Vine magazine May 2021 edition

Dual weight ranging compact scale

Robust and reliable, the light-weight Japanese designed IPC series of compact scales can withstand rough conditions to produce accurate weight results, and runs on only two D-size batteries Dual range weighing improves weighing data, and has a large LCD screen for easy reading and a helpful battery ‘save’ function. The IPC comes in 3kg, 6kg, 15kg and 30kg weighing models, with a water proof model also available.

Trade approved and certified National Measurement Institute (NMI) approved for trade within Australia, C-Tick Compliant and Country of Origin Labeling (CoOL) compliant.

The Vine is a joint publication of the Australian table grape and dried fruits industries. For editorial and advertising enquiries, contact:

Dried Fruits Australia

T: (03) 5023 5174

E: enquiries@driedfruitsaustralia.org.au

W: www.driedfruitsaustralia.org.au

Australian Table Grape Association

T: (03) 5021 5718

E: enquiries@atga.net.au

W: www.australiangrapes.com.au

Editorial committee:

DFA Anne Mansell, Megan Frankel-Vaughan

ATGA Jeff Scott, Terryn Milner

Design: Kylie Norton Design Printing: Sunnyland Press

Cover photo: ATGA project lead Alison MacGregor, industry development manager Jenny Treeby and industry development officer Karen Connolly on site at Irymple. Photography by David Sickerdick.

© Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited 2021

This publication has been funded by Hort Innovation using the table grape and dried grape levies and funds from the Australian Government. Wherever you see a Hort Innovation logo, the initiative is part of the Table Grape, Dried Grape, Dried Tree Fruit or Prune Fund. Some projects also involve funding from additional sources.

Season of opportunity

We’ve closed the book on another harvest.

As both table and dried grape industries shift focus toward the rest of 2021, we are excited about the directions our industries are taking.

From new team members, to clear priorities, and project developments, 2021 is shaping up to be another important year.

We know the past year has been challenging for many people in many ways, but we stand with our community of growers as we move forward into the future.

– from the team

Table Grapes

Dried Grapes

Combined Industries Prunes

New faces look to the future

A “healthy industry from the ground up”.

It might sound like an advertising slogan, but they’re much more than words to the Australian Table Grape Association’s (ATGA) new industry development team, who are determined to foster just that.

They care about industry challenges, and – with their diverse range of skills – bring the “brain, heart and soul” (in no particular order!) to their roles.

Team lead Alison MacGregor, industry development manager Jenny Treeby and industry development officer Karen Connolly are leading the charge for Australian table grape industry development, after commencing their roles in March.

The ATGA appointed the team after securing its first national extension project – Extension of technologies and best management practices to the Australian table grape industry – which is funded by Hort Innovation using the table grape research and development levy and funds from the Australian government (see Vine magazine volume 16, issue 3).

While the project was initially contracted in August last year, it was postponed for six months due to COVID-19 restrictions, but after a year of market challenges, seasonal workforce shortages and environmental impacts, the team’s appointment has been timely.

“The extension project is one that has been in the development phase for a while now and I am really pleased and excited about the team the ATGA has been able to recruit,” ATGA CEO Jeff Scott said. “This team will commence a new chapter for the ATGA which will have strong flow-on impact benefiting all table grape growers throughout

Australia. This project demonstrates how the levy payment can be used to support table grape growers.”

Grape expectations

The shift in table grape production and business responsibilities over the past 40 years has seen much higher demands of the grower, and the function of an extension officer has, some would say, never been more integral.

“You also have to be a plant nutritionist, a chemist, an engineer, a marketer, a human resources manager and a health and safety officer,” Jenny said. “How many people can you possibly be?”

Karen agreed that growers now faced much more pressure in production and business.

“We are here to help make it easier from the bottom up and relieve some of the stressors growers face, by exploring new concepts, methods and innovative technologies for table grape production,” Karen said.

There are many areas of focus that would, the team said, be important in coming years, including: mechanisation, production programs that are adoptive and adaptive, biosecurity, social licence, the burden of business and the future of blockchain.

