by taste; coolstored at packing then through the transport, wholesale and retail spaces as quickly as possible. Both of the distribution centres that I saw are pretty impressive; sure summerfruit will not

This is an area that is still sorting itself out. While everyone would like to shift to a more sustainable option such as cardboard, the technology is just not there yet. It seems as though recyclable potential evapotranspiration (PET) plastic containers will be in use again in combination with more use of returnable crates.

There are queries to be worked through, such as there being sufficient crates to go around.

No one is yet sure how the public Covid-19 response will affect fresh fruit in the longer term, but there was a demand for fruit that was not able to be touched during the lockdown period.

Would good planning suggest a greater proportion of the fruit is packed this way?

What is the outlook for the 2020-21 season?

At the time of writing in late winter there would be reason to think that it’s business as usual for Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough until the new year. Assuming that the required number of workers can be found.

If the Central Otago cherry crop is large and export opportunities limited, then the fun will begin. We were counselled to remember what happened in 2017 with a larger than normal cherry volume on the New Zealand market; low cherry prices with carry over impacts on apricots, nectarines, peaches and plums.

The message from retail is that it can sell more than last season, perhaps 20-30% more, but it must be large and firm. Don’t send the older soft fruit, leave the small fruit on the orchard and consider not picking under-performing blocks. Pack sizes are worth a conversation to see if that will move more fruit.

A desire was expressed to have focused cherry communication between the New Zealand and export marketers and, if required, to have Summerfruit NZ facilitate this information exchange. We would need to find some way to bring the significant Auckland independent trade to the table to make this meaningful.

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Some quotable quotes 1 Buyers still like to come to the auction floor to see

summerfruit because they are not always confident the quality will be good enough. This is not the situation for other crops.

2 Lesson from persimmons – ‘don’t send small fruit

otherwise we will send them back to you in a bin and charge you for the privilege’.

3 Citrus minimum grade standard has given confidence

to buyers and consumers.

4 Older varieties vs new IP varieties – there really does

need to be a change.

5 Visual quality vs eating quality – eating quality will

sell at a good price and with velocity.

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

The 2020-21 harvest will be interesting, as harvests always are. Let’s hope the weather is on our side again because Covid-19 will still be pushing us around.

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13

RESEARCH UPDATE

By JACK HUGHES

GOOD INTENTIONS In this article, I’d like to outline our intentions in the technology transfer and R&D space. We have plans – Covid-19 just keeps getting in the way!

Consultative committee We are delighted to have formed a consultative committee to give guidance, feedback and advice on a number of fronts. These include SummerGreen and R&D progress and direction. We’re lucky to be able to tap into a broad range of skills and expertise from hands-on growing through to the technical side of summerfruit production. The committee complements other existing activities like Apricot Co, the Export Reference Group and, of course, the Summerfruit NZ team and Board.

The committee members are all volunteers. Richard Palmer and Richard Mills and I thank them all for their willingness to contribute.

Summerfruit NZ consultative committee Summerfruit NZ Jack Hughes R&D manager

Richard Mills NZ market support

South Island Michael Jones Suncrest Orchard

Jeremy Hiscock Panmure Orchard

Tim Hope Killarney Orchard

Jered Tate Jerrys Cherries

North Island David Willan Yummy Fruit Company

Alice Bayley Bayley Fruit

Grace & Peter Fulford Omahuri Orchard

Bruce Mackay Heinz Wattie’s

Technical Kevin Manning

Marcus Fitzsimmons Fruitfed Supplies

Chris Herries

Grant McKay Horticentre

Andy Davis Farmlands

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

SummerGreen Our stated intention is to encourage participation from a wider range of industry players and extend topics to include variety development, growing systems and technology. We’d like to have at least four meetings in Central Otago and Hawke’s Bay each year.

In our first meeting, the consultative committee expressed interest in a broad range of subjects (as below).

We intend to test the selected options on commercial properties in the two main regions (Central Otago and Hawke’s Bay) and on the five summerfruit crops (apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines and plums). Cultural (integrated) practices will be fully implemented and evaluated, and we will also test options for improving the soil health of each orchard.

What we want to achieve Our measures of success will be increasing compliance with recommended fungicide resistance management practice from current levels (0-23%) to over 80%, and reducing the use of hit list chemistry to zero in the commercial trial blocks. Measuring improved soil health is a technical challenge. At this stage we intend to use the end point, objective measures of fruit quality and orchard productivity.

How we'll know we've been successful We’ll be happy when access to all export markets is not limited by our use of chemicals or the incidence of pests or disease, our fruit is demonstrably safe to eat (within all MRLs) and our entire industry value chain (growers, marketers, retailers) is proud of our products. Last, but not least, we want our customers to be willing to repeat purchase at increasing fruit value.

So, we’ll have to have a think about how to prioritise and address these subjects. Some of these, like water and farm plans, are being considered by other agencies like Horticulture NZ.

Road testing truly Integrated Summerfruit Production Results from our long-running project on benchmarking of agchem use, show our compliance with recommended fungicide resistance management practices isn’t great, and our insecticide use includes products in groups including organo-phosphates, neonicitinoids and synthetic pyrethroids. Many of these products are considered outdated and are on the phase out list.

The summerfruit industry appears to be quite reliant on the use of chemicals for pest and disease control, and our attention to soil health and use of cultural practices is often lacking. When we look in the mirror we have to accept that there’s room for improvement.

We have applied to MPI’s SFFF programme with a three-year project proposal that aims to make real change. If successful, we’ll develop and test genuine and robust Integrated Summerfruit Production.

We hope to encourage an increased level of collaboration between researchers, service providers and growers. We’d also like the project to provide opportunites for merchants and their suppliers to develop and advocate better whole orchard health alternatives. We’re thinking that basing the work on commercial orchards will help facilitate open debate and allow a ‘seeing is believing’ approach to help get the take home messages across.

Our fingers are crossed that this (relatively small) project aligns well with MPI's ‘fit for a better world’ strategy, and that our chances of a success are pretty good. Time will tell.

A Lighter Touch PGP Our thinking is that road testing the Integrated Summerfruit Production project will provide a good lead into the A Lighter Touch PGP project that Summerfruit NZ is currently considering. This project is funded by 15 crop groups in the fruit and vegetable and wine and arable sectors. It aims to commercialise biopesticides and biological control agents and progressively replace the current synthetic agchem based crop protection regime.

We hope that in three years’ time, the summerfruit industry will be prepared and ready to introduce a new generation of biologicals that the A Lighter Touch project intends to deliver.

Planning webinar programme In the meantime, we are also now planning to offer a series of Zoom webinars to cover specific topics. Maybe this new approach will prove to be a silver lining to the Covid-19 clouds on our horizon. Details on these webinars will be released shortly.