Alison said that in the short term it would be important to adapt production programs to be more prescriptive to suit contemporary varieties, and also look at opportunities for softer production in keeping with the expectations of markets and also other external forces, for example companies withdrawing chemicals.

The team’s enthusiasm is evident as they speak about what they hope to achieve within industry.

They all want to be proud of the industry they represent, are prepared to face challenges head on, and, perhaps most importantly, are determined to make the job of the grower easier and improve grower wellbeing – to promote a “healthy industry from the ground up”.

The team has already visited growers in Queensland and Western Australia, is working on producing a best practice framework, and is squirreling information on new technologies and how they may be adapted to suit industry.

The right root system

Alison, Jenny and Karen have more than 80 years’ combined experience in horticulture, and their skills range from expertise in agrichemicals and biosecurity, to strategy and networking powers, to modern production and technical knowledge in not only table grapes but other crops.

But just who is this new extension team line-up, and how did they get here?

Alison has always “danced around the edges of the industry”, being involved in multiple table grape extension projects.

“I’ve spent so long involved in grape projects, in research or in consultancy, that – in a sense – it’s part of my biology and thinking,” Alison said.

A well-respected consultant and research scientist, Alison will oversee the team one day per week, backed by 30 years’ experience in viticulture and irrigated horticulture.

She also works as Citrus Australia’s agrichemical manager, and said crossindustry knowledge was crucial to industry growth.

“We’re all family – all the horticultural industries,” Alison said. “We’re all trying to export, we’ve all got common issues, regarding water, resources, withdrawal of chemicals, biosecurity, and labour. They’re common issues right across every industry.”

Alison said she felt passionate about developing grower solutions with growers – at grass roots level.

“While some issues are industry wide, each region also has priority issues,” she said. “We are listening – to hear your concerns but also because collectively as growers you have such a vast knowledge base. We hope to facilitate ways for growers to learn from each other.”

Jenny has worked for more than 25 years in horticulture and viticulture research and extension projects, starting her working life at CSIRO’s former horticulture research station in Merbein. Until 2021 she managed the Horticulture Industry Network (HIN) project for Agriculture Victoria.

“I thrive on challenges and problems,” Jenny said.

“I started off as a researcher and then went into industry development for the Murray Valley Wine Industry before I joined government in development and extension, always keeping my finger on the pulse in regards to research across horticulture. During my time in government I acquired a lot of skills and through the Horticulture Industry Network have gained a really good overview of what other industries, researchers and innovative businesses do, do well or don’t do well.”

Jenny – who has also been a working partner in a commercial dried grape (and for some time wine) vineyard since 1989 and just completed her final harvest – is driven. Her strategic umbrella thinking and phenomenal networks – according to Alison –are crucial to the team, which will give ATGA valuable extra industry representation.

Rounding off the team, Karen has more than 25 years’ experience working in viticulture, citrus and almond research with CSIRO, NSW and Vic Department of Primary Industries along with table grape and stone fruit breeding, production and varietal registration, in the commercial sector.

Her extensive knowledge in production, research and development and

extension roles, led her to consider the world of the grower holistically to ensure they maximised safety while making it easier for their hip pocket.

“I come from a horticultural background that’s been quite physical over the years, in all crops,” Karen said. “With my degrees in horticulture and occupational health and safety,

I have always gone into research and development trying to find better ways to improve what growers could have.”

Karen said her extensive production knowledge led her in research and development and extension roles, considering the world of the grower holistically to ensure they maximised safety while also making it easier for the hip pocket.

Their combined range of skills and experience is vast, determination fierce and solutions-driven focus impressive, giving growers confidence in the team tasked with working alongside and for the table grape industry.

A conduit for information

Throughout the three-year project, the ATGA will continue its work across the R&D sphere for the table grape industry, as well as improve its reach.

The project will see improved industry capabilities for adoption of best practice management, as well as innovation, through levy-funded R&D outputs and other technological developments.

Need a hand finding workers?

The team will also help facilitate a feedback loop between industry and researchers to ensure that R&D outputs are relevant and accessible to end users, and that industry R&D gaps and needs are reported back to Hort Innovation.

Table grape producers can expect to see more regional grower forums and workshops in each of the major grape-growing regions in Australia, communication on research, development, extension and innovation through ATGA’s communication channels, creation of best practice content, tools and much more.

“Our job is to make the industry as agile as possible, so that we are able to pick helpful information or technologies up from other industries,” Jenny said. “To go out hunting for new ideas, and filter through the rubbish.” v

Contact your MADEC

MILDURA 126-130 Deakin Avenue, Mildura VIC 3500 03 5022 1797 harvestmildura@madec.edu.au

ROBINVALE 68-72 Herbert Street, Robinvale VIC 3549 03 5051 8080 harvestrobinvale@madec.edu.au

SALE 2/424 Raymond Street, Sale VIC 3850 03 5169 7300 harvestsale@madec.edu.au

SHEPPARTON Suites 1 & 4 461 Wyndham Street, Shepparton VIC 3630 03 5829 3600 (Select Option 2) harvestshepparton@madec.edu.au

SWAN HILL 186-188 Beveridge Street, Swan Hill VIC 3585 03 5033 0025 harvestswanhill@madec.edu.au

COFFS HARBOUR 103-105, 24 Moonee Street, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 02 6648 2300 harvestcoffsharbour@madec.edu.au

GRIFFITH Shop 3, 104 Yambil Street, Griffith NSW 2680 02 6963 2200 harvestgriffith@madec.edu.au

BUNDABERG 35 Electra Street, Bundaberg Central, QLD 4670 07 4339 3100 harvestbundaberg@madec.edu.au

CABOOLTURE 2/77 King Street, Caboolture QLD 4510 07 5294 7000 harvestcaboolture@madec.edu.au

NURIOOTPA 45 Murray Street, Nuriootpa, SA, 5355 08 8565 8708 harvestnuriootpa@madec.edu.au

RENMARK 8 Ral Ral Avenue, Renmark SA 5341 08 8586 1900 (Select Option 2) harvestrenmark@madec.edu.au

DEVONPORT 3/59 Best Street, Devonport TAS 7310 03 6420 3900 harvestdevonport@madec.edu.au

Decisions in the data

BETTER INFORMATION HELPING DRIED GRAPE GROWERS

A look back at the season of 2020-21 gives us the opportunity to evaluate some of the technology that has been put in place for dried grape demonstration sites and to see the benefits they bring to growers.

SOIL MOISTURE MONITORING

While soil moisture monitoring with capacitance probes isn’t at the leading edge of technology, it still plays a key role in vineyard management.

The two snaps here from our 10 Tonne Project sites show how well this technology monitors soil moisture regardless of the irrigation system or strategy.

The first set of data is for an undervine sprinkler irrigated vineyard.

This clearly shows that this system is limited to roughly fortnightly irrigations as more frequent irrigations would make tractor access to the vineyard for spraying and other activities virtually impossible.

Despite this limitation, the data shows that water applied has been virtually all used by the vines as the lower soil moisture levels are not increasing.

Monitoring irrigation strategy in this case is about increasing or decreasing the amount of water applied in each irrigation rather than changing the frequency of irrigation.

The other elements demonstrated here are the break in irrigation after the canes have been cut to ensure no fruit damage from sprinkler irrigation, along with the fact that vines are still actively using water, as demonstrated by the reducing soil moisture content with characteristic night and day fluctuations, during both this harvest phase and well into post-harvest.

This data supports the need for postharvest irrigation, which you can see has been applied.

The second set of data is for a drip irrigated vineyard and shows an irrigation strategy focused on almost daily irrigation.

Things to note here are that towards the end of November 2020, the deeper

soil profile began to dry out and irrigation was increased to match the profile (more on this in aerial imaging).

Also, later in the season the need for post-harvest irrigation is again pretty obvious as demonstrated by the drying out of the soil as the vines continue to use water.

AERIAL IMAGING

Aerial imaging has been one of the technologies we have tried this year. This group of images is from the same drip irrigated block discussed in the soil moisture monitoring section. The data in these images has been calibrated to give an indication of water stress in the vines.

The images below are in sequence from 2 December 2020, 16 December 2020, 29 December 2020 to 10 January 2021.