We plan to use the results of our benchmarking (agchem use) project to see where we need to change. We will consult and collaborate with Plant & Food researchers, industry technical advisors, and leading growers to pilot new generation options.

15

REPORT

By MOLLY CALLAGHAN

MYCORRHIZAE:

THE POWER BENEATH YOUR FEET! Mycorrhizal Fungi attach to plant roots and grow a vast fungal web.

Molly Callaghan shares the importance of including Mycorrhizal Fungi in a regular crop management programme, specifically the positive benefits on plant and soil health, yield, and the environmental benefits in relation to storing (sequestering) carbon.

Replenishing degraded soils with microflora that was once squarely in the arena of organic productions is now a consideration for all farms. That’s because scientific research shows the process generates benefits for new planting survival rate, crop production, crop health, soil structure, drought tolerance, nutrient cycling and resistance to pathogens.

Modern horticulture needs such as increasing fruit quality, increasing plant pathogen tolerance, reducing chemical load and decreasing environmental impact are encouraging farmers to become more innovative in their crop management process.

As global warming threatens our planet, international research projects are adding to the mountain of data. And the evidence shows we can increase atmospheric CO2 storage within our soil by increasing healthy soil life.

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

Mycorrhizae the magical microbe

I am going to focus on arguably the smallest living creature that inhabits your soil and one that has arguably one of the biggest impacts on your crops and environment, Mycorrhizal Fungi.

This fungus is prolific within fertile and untouched soils, but modern day farming practices sterilise soils of microflora, which reduces overall plant health. Without Mycorrhizal Fungi present, plants have reduced ability to absorb phosphorus and other elements, or access water and oxygen.

Mycorrhizal Fungi symbiotically grow a fine mycelium network from plant roots, scavenging into areas that roots otherwise couldn’t reach. They absorb nutrients and provide them to plants in a form that is easier to assimilate, along with more water and oxygen. Their ability to enhance plant uptake of relatively immobile nutrients, particularly phosphorus (P), and several micronutrients, is their most recognised benefit.

Benefits of having plentiful Mycorrhizal Fungi in your soil The plant now has many more nutrients it can absorb, meaning more of the applied fertiliser is utilised, and therefore, less fertiliser is needed.

The ability to hold water and oxygen and transport it to the root zone helps plants to better withstand extreme weather conditions, particularly young plants. Farmers have reported increased plant survival rates.1 2 3 A glycoprotein produced by hyphae of the fungi, called Glomalin, acts as a glue that assists in holding soil together.4 Topsoil is a fragile and precious resource, so more Glomalin may help reduce wind and rain erosion. At the same time, it’s porous enough to let air, water, and roots move through it. It attaches to particles of sand, silt, clay and organic matter, forming clumps. Soil water holding capacity is increased, along with the number of beneficial microbes, and this helps to resist soil surface crusting, keeping valuable topsoil in place.

With increased nutrition absorption, plants are healthier and stronger, giving them a higher natural resistance to pests and disease. Plants growing in soil with a high Mycorrhizal Fungi population exhibit more rapid and uniform growth, increased stress resistance and tolerance to root pathogens, increased size,

colour and number of flowers and fruit, and enhanced nutrient composition. All this results in higher yields for the farmer, and more nutrient-dense food for the end consumer.

One study5 shows the mineral recovery of phosphorus fertiliser by onion crops was less than 20% in the year of application, and in fact, the P absorbed was through Mycorrhizal Fungi hyphae. Coupled with depletion of phosphorus resources globally, reducing the application of P is desirable and Mycorrhizae provides potential for farmers to do so.

SARD (Specific Apple Replant Disease) is a problem with poor tree establishment and productivity. One field study in New Zealand identified low Mycorrhizal Fungi in SARD soils. It also showed that when tree roots were colonised with Mycorrhizal Fungi there was an alleviation of the disease, resulting in increased tree health, nutrient uptake and plant growth.6

The up and coming hero of climate change – Glomalin Apart from reducing necessary applications of P, Mycorrhizal Fungi has recently come under the spotlight for another reason: its ability to store atmospheric CO2. Trees and plants absorb CO2 from our atmosphere but have limited storage capacity. But, we have learned they can send the CO2 down to their roots, and through the vast network of Mycorrhizal Fungi, where it is stored and ‘locked’ in the soil. This process, known as carbon sequestration, allows the trees to keep removing quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere at larger quantities than they could without the abundant fungal network in the soil.7 8 Glomalin has also been found to store sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide in the vast hyphae network.9 Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, found living on plant roots around the world, appear to be the only producers of Glomalin known to man.

An integral part of your farm management system Adding high quality Mycorrhizal Fungi to your soil health programme (check the microbe concentration), particularly at planting, will increase plant survival and productivity. It will aid in restoring soil health and fertility for current and future crops, and reduce chemical inputs and fertiliser applications to improve production and your bottom line. The magnificent side effect of storing atmospheric sequestered carbon has the potential to assist in the battle against climate change.

1https://www.rd2.co.nz/testimonial/nm-floriculture-mycormax/ 2https://www.rd2.co.nz/testimonial/taimate-vineyard-superzyme-and-mycormax/ 3https://www.rd2.co.nz/trial/mycorrhizae-fungi-in-establishment-of-revegetation-plants-andtrees/ 4(Does Glomalin Hold Your Farm Together? K. Nichols, USDA-ARS-Northern Great Plains Research Lab) and Wright, S., Upadhyaya, A. A survey of soils for aggregate stability and glomalin, a glycoprotein produced by hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Plant and Soil 198, 97–107 (1998).

5Deressa and Schenk (2008), Contribution of roots and hyphae to phosphorus uptake of mycorrhizal onion (Allium cepa L.)—A mechanistic modeling approach. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ 6Kandula, D, Jones, E, Stewart, A, And Horner, I. Colonisation of apple roots by arbuscular mycorrhizae in specific apple replant disease affected soil. (2006) NZ Plant Protection Society.

7Wilson, G. Soil aggregation and carbon sequestration are tightly correlated with the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: results from long term field experiments (2002). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 8S. Wright and K. Nichols, Glomalin: Hiding Place for a Third of the World's Stored Soil Carbon, Agricultural Research, 2002.

9Wilson, G. Soil aggregation and carbon sequestration are tightly correlated with the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: results from long term field experiments (2002). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

17

UPDATE

By STEPHEN DARLING

APRICOT CO ‘The best part of fruit growing is when you plant a tree and dream…’ so said a wise old fruit grower, undoubtedly from a lifetime of knowing that nothing is certain in the fruit industry. However, replanting and renewal is an essential part of maintaining a successful orchard.

This spring has seen the first, larger plantings of Nzsummer apricots go into orchards. Almost 19,000 Nzsummer apricots will be planted in 2020, contributing to a forecast total of 38,000 trees planted by the end of 2021. Remember the almost two year lead time from booking your rootstocks and placing orders, to enable budwood harvesting and tree production.

summarises current knowledge from the Plant & Food Research evaluation and trials programme.

We have made slow progress during 2020 with the setup of Apricot Co’s successor, and finalising the royalty structure for our new apricots as per our brief in 2019. It is fair to say that the world has changed during the past six months, and we were fortunate indeed to be spared the global Covid outbreak during our summerfruit harvest and marketing season. The coming season will be conducted under the new paradigm.

As part of the knowledge transfer process, we intend to have grower discussion groups set up to share experiences on the orchard. All interested growers are welcome to participate.

Our negotiation has been delayed during and post lockdown, but is ongoing between Summerfruit NZ CEO Richard Palmer and Plant & Food Research regarding the terms of the master licence between Summerfruit NZ, ACIB and Plant & Food Research. It is evident that based on the anticipated co-op model we cannot self-fund from expected royalty streams while keeping grower royalty payments at a reasonable level. We have deferred settling upon the grower royalty while these discussions are in progress.

Update on support activities Since our harvest season our Summerfruit NZ team of Andrea Crawford, Richard Mills and Jack Hughes have worked to understand what we do know, and what we still need to learn about our new apricots. How to plant, grow and harvest them, and how to manage the fruit post harvest through the supply chain to the consumer. We acknowledge and appreciate financial support from the NZ Fruitgrowers Charitable Trust in the production of a grower new release variety guide.The guide will be available by the time this magazine reaches you, and it

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

My sincere thanks to those growers who responded to our request with information about variety harvest timing and growing characteristics on their orchards.

We will continue to seek external funding to help pay for additional work that is needed.

Market development work

The onset of Covid-19 and the shutdown of international airline flights coincided with the timing of sending our first samples of late season Nzsummer apricots to selected customers in Australia and USA. We will resume planning to send trial quantities out to targeted retailers in 2021. With the dramatic changes to international air travel, and the reshaping of consumer demand for high value imported fruit including our apricots, we will need to reconsider the strategy to take our fruit to market.

‘Nzsummer3’

I am reminded that in fruit growing we are playing a long game.

Left-field disruptors seem to be more frequent these days, however in turbulent times we need to stick to first principles.

Grow and sell fruit that tastes great, deliver what we promise and build trustworthy relationships together. We have a great product and industry.

Best wishes for the season ahead.

‘Nzsummer2’

Stephen

In our world of twigs and roots pedigree is everything.

As we all know, in the fruit growing industry ultimately everything stems from a twig. We have alliances with some of the world’s best new fruit variety developers and rootstock breeding programmes. These relationships and our continual search for the best cultivars puts us at the forefront of global variety and rootstock development in New Zealand.

Our unique capability across a wide variety of crops and our focus on matching varieties and rootstocks to conditions allows us to offer real, informed advice. Call: Elizabeth Lonie, 027 464 0474 elizabeth@waimeanurseries.co.nz Jeff Sandford, 0274 201 003 jeff@waimeanurseries.co.nz

www.waimeanurseries.co.nz

19

MARKET ACCESS UPDATE

By CRESSIDA PATRICK

MOVING FORWARD Exports to Australia – moving forward

The CBIS (compliance-based intervention scheme)

For the last 25 years, exports of summerfruit to Australia, particularly apricots, have been ‘pre cleared’ by Australian inspectors in New Zealand before export to Australia. The Offshore Pre shipment Inspection (OPI) programme helped assure the smooth entry of summerfruit into Australia, without the possibility of fumigation at the other end. The OPI programme was scheduled to finish in April 2020, but ended slightly earlier on 17 March due to health and safety concerns for the posted inspector. While Summerfruit NZ and other key industry groups have pushed to retain the OPI programme, and have successfully achieved a one season extension, we now believe OPI has finished and we are not expecting any further extensions.

We have contacted a number of exporters who were involved in the CBIS scheme over the 2019-20 season to get feedback on how the scheme worked for them. Mostly there was positive feedback, with few exporters experiencing logistical issues. Specific issues asked about included: regional port processing differences, difficultly in scheduling inspections, and whether there was an apparent difference between sea and airfreight inspection and release rates. No logistical issues were identified. The main issue raised by exporters was around unidentifiable immature life stages being treated as actionable, resulting in fruit being treated in Australia and the subsequent reduced fruit quality, time delays, reduced shelf life and cost of the treatment itself.

Summerfruit NZ has supported the transition from pre clearance by being part of the Australian Border Working Group for the last five years. In the early stages we argued strongly for retaining OPI, but more recently the aim of this group has been to minimise the impacts of the change. We are now focused on operating under Australia’s Compliance Based Intervention (CBIS) Scheme.

The CBIS scheme was designed to recognise highly compliant import pathways with lower risk-based inspection rates. These rates are based on importer compliance and not exporter compliance. Compliant importers benefit from CBIS through smoother clearance of goods at the border and reduced regulatory costs. All New Zealand’s summerfruit was successfully added to the CBIS scheme in August 2019. A five line, 50% risk-based inspection rate has been applied to all summerfruit. For example, if an importer has five NZ apricot lines cleared with no non compliances, the importer’s subsequent lines will have a riskbased inspection rate of 50%.

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) has recently provided its end of season summary report on fresh stone fruit (apricots) and cherry imports from New Zealand. This summary has been reviewed by Summerfruit NZ and supports our exporter feedback, with most consignments failing because of unidentifiable pest samples.

These include: Arachnida indeterminate (mite or spider), Insecta indeterminate (insect), Arthropoda indeterminate, Coccinellidae indeterminate (ladybird larvae), whirlygig mite (Anystis indeterminate) and Tydeid mites (Tydeus indeterminate and T. californicus).

Only one interception of a pest of ‘biosecurity concern’ – wheat bug (Nysius hutton) was detected in a consignment in apricot packaging. Wheat bug is a priority pest for Australia’s wheat industry. Overall, 58 lines of stone fruits (apricots) and cherries were imported from New Zealand between August 2019 and March 2020. Of these, 53 lines (91.4%) were inspected in Australia and five were shipped under OPI. The overall quarantine failure rate for consignments of stone fruits (apricots) and cherries under CBIS was approximately 17.3%.