Remember we made mention of a drying out of the lower soil profile in this patch late November?

MICROCLIMATE MONITORS

These two technologies – soil capacitance probes and aerial imagery – offer different perspectives on the same issue and can work well in tandem.

Other technology included in these sites are microclimate monitors.

The major role of these has been to feed information into the GrowCare disease prediction model.

The model is best at providing prediction of downy mildew, but also provides advice on potential botrytis infection periods.

The picture from the GrowCare website below shows how all of this

microclimate data, temperature (Red line), humidity (Black line), rainfall (Blue bars) and leaf wetness (Green Highlight) is presented in the model.

It also shows how the model starts to calculate potential infection.

In this case, the model indicated a possible botrytis infection as indicated by the purple B.

The other lines are the model working out as time went on from the rain event if it would predict potential for a downy mildew outbreak. In this case it didn’t.

It would seem that the impact of that wasn’t felt by the vines until a little later, with a bigger proportion of red (higher vine water stress) appearing in the imagery, not on 2 December but on 16 December.

The recovery of the vines also lagged behind the improvement made to the irrigation practice, with the red in the image not changing substantially back to blue until the 10 January image.

A MODEL FOR DECISION-MAKING

These disease models are a great support for decision-making, but growers must remember to take the time to understand the basics of how they work.

We know that these models are conservative, so will tend to overpredict potential disease conditions.

The information from these technology sources is useful but you must take the time to understand what it’s telling you and looking at the vines is still really important.

Scan to see: If you are keen to have a look at a timelapse video of the most recent season for the demonstration sites discussed in this article, scan the QR codes to check out the YouTube clip. v

Stuart Putland

Dried Fruits Australia field officer 03 5023 5174 projects@driedfruitsaustralia.org.au

Time for diversification

A note from our chair

I’m sure a lot of growers will be pleased to see the back of this harvest.

Weather, pest and disease, labour, water and markets all had their part to play. Some of you experienced the impact of just one of these issues, while others faced the full force of multiple. Markets and labour will definitely influence future seasons still, but I know the ATGA is continuing its work on strategies to improve the uncertainty.

As far as markets go, the ATGA’s board and management has worked with Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud, and Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan to act on the industry’s behalf in our market diversification plans, including negotiating protocols to improve access to the United States, and accelerating our varietal access to Japan.

As for labour, a few of our board members were excited to be involved in the ATGA’s new virtual reality-style worker training videos, funded by a Victorian Government grant, which we hope will hopefully attract, train and retain workers for future table grape harvests.

We hope you have all enjoyed a rest by now, or that you’re about to take one. It’s important to take care of ourselves as well as our properties!

News from our CEO

The 2021 harvest season has, by reports, been the most difficult in many years – some say the worst ever.

What started out as a promising year at budburst turned into a stressful year for most growers. The expected yield that was on show very early on in the growth phase didn’t eventuate, and yields were down on most farms in Sunraysia. Many put that down to weather events and conditions that didn’t bode well for substantial growth in the vines.

Then, we had concerns about the supply of labour, with many growers forced to pay increased payments for labour in comparison to previous years. Throughout the Sunraysia harvest season, the ATGA had two -three meetings per week with various government instrumentalities in regard to labour, trying to re-start the Pacific Islander program, but this was thwarted early in the process by the health authorities due to COVID-19. Eventually, when the program was able to recommence, it was too late for our harvest season. The Victorian Government offered very good incentives to attract seasonal labour but there was very little uptake.

The ATGA has received a grant from the Victorian Government to initiate some activities to try and develop some tools that can be used in the

future to attract seasonal workers for future years. You can read about that on page 12.

The export season has also been difficult at times. Indonesia has had some issues, but in comparison to previous years, grapes have been exported without too many changes.

There have been issues with shipping logistics, congestion at ports of arrivals, due to the COVID-19 impact in most Asian counties, and sales have been slow and at a lower price than previous years. The biggest concern has been the slow inspection rates at Chinese ports of arrival, particularly in the southern Chinese ports.