Advice for the upcoming season There are several things growers and packhouses can do to reduce their risk of consignments being rejected in Australia under CBIS. These include: • Using a robust spray programme – several seasons ago we ran a series of workshops in Central Otago and we gathered information from growers on what they considered ‘best practice’ for control of quarantine pests for Australia. This has been written up as a guideline and is available on the Summerfruit NZ portal. Please have a look at this and see if it is right for you and your orchard and export markets.

• Vapormate™ post harvest fumigant – Summerfruit NZ has funded a lot of research on the efficacy of Vapormate™ against a range of pests, especially thrips and mites. We now have several packhouses fumigating fruit between harvest (in bins) and packing, and the treatment works well. If you aren’t treating for export to Australia, we recommend you do.

• Inspect thoroughly – we know the Australian inspectors do!

Packhouse operators could consider inspecting more than the minimum 600 fruit sample to give themselves more confidence the fruit is clean.

• Consider inspecting using microscopes – Australian inspectors do! Australian inspectors use microscopes with 10% of the 600 unit sample examined at a x30 magnification. Inspection under a microscope provides better depth of focus, lighting, and steadiness of the microscope stage could make it easier to find pests. Although this may mean rejecting more fruit from export to Australia, it is better to find out before export.

• Packaging – ensure packaging is carefully stored. There have been reports of wheat bug and mites being intercepted on packaging in overseas markets. Consider treating the packaging storage areas with an insecticide before the start of the season and ensure unused packaging is securely stored (that is plastic wrapped and not directly stacked on shed/packhouse walls).

• Pest categorisations – several key pest categorisations have changed (these are summarised in Table 1). Many common pests previously considered non actionable are now actionable, or actionable for Western Australia only. Ensure you are familiar with the new categorisations.

• Remote microscopy diagnosis – if you are unsure of the identification of a pest before export, consider using Plant & Food’s remote microscopy diagnosis service available in Clyde. Before the start of the season we will be looking at whether Australia will consider taxonomic identification information to support the release of a consignment without fumigation.

• Communicate – growers and packhouse operators, talk to your exporter, and exporters make sure you talk to your importers and make sure that any ‘pest’ detections in Australia are properly identified. Australian entomologists can get a pest identification pretty quickly, but you have to be prepared to hold the fruit and wait.

• Timing – be aware there is no weekend pest ID service in Australia – so avoid clearing consignments on a Friday if possible.

21

Australia has changed key pest classifications With the removal of OPI and transition to the CBIS scheme, Australia has been reviewing its pest list to ensure up to date biosecurity advice is available for exporters. This has resulted in the regulation (actionable) of several pest species which were previously considered non actionable. Table 1 summarises these categorisation changes. The majority of categorisation changes are from Western Australia regulating insects and mites previously considered non actionable.

The pest categorisation changes have already been incorporated in the fresh fruit to Australia pest list, which supersedes the OPI pest list. The summerfruit pest list for multiple countries is in the process of being updated for all markets and will be available before the start of the season. For reference, the file name on the MPI website is still the OPI pest list and it is still password protected. The full list can be found here: https://www.mpi.govt. nz/exporting/food/fruit-and-vegetables/registers-and-lists-forexporting-fruit-and-vegetables/.

Summerfruit NZ continues to provide data on interceptions and taxonomic information to support the deregulation of species wherever possible and continues to push for sensible phytosanitary decision making from Australia.

Even with these pest categorisation changes it is still considered worth waiting for full pest identification to be completed. If a pest is found during an on-arrival inspection a preliminary identification is usually made within two hours.This will indicate whether the pest is likely to be a quarantine pest or not. The full identification may only take another two hours to complete and if the pest is not a pest, if it’s non actionable, the consignment can be released. However, many importers will opt to fumigate the consignment to secure early release (note: some pests like thrips may take two days to process as they need to be prepared and mounted on slides for identification). Communication between exporters and importers is therefore very important to avoid unnecessary fumigation.

Table 1: Categorisation changes for summerfruit listed in the Australian fresh fruit pest list.

Pest type

Order/ Group

Family

Scientific name

Common name(s)

Summerfruit What change has occurred (A= actionable, NA= nonactionable)

Insects/ Spiders

Araneae

Salticidae

Trite parvula

House hopper spider

A

Status from NA to A

Coleoptera

Curculionidae

Rhinocyllus conicus

Nodding thistle receptacle weevil

NA

Was A=WA only, now NA all.

Hemiptera

Aphididae

Brachycaudus helichrysi

Leaf curl plum aphid

A

Status from NA to A

Brachycaudus persicae

Black peach aphid

A

Status from NA to A

Myzus cerasi

Black cherry aphid

A

Status from NA to A

Myzus persicae

Green peach aphid

A

Status from NA to A

Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae

Water lily aphid

A

Status from NA to A

Coccidae

Parthenolecanium corni

European fruit lecanium

NA A=WA only

Was A for all, now only A=WA

Acaridae

Tyrophagus curvipenis

Mould mite, Acarid mite

NA A=WA only

Was NA for all, now A=WA

Phytoseiidae

Amblyseius waltersi

Phytoseiid mite

NA A=WA only

Was A for all, now only A=WA

NA A=WA only

Was A for all, now only A=WA

NA A=WA only

Was NA for all, now A=WA

NA A=WA only

Was NA for all, now A=WA

Mites

Acari

Neoseiulus fallacis Tydeidae

Tydeus californicus (syn. Orthotydeus californicus) Tydeus caudatus (syn.

Orthotydeus caudatus, Brachytydeus caudatus, Tydeus goetzi)

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Tydeid mite, fungal feeding mite

Exports to Japan We continue to work with MPI to try and achieve a reduction in Japan’s annual audit of the cherries programme. The Official Assurance Programme for cherries to Japan (for management of codling moth) has been very successful and has been operating for around 15 years, but Japan still requires that an inspector visits New Zealand annually to review the programme at the summerfruit industry’s cost.

This ongoing audit is contrary to the requirements of ISPM No. 20 (Guidelines for a phytosanitary import regulatory system) which states that ‘These types of audit procedure should not be applied as a permanent measure and should be considered satisfied as soon as the procedures in the exporting country have been validated.’ Japan has been asked to modify this requirement for several years but has yet to do so. We have been told this is because Japan has written this annual visit into its regulations and it is therefore considered to be extremely difficult to modify.

For the 2020-21 season it is currently considered unlikely that an audit visit will be possible due to travel restrictions and isolation requirements. MPI has indicated it will work with Summerfruit NZ to ensure trade can continue for the 2020-21 season in the absence of this visit. We are in the process of clarifying whether any additional requirements are needed for the upcoming season. We will let programme registrants know as soon as this has been clarified. In the meantime, if you are intending to export to Japan during the 2020-21 season please register by 25 September and start trapping in line with the OAP and as with previous seasons.

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Exports to Korea During the 2019-20 season, the Korean authorities accepted that a standard 600 unit inspection provided the same level of confidence as a 2% inspection rate. As a result, they now allow New Zealand to operate under a 600 unit inspection.

The Korean authorities also indicated they are comfortable with the existing cherries to Korea Official Assurance Programme and recommended a reduction in audit frequency from once every three years, to only occurring if there was a pathway issue. The Korean authorities also removed the additional measures for all fruit fly host material in April 2020, including cherries. The additional requirements, which ceased to apply, were for the additional declarations around the Export Restriction Zone (ERZ), MPI’s movement requirements and the ePhyto declaration in the observations section of the ePhytosanitary Certificate.

Other markets There are currently no other phytosanitary changes to key markets. If you have any questions about market access or would like to discuss any Official Assurance Programme changes, please contact us directly.

Want to know more?

Joshua Miers-Jones 021 022 17088 joshua.miersjones@tomra.com www.bbctechnologies.com

23

By CRESSIDA PATRICK

REMAIN VIGILANT AGAINST WHEAT BUG

Further detections of wheat bug could result in compromised access to this market.

The produce intercepted was fumigated with Methyl Bromide before being released. Wheat bug is a quarantine pest for Australia as it is considered a priority pest for their wheat industry. Further detections of wheat bug could result in compromised access to this market.

Summerfruit NZ would like to remind growers and packhouses of the importance of applying the following preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of infestation during the production process: • Keep packaging in clean pest free storage areas.

• Keep fruit bins and pallets in clean pest free storage areas when not in use.

• Minimise contact between fruit containers and the orchard floor.

• Before packing – tip packaging upside down and tap vigorously to remove any contaminants.

4mm

Wheat bug (Nysius huttoni) was detected last season during an on arrival inspection in Melbourne on an apricot consignment from New Zealand. Authorities in Australia advised the pest was found inside the liner of apricot packaging.

Wheat bug nymphs HortNET, The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand, Bugwood.org

• Check lining before placing it in the packaging.

• Be aware that wheat bug can move into bins or fruit pallets sitting on the orchard floor, and can move into sheds from surrounding weed cover.

• Undertake weed control in orchard loading zones, bin storage areas and around packhouses well before harvest. Spraying herbicides close to harvest may force wheat bugs to move out of their normal habitat and onto bins or pallets in storage areas.

24

Proudly serving the fruit industry for 64 years SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

Adult wheat bug – Natasha Wright, Cook's Pest Control, Bugwood.org

UPDATE

By VICTORIA HARRIS

OUR PEOPLE

BRIGHT FUTURES

More than ever at the moment, the summerfruit industry in New Zealand needs new entrants and young growers looking to make a career in the sector. But, believe it or not, ours can often be a challenging industry that doesn’t always appeal to everyone. For every ‘up’ there can be a ‘down’.

For every opportunity, a challenge. So we asked four younger growers, who are relatively new to our sector, what they think of our industry. Their answers were thought provoking.

Grace Fulford

Ben van Gool

Tim Hope

Cameron Glasgow

25

This is a great industry to work in, but it is still seen as just a summer job for a lot of people.

Grace Fulford Age: 23 Position: Packhouse manager Works at: Omahuri Orchards, Hastings Brief description of orchard: We are a family run orchard of approximately 60 hectares. We grow cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums and apples.

How did you get into the summerfruit industry?

Horticulture has been in my family for generations. I grew up around it, lived with it and have always been fascinated by it.

I’ve worked in the family packhouse every summer holiday from a young age; back then it was go to work, earn the money, go home. These days I enjoy every part of my job and I’m involved in all aspects of the business. I have a good understanding of how the whole operation runs.

What is it about your work that appeals to you/that you enjoy?

I enjoy the challenges of growing summerfruit. There is so much that could go wrong during the process and there isn’t too much room for error. There is

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

a short window to get the fruit picked, packed and sent to markets, and then sold, which can be challenging at times.

What would you say to anyone thinking of joining the industry?

Just give it a go. Summerfruit is no longer just a ‘summer job’; it’s year-round and it can be a really enjoyable career.

What are the barriers for young people entering the industry?

There is often a stigma attached to younger people that suggests they are not prepared to work hard, so often younger people are not even given the chance. There is also a lack of a pathway into the industry. For example, horticulture was never really promoted in school. It was never really an option as a career.

How can these barriers be reduced or addressed?

More education and promotion in high schools is a must. Currently, this industry isn’t really an option for younger people.

Employers should try and give younger people a chance. That’s all they need to get a foot in the door.

What would make the industry more attractive for young people to join?

More education and promotion of the industry. This is a great industry to work in, but it is still seen as just a summer job for a lot of people.

What does the industry need to improve on?

Education of the younger generations.

The summerGreen meetings held throughout the year are very insightful and full of information, but there is only a small proportion of young people there.

Managers, supervisors and such should be encouraging the younger people in their work places to come along to these types of meetings.

Where do you see the industry's future?

The industry is so fast paced and it is constantly changing. I’m not entirely sure what the future will look like, but I’m excited to be a part of it.

How can Summerfruit NZ help you grow better?

Education and training days with relevant topics. I want to expand on my knowledge of the industry.

I believe summerfruit has a strong future because New Zealand is proven around the world for producing safe, high quality food.

Ben van Gool Age: 34 Position: Orchard manager Works at: Lake Terrace Cherries, Mt Pisa Brief description of orchard: 6.5ha UFO export cherry orchard near Cromwell.

Six different varieties. Growing approximately 50% under Voen rain covers.

How did you get into the summerfruit industry?

I came from a farming background and spent a decade travelling around the world working on skifields in winter and various farms and orchards in summer. On returning to New Zealand in 2014 I had the opportunity to go into partnership with my parents and brother, and we planted a cherry orchard that I have been managing ever since.

What is it about your work that appeals to you/that you enjoy?

I enjoy the fact I get to work outside everyday among the trees, and seeing the fruit grow as the season progresses is immensely satisfying. The fact that every season is different means I am constantly learning, and I really enjoy the science and challenge behind growing top quality fruit.

What would you say to anyone thinking of joining the industry?

Go for it. It is a great industry to be in with both a large variety of work and the ability to quickly progress into different roles.

What are the barriers for young people entering the industry?

The fact it is mainly seasonal work can make it challenging for people to find full time employment. Being able to have a clearly defined career pathway will also help attract young people into the industry.

How can these barriers be reduced or addressed?

The newly rolled out internship programme has the potential to be a great way for young people to get into the industry. Another opportunity is the collaboration among growers to work together to provide longer term employment. This can be done by sharing workers between orchards depending on the time of year and the work that is needed on each orchard.

What would make the industry more attractive for young people to join?