The ATGA has been trying to negotiate some solutions with the Australian embassy in Beijing but it has been difficult without any tangible evidence being put forward.

The industry needs to look at diversifying our export markets and, to that end, we have been working with the Federal Government on improving our protocols to countries such as the US, Japan and Canada. We have been successful in improving our export protocols to India and the ATGA will now also look into reinvigorating exports to Europe and Great Britain, now that Brexit is close to being finalised and discussion of FTAs with those regions proceeding. v

Jeremey Boyd | Chair

Jeff Scott | CEO

New chances and challenges

A note from our chair

Another harvest has come and gone and I cannot remember when we have had such great weather.

While a few areas were unlucky enough to be hit by untimely rain, generally there was not enough to cause any widespread damage.

The weather could have been warmer, but many days with a forecast of no rain took some of the pressure off.

Yields for new varieties – Selma Pete and Sunglo – were good, as were Sunmuscats and currants. Sultana yields were down, but the quality of all the fruit was at a high standard.

Water delivery could be a problem next season, with higher allocations forecast for low security water. DFA, along with other industries, have raised this concern with river managers.

Labour will be an issue come pruning time, with few backpackers still remaining in Australia. This is not likely to change for some time.

DFA is working hard to lobby for support and partner with stakeholders to attract workers, but we urge growers to start securing labour as early as possible.

We have recently seen other industries looking to invest in dried fruit to spread their risk as a result of uncertainty around the world. DFA sees this as a great opportunity to increase the industry’s supply.

I know the processors have had to knock back orders they could not supply.

DFA are pushing new varieties that are high yielding and have a degree of rain tolerance.

There is a range of early to late ripening varieties, which also help spread the seasonal risk, while making it easier to secure and retain labour.

News from our CEO

At DFA, we’re continuing to work on solutions for current challenges, including the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on seasonal labour, water issues, and maximum residue limits (MRLs).

Seasonal labour

With pruning about to occur, DFA has been lobbying State and Federal Government departments on the requirements for seasonal labour across our growing regions, focussing on the Pacific Islander scheme and incentives to attract workers.

DFA is collaborating with Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council in regard to training and availability of seasonal workers to assist with pruning.

MADEC is also aware of the need for pruners over coming months.

Industries united on water

Working with Murray Valley Wine Growers, Australian Table Grape

Association, the Almond Board of Australia and Citrus Australia, a submission has been developed on the Goulburn to Murray trade rule proposal.

The Victorian Government, after 12 months of consultation, has proposed Option 2: variable base flows around 1100 ML/day over summer and autumn with three pulses of 3000 ML/day at allocated times.

DFA and the other peak industry bodies have serious concerns in regard to the impacts of these changes on Lower Murray irrigators.

These concerns have been strongly expressed in the submission.

Digital spray diary

Our team was delighted to be granted $30,000 from the Federal Government’s Traceability Grant Program.

This funding will be used to digitise the Dried Grape Industry Spray Diary (read more about this on pages 30-31).

The project will develop an online system that allows information flow up and down the supply chain between primary producers, processors and marketers before the product is even ready for harvest.

Work will begin on this shortly and we aim to have a digital version in place for the 2023 season.

With MRL compliance becoming more stringent, having real-time information available will be of benefit for all industry stakeholders. v

Mark King | Chair

Anne Mansell | CEO

Seeing the world in 360º

The world of the table grape seasonal worker will be an immersive experience soon, with new video tools set to entice and educate prospective harvest workers.

The Australian Table Grape Association (ATGA) recently secured a $100,000 Victorian Government grant to fund the 360° worker training videos, mental health support for growers, and for recruitment planning.

The videos will be used as informative tools for labour hire providers, growers and general industry to educate potential recruits on what is required working a table grape harvest.

Viewers will get a first-person look at the sequence of tasks for seasonal harvest workers, from picking grapes in the vineyard, to in-field or shed

packing, to loading into cool rooms and transportation.

Many seasonal workers who come into the industry have not yet seen a table grape property, let alone set foot on one, so these videos present an opportunity to prepare incoming workers for the job, while also ensuring that they are aware of the standard operating procedures the business should have in place.