A more defined career pathway and a scholarship programme to help people further their education and experience in the summerfruit industry. More support for young grower groups to raise the profile

of the industry and to help young growers meet more like-minded people in a social environment.

What does the industry need to improve on?

Promoting summerfruit as a skilled industry and the wide range of opportunities available within it. Currently public perception of summerfruit being a low skilled, low paid industry, does not support the reality of the opportunities available.

Where do you see the industry's future?

I believe summerfruit has a strong future because New Zealand is proven around the world for producing safe, high quality food.

In the current times that’s what consumers are demanding. The growth of the summerfruit industry in the last few years is testament to the confidence of the industry, and further reinforces the demand for a reliable and skilled workforce going forward.

How can Summerfruit NZ help you grow better?

I think Summerfruit NZ does a great job with the limited resources it has available.

But it would be useful to have notification of international events and links to research related to the summerfruit industry, such as the International Cherry Symposium, or some of the great work that comes out of Washington State and Oregon State Universities.

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Work-life balance needs to be more of a focus for employers than perhaps it has been. .

Tim Hope Age: 38 Position: Operations manager Works at: Central Orchard Management Brief description of orchard: Orchard management company growing export cherries.

How did you get into the summerfruit industry?

While working on an apple orchard in Christchurch I applied for a supervisor role at Summerfruit Orchards. I came down for an interview in mid July, it didn’t get above two degrees for the two days, so not a great first impression but, never one to pass up an opportunity, I moved down a couple of months later. Thankfully it was starting to warm up by then!

What is it about your work that appeals to you/that you enjoy?

I enjoy the people mostly. Horticulture seems to attract people with a bit of history; I’m not sure if that’s a result of the transient nature of the job or the fact that the ebb and flow of the environment which drives horticulture is comparable to the ebb and flow in life.

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

What would you say to anyone thinking of joining the industry?

What would make the industry more attractive for young people to join?

Get into it! There’s demand for good people! Market yourself and find an employer that fits with what you want to achieve. Negotiate some flexibility to get the balance right.

We need to sell it better! There is no limit to the complexities of growing fruit, the rabbit hole just keeps going and going and the opportunities to diversify are endless.

What are the barriers for young people entering the industry?

Fruit growing takes a lot of commitment.

More so, summerfruit requires huge sacrifice in the best time of the year – while people are on Christmas holidays with family and barbequing at the beach, harvest is in full swing.

I think young people crave balance and are less likely to make that level of sacrifice without just reward. Those rewards may be renumeration but also the opportunity to advance or have increased flexibility outside of harvest season. Work-life balance needs to be more of a focus for employers than perhaps it has been.

How can these barriers be reduced or addressed?

Communication is key, these things need to be discussed very early on to ensure everyone is on the same page, and followed up on a regular basis.

That regular basis could be weekly, and employers need to find the time for that.

We need to map out these opportunities and put them in front people considering a career.

What does the industry need to improve on?

I think the participants are so varied in their goals and we need to spend the time to find some common ground to work together on.

Where do you see the industry's future?

We must be the best or our small volume has no value.

How can Summerfruit NZ help you grow better?

There is a lot of knowledge, observations and information locked up in the minds of the older growers, let’s get out the juice press for some extraction!

Anything else you’d like to say?

Bring on spring!

The future in attracting good young people is to make the industry more appealing.

Implementing new 2D systems, picking platforms, cab tractors etc will all help.

Cameron Glasgow Age: 41 Position: Owner/operator/labourer Works at: Lagom Orchard, Hastings Brief description of orchard: We are currently developing two hectares of peacharines on a double leader tall spindle system, and we have two hectares of cherries planted in a 2D system. Five hectares is planted in lucerne for now, waiting for the next opportunity and funds.

How did you get into the summerfruit industry?

I grew up on an apple orchard just out of Hastings and have always been attracted to the outdoors. Growing up, I spent endless hours in the family orchard with my father.

What is it about your work that appeals to you/that you enjoy?

Everything. I love weed spraying at 5am.

I love the satisfaction of pruning and training a block the way you like it. The smell of freshly picked summerfruit is sensational. I have always been obsessed with orchard machinery and tools; from secateurs to wind machines and mowers, but particularly tractors.

As I am a very social person, I enjoy harvest time the most since I love working with a big happy harvest team of people getting the job done.

What would you say to anyone thinking of joining the industry?

Great decision. You need to have patience and a passion for the end result. It takes a long time to grow a crop of top quality fruit. Right from end of season pruning and spraying, winter preparation, endless hours of care, to an intense and busy harvest season.

What are the barriers for young people entering the industry?

For a grower, it’s the price and availability of land. Corporate apple growing has pushed land prices up in Hawke's Bay over the last few years, and young people are getting priced out of the market.

For a young person wanting to get into the fruit industry, nothing. There are some great opportunities out there for people willing to put the work in.

How can these barriers be reduced or addressed?

Particularly in Hawke's Bay, we need to ensure we maintain the Heretaunga Plains for growing fruit and not for building houses and sheds.

What would make the industry more attractive for young people to join?

young people is to make the industry more appealing. Implementing new 2D systems, picking platforms, cab tractors will all help.

What does the industry need to improve on?

Taking risks on the new technologies and new ideas. Attracting young smart people.

Moving to greener/cleaner chemistry. The development of export opportunities out of Hawke's Bay. Innovation of machinery, new techniques, packaging systems, spraying systems, marketing systems. Look outside the box.

Where do you see the industry's future?

At the moment, there are some great opportunities in fruit growing. Future technologies are very exciting and will make fruit growing more efficient and easier for both staff and operators.

With the lack of available land, it is important that we work on trying to get more yield from a smaller piece of land.

How can Summerfruit NZ help you grow better?

Facilitate access to new ideas and techniques. Like the apple industry, it would be good if summerfruit growers could work together towards a common goal.

Move with the times. Motivating people to climb up and down old ladders in massive trees is hard. The future of attracting good

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BIOSECURITY UPDATE

By JUAN ROSALES

Photo credit: Jeff DeLong.

EUROPEAN CHERRY FRUIT FLY Rhagoletis cerasi adult.

Background

The European cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis cerasi) is the most serious pest of cherries in Europe and it is now affecting cherry crops in North America.

It was first found in Ontario, Canada, in 2016, and in 2017 adults were found in Western New York on traps set in wild cherry and honeysuckle along the Niagara River. Since then, it has spread from the Niagara River inland along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Damage associated with this pest is caused by larval feeding in the fruit pulp, which can result in losses of up to 100% if left uncontrolled.

It is not currently present in New Zealand, but due to its invasive nature and potential damage to the cherry industry it has been identified by Summerfruit NZ as one of the high priority pests and a serious biosecurity concern. Given the fact this pest is specific to our cherry industry, Summerfruit NZ is currently having discussions with MPI about the implementation of Readiness and Response activities in preparation for a possible incursion.

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

Hosts An insect pest native to Europe and parts of Asia, European cherry fruit fly can infest Prunus spp. such as sweet cherry, tart cherry, mahaleb cherry, black cherry and other wild cherries. This insect can also infest fruit of honeysuckle shrubs (Lonicera spp.), some of which are present in New Zealand and could facilitate the spread of this pest.

The likely mode of entry in Canada was fresh cherries imported from countries where this pest is established. This pest may also be introduced to new areas with soil during the pupae stage. European fruit fly is present throughout most of continental Europe and central and western Asia, and is the most economically important pest of sweet cherries in Europe.

Description Female European cherry fruit flies are typically 5mm in length and males are 4mm in length. Flies have a tan head and a black body with a distinctive yellow spot on the thorax. The wings are clear with four large distinct blueblack bands and one small band. Larvae are white in colour and are about 6mm in length. Overwintering in the soil, pupae are light yellow-brown and approximately 3-4mm long. Adult European cherry fruit flies are often observed on sunlit portions of cherry trees or honeysuckle bushes because females prefer to lay eggs in fruit bathed in sunlight.

Damages Cherries in which an egg has been laid will exhibit a puncture wound and, as the larva develops in the fruit as it ripens, the tissue around the wound will become brown and soft. When cutting or breaking open suspect fruit, the larvae and internal fruit damage can be seen easily. Typically, only one egglaying or oviposition site is found per cherry, although it is possible to have more. Infested cherries may shrivel, display soft spots, and rot. Infested fruit may also have small holes formed when larvae exit fruit to drop to the ground to pupate. Infested cherries become unmarketable and must be dumped.

Biology The European cherry fruit fly has only one generation per year, with a long winter diapause during the pupal stage. This obligatory winter diapause usually lasts around 180 days, but some pupae may remain dormant over one, two or even three winters. Pupae overwinter in the soil, mainly underneath or near the host plant, and require temperatures of 7°C or lower to develop successfully.

Adults typically emerge in the spring, usually appearing from May to July, and have an average lifespan of two weeks.

Females usually deposit one egg per fruit, beneath the skin of the fruit. Once larvae hatch from the eggs, they develop inside the fruit where they feed for up to six weeks. As the larvae develop, they damage the fruit pulp and contaminate the fruit with their faeces, making infested fruit unacceptable for fresh consumption. Mature larvae exit the fruit through emergence holes and drop to the ground to burrow into the soil, generally at a depth of approximately 1-13cm. Once in the soil, they will pupate within a few days.

Control measures Control methods may include the following three elements: • Foliar bait spray treatments of host and/or non host plants with hand or mechanical ground spray equipment. This is applied to the underside of foliage and targets the adult life stage of the fruit fly. Protein hydrolysate is used as an attractant along with spinosad or malathion as pesticides.

• Soil drenching hosts around larval or mated female detections. This treatment is applied under the drip line of a host plant and targets the larval or pupae stage in the soil.

• Fruit removal where the intention is to break the life cycle by eliminating any potential hosts for egg oviposition and larval development.

Adult fly on cherry.

Photo credit: Bauer Karl.

Fruit growers, don’t gamble with frosts.

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Larvae stage inside fruit.

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FRF 1020

Photos credit: Bauer Karl.

Sources: - Canadian Food Inspection Agency - Cornell University. New York State USA - USDA – New Pest Response guidelines

FORECAST

By GEORGINA GRIFFITHS

LA NINA IN THE WINGS Persistent Highs in 2020

This year has been an unusual one – and we’re not just talking about Covid-19. After Highs ruled the roost through summer, producing extremely dry conditions (drought) across much of the country, high pressure and a lack of westerly gales have characterised the New Zealand weather patterns through winter, as well. This has resulted in abnormally low year to date rainfall accumulations through many regions of the country.

The notable exception is eastern Northland, which was on the receiving end of some extreme easterly rainfall events in July, due to intermittent North Tasman Lows rolling across the region. To illustrate just how extreme the July totals were for Northland, let’s look at the rain gauge at Whangarei Airport. On 15 July, 99mm of rainfall was recorded, followed by 251mm two days later.

July 2020 ranked as the fourth wettest month on record at Whangarei Airport, in monthly rainfall records that began in 1937.

The 24 hour total of 250.6mm observed on 17 July at Whangarei Airport also ranked as the second highest 24 hour rainfall total there, only surpassed by the notable Northland floods of May 1975.

In stark contrast, precipitation in the summerfruit areas of Napier, Blenheim and Central Otago has continued well below normal across the year. The Hawke’s Bay has been extremely dry, with the January to August period this year ranking as the second driest on record in Napier, in 70 years of observations.

Jan – Aug 1983 : 293mm Jan – Aug 2015: 332mm Jan – Aug 2020: 326mm

Rainfall accumulation plots The rainfall accumulation plots for Napier, Blenheim and Cromwell are shown below and overleaf, with data included up until 1 September.

These plots highlight an extremely dry 2020 so far for both Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough. Napier year to date rainfall is currently sitting at only 57% of normal, with Blenheim sitting at 60% of normal. Central Otago has fared a little better, with Cromwell year to date rainfall sitting around 84% of normal.

mm

Rainfall accumulation plot for Napier 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Average

800

24 hours ending 9am, 31 May, 1975 – daily rainfall 308.5mm 24 hours ending 9am, 18 July, 2020 – daily rainfall 250.6mm

600

400

200

0 Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May Jun

Jul

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Figure 1: Napier annual rainfall accumulation (mm) for the last five years (2016 to 2020). The annual average rainfall accumulation is shown in black.

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Looking ahead

Rainfall accumulation plot for Blenhiem mm

There is a reasonable chance (60%) that La Nina develops in the tropical Pacific Ocean during spring. However, even if La Nina forms, any impacts for New Zealand are likely to remain minimal during spring. The most important factors influencing our spring regime will be:

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Average

800

600

• Whether our persistent Highs hang around, versus • Whether the spring westerlies really wind up.

400

At the current time, MetService is monitoring a very strong signal for continued higher than normal pressure in the New Zealand region during spring.

200

0 Jan

What this will likely mean, in practice, is a mixture of both intense/ intermittent Highs and some good old fashioned spring westerlies.

Feb

Mar

Apr

May Jun

Jul

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Figure 2: Blenheim annual rainfall accumulation (mm) for the last five years (2016 to 2020). The annual average rainfall accumulation is shown in black.