Creating an awareness of expectation at both ends establishes transparency between workers and employers, cultivates a better working relationship and helps retain a skilled and capable workforce – at a time when growers need every pair of hands they can find.

The grant is part of the Victorian Government’s $1 million Seasonal Workforce Industry Support Program, which gives industry groups and organisations in priority harvest

sectors and regions the resources to help farm business to recruit and retain workers.

“This support from the Victorian Government enables us to put in place activities that will not only recruit, retain and upskill labour for this current harvest, but importantly for future harvests,” ATGA CEO Jeff Scott said.

Filming took place in late April, and the videos will soon be available to circulate among networks, well in advance of recruitment for the 2021–22 season.

The videos will be complemented by testimonials from table grape workers, which help inform potential industry participants about the requirements of seasonal farm work, and promote an industry that harvests greatness – not just from its fruit, but its people. v

New team on the block

Since the start of March, the ATGA office in Mildura has been buzzing with activity. Our team more than doubled, with team and project leader Alison MacGregor, industry development manager Jenny Treeby and industry development officer Karen Connolly coming on board.

As promised, the industry development team will be out and about as soon as possible after harvest and to that end we are putting together a grower list for every state, so that we can plan to visit and meet you all.

As our commencement date coincided with harvest – at least for Sunraysia growers – we have been busy with behind-the-scenes office work rather than visiting.

But things are changing! In late April we travelled to visit as many Queensland growers as we could within a week.

We’ve also visited growers in the Swan Valley and Carnarvon in Western Australia.Sunraysia will be last (but not least) on the list of visits – expect to see us around Sunraysia between May and September.

In the meantime, we have started developing a best practice management manual, which we will road-test with you all at the relevant stages.

Also on our radar has been the sourcing of new and useful production methods, concepts and innovative technologies. Along these lines, we have identified an assisted mapping technology using a combination of hardware and software to uniquely identify buds, berries and bunches. Technology like this may prove useful in refining crop regulation and more accurately predict yield estimates.

We were also pleased to successfully be awarded the Victorian Government grant to produce the three immersive 360° videos to introduce seasonal workers to the task involved in

harvesting table grapes. Our team was involved in writing the successful application and has since worked on putting together a harvest jobs list to help provide ideas and concepts to the film crew.

We look forward to working with you all and hope you reach out so we can get to know you all. v

Alison, Jenny & Karen Industry development team amacgregor@atga.net.au jtreeby@atga.net.au kconnolly@atga.net.au

Priorities set industry direction

The dried fruit industry has come a long way in the past 30 years.

Now, Dried Fruits Australia, its members and stakeholders are looking to secure the coming decades through development and implementation of key priority themes.

In the February edition of the Vine magazine, we reported on the Dried Fruits Australia planning forum held with industry stakeholders at the beginning of the year.

The day resulted in three major themes for DFA to investigate:

- Education and training

- New production systems

- Automation and mechanisation

The DFA board has since given feedback on the industry priorities and approval to use the planning forum findings to shape DFA research, development and extension.

Here, we look at the detail and direction for each of the key priority areas.

Education and training

The industry has a range of knowledge development, knowledge sharing, and skill development needs in a range of different target audiences.

For the purposes of this program we can consider them to be

- Industry leadership

- Farm management

- Farm operation

- Understanding of industry investment potential

Large variations in scale of farm operations across the industry mean there will be some differences in the training/skills needed, particularly at the farm management level.

The goal of an education and knowledge management program is to improve industry production and DFA

is working on three themes to help achieve this.

1) Building the skills and knowledge of the existing industry participants and people joining the industry, particularly in the farm management and farm operations areas. This will be similar to existing DFA extension programs.

2) Building awareness of industry investment potential for agriculturally focussed investors. This will be an extension of the work already developed through investment in the GrapeInvest model.

3) Building human capital will focus on new and innovative ways to attract the type of tertiary trained young people to the industry – the people who will be needed to operate and lead the industry for the next 30 years. The priority will be to give them the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to succeed in the industry.

New production systems

New production systems are something that the industry needs to continue to consider.