NINO3.4 INDEX

Rainfall accumulation plot for Cromwell mm

However, as always, you should keep to date with the MetService long-range forecast at http://metservice.com/rural/monthly-outlook.

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Average

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400

300

200

Figure 4: The NINO3.4 Index is shown above, with data from 1990 until July 2020. This Index is one measure of El Nino Southern Oscillation. When values are sustained negative (-0.8or below) and atmospheric metrics are also indicting enhanced trade winds over the equatorial Pacific Ocean, then La Nina conditions are present. Previous La Nina events are shown on the plot.

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0 Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Figure 3: Cromwell annual rainfall accumulation (mm) for the last five years (2016 to 2020). The annual average rainfall accumulation is shown in black.

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

REGIONAL ROUND UP

IN THE REGIONS HAWKE’S BAY

By ROGER BROWNLIE

We have been busy pulling out big old apricot trees that retail struggle to sell and replacing them with apricots that are better to handle and taste. Also, we are planting them at 2.5 x 2.5 on a FOPS type system because in the next 10 years we want all old plantings to be changed over to the 2D system. This should keep us sustainable into the future; those big old trees are too expensive to manage.

The weather has come out of the drought with the water table being topped up in June where not all field tiles were working. We couldn’t get on to the ground to plant until the end of July, and since planting we have been having spring-type weather – cold, then warm and then showers. Great to see these showers as, otherwise, we would probably have to irrigate.

Chilling has been a little less than the last two years, therefore flowering could be a bit straggly unless you are using domancy breakers with the right timing. Early nectarine flowering is about normal, but apricots and plums are about a week behind last year and the mid season nectarines and peaches look the same as last year with the jump in temperature that we are experiencing. Cherry buds are just now starting to move.

Labour is an issue with finding people who want to work in our industry at this point in time and hopefully, as times get tougher, more and more workers will become available. The other worry is getting our RSE labour back in time for this season and seasons to come.

Submissions have closed for the Regional Council’s TANK Plan Change process and we hope everybody got their submissions in.

HortNZ has helped us understand the process and the problems we face with it. From my perspective we don’t want to lose the right to access the correct amount of water to grow our crops. Also, the Farm Plans should come under the Gap or Global Gap audits.

Burning has been the Regional Council’s focus and they have a fire ban on from 1 May to 31 August with some exceptions. This has been to educate us about air quality. The point I want to make about this is that finding information about the burning regulations is so difficult.

The Regional Council website is very difficult to find your way around, let alone understand what is required. Then the local councils have a different idea of the rules, as does the Fire Service, so a better job of getting the information into the right hands is required.

Chris Hope, a long time family grower, has exited the industry and we wish Chris and his wife all the best for the future. Hopefully all their knowledge isn’t lost for too long.

The summerfruit industry has been very lucky so far with Covid-19 outbreaks as we only got caught at the very end of the season.

The test is yet to come; labour, freight, market place access and outbreaks over the summerfruit season are all challenges we still have to face. I think the answers lie in focusing on Quality, Quality, Quality, and on working as a united industry moving forward.

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CENTRAL OTAGO

By EARNSCY WEAVER

It has been an interesting few months since last reporting on goings on in Central Otago. Another season without sufficient ice for a Bonspiel, but some shady ponds in the hinterland did freeze over allowing some ‘real curling’.

Although it started a little late because of the virus there was plenty of curling on the rinks in Alexandra and Naseby to keep us entertained. There has been some good rugby to watch when not curling, with the Highlanders always the winners even when the other team puts more points on them.

As much as there was not a lot of ice about, our lowest temperature for the winter was -9˚C in June, however this was followed by another northerly change and this was the pattern for the winter.

The next hardest frost we recorded was -7.8˚C in mid August.

Apricots were starting to show some pink and cherries were starting to swell. We have had some warm days since and we look like we are around a week early, but really it means nothing as far as the season goes, other than needing to get motivated a bit sooner and possibly risking a bit more frost fighting.

There are a lot of white cherry trees covered in hydrated lime around the district. I guess this is as a result of Virginia’s work on bark temperature solar gain and then super chilling from frost, plus also Ronald Vermeulen’s use of lime applications for the control of bacterial blast.

Spraying high rates of hydrated lime is fraught with difficulties and is not a lot of fun, but it seems to be worthwhile. There has also been a rapid uptake in painting young UFO cordons and the butts of young central leader trees to reduce the solar gain/super chilling effect. A grower noted that he had not lost any trees in quite an extensive planting of UFO cherries after painting the cordons. Here is hoping that these treatments reduce the large amount of cherry tree losses that have been experienced over the years.

I have spent a bit of time looking at a cherry Botrytis control programme for the coming season. In short, it is difficult with not only the limited choice of a useful arsenal and meeting resistance management requirements, but also the various market requirements. It probably will not be the best programme that ends

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SUMMERFRUIT | SEPTEMBER 2020

up being used, but the programme that reaches the most important markets. There are a couple of new treatments on the market (not for cherries) that look like they need pursuing. It would be great to have some additional chemistry to introduce.

Large (for NZ) plantings of cherries continue. Interesting to see big variations in tree density with UFO/FOPS high density and traditional central leader low density. After working in high density two metre row blocks it feels as though there is so much real estate still available when going back into 4.5-5 metre row blocks. At the end of the day all we are doing is harvesting light therefore it is making sure that the trees in either system are managed to maximise light interception.

The projections are that this season Central Otago will require 5,500 to 6,500 people for the harvest. Unfortunately, there are no stats for what’s in the ground now, nor what’s going into the ground this spring, but I‘m guessing that the 4,500 to 6,500 will need to double.

That will be an interesting proposition.

The 4,500 to 6,500 harvest crew requirements came from a Summerfruit NZ survey of growers to establish the needs for this season in view of the pandemic. The cherry volume is the big driver, and this is estimated to be ~7,000 tonnes of export, which is close to three times last season’s export crop.

That in itself is a step up for the logistics side of the business, but overlaying everything that Covid-19 has delivered, the game has got harder. Summerfruit NZ and other groups are working hard to ensure the fruit can be moved out of the country and at a cost that is sustainable. Mayor Tim Cadogan has determined the position for Central Otago horticulture as the greatest threat to the local economy and has teamed up with other mayors to assist, including a proposed speed dating session for employees/employers in Queenstown. Novel, but hopefully successful.

The level of concern within the local growing fraternity is best illustrated by the increased numbers attending the Central Otago Fruitgrowers Association meetings, with the last two meetings attracting up to 40 growers. Our local reps, along with Summerfruit NZ and HortNZ are spending a lot of time working through the options to best ensure that the crop can be handled and shipped. If we work together, I’m sure there is a good chance we will all have a successful season.

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