The focus of this theme is around maintaining the benefits the industry has already created with the current production system – based around swing-arm – and consider if there are any improvements or changes that could be investigated.

Any potential changes or improvements would need to result in either lower cost of production or improved production levels for the same cost.

A rigorous approach is being considered as the key here is to not

lose the gains the industry has made over the past 30 years.

Automation and mechanisation

The automation and mechanisation theme asks us to consider two key questions.

Firstly, can we mechanise any systems that are currently not mechanised?

And secondly, are there any opportunities to remove human input in any area of operation?

DFA is already taking steps to develop a prototype mechanical pruning system.

The system aims to take the operation

from handheld tools to a tractormounted mechanical operation.

The next step beyond this is automation, taking out one or more of the human inputs to that mechanised process, such as driving the tractor.

As funding opportunities become available, these themes will be further developed and included in appropriate applications for project funds.

We look forward to keeping our members updated as these areas develop. v

Stuart Putland

Dried Fruits Australia field officer 03 5023 5174

projects@driedfruitsaustralia.org.au

New look, new tactics to help sell prunes

A vibrant new website is helping the Australian prune industry identify consumer interests and how they interact with the Aus Prunes website and social media platforms.

Peter Raccanello heads Aus Prunes promotions portfolio and has been one of the driving forces behind the website.

“We wanted to provide a new and refreshed look for prunes that appealed to all ages and contained useful information for consumers and health professionals to ultimately increase consumption of prunes across Australia,” Peter said.

“As an organisation, we do not sell any product, but we are responsible for the Aus Prunes branding which our member processors/packers use to sell our members’ prunes.

“For too long prunes have been perceived as a dried fruit for the elderly with bowel issues. But the truth is they are so much more and we need to sell them as such.

“We need to increase awareness of prunes and communicate the wide range of health nutritional benefits.

“People also need to know that prunes can be a delicious snack eaten on their own, but they are also extremely versatile and can be used in everything from a prune and cranberry cosmopolitan through to Texan-style prune barbecue sauce and a choc chilli tart with chewy prune caramel and anything in between.”

Peter said the new website –ausprunes.org.au – had been created by Griffith-based digital marketing company, Candid Marketing, and

included a new Aus Prunes logo and colour theme.

“We are really excited about the new look and the website is so easy to navigate,” Peter said.

“For example, our recipe tab is definitely more inviting, with the professional photos from our recipe cards appearing as thumbnails to entice consumers.

“It is also a lot easier to search for a particular recipe as they have been categorised into light meals, main meals, snacks, starters and sweets.

“But the real advantage is website analytics, which capture user information and tell us what interests those who visit the site.”

Essentially, the website analytics tell how many people visit the Aus Prunes website, the pages they visit and the frequency in which they visit.

The program is also able to track the demographic of the visitor, that is, their age, gender and location, as well as how they were directed to the page.

It will also monitor social media – the number of followers, likes and rate of engagement on both Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Peter said the analytics would allow the industry to monitor the website’s effectiveness as well as the effectiveness of promotional campaigns in which people were referred to the website.

Cassandra Cadorin from Candid Marketing monitors the analytics on behalf of the industry and is currently developing a strategy for engagement online including breaking the stereotype of prunes in Australia, and stories relating to growers and their on-farm prune production practices for

use on social media platforms and to link in with the website.

The new website went live in March and is a work in progress with more content to be added.

Aus Prunes in the spotlight

Peter said the primary goal was to communicate information to consumers and health professionals to raise the awareness of prunes and ultimately increase sales of Australiangrown prunes.

“The media plays a huge role in helping spread our messages to a wide audience,” he said.

“The initial brief contained plans for a media page with past press releases, an image gallery and printed media clips. This is still on our ‘to do’ list, as is the plan for a portal for members to access a library of industry-specific information.”

Meanwhile, Aus Prunes has been busy in the past few months creating opportunities for content for those media clippings.

Peter said Destination NSW and QANTAS recently sponsored a media famil to Griffith to help promote the flight path to the region. Four food and travel writers were invited to the district to visit local producers with the expectation that they would write favourable articles.

Frank and Lucy De Rossi’s farm at Bilbul was on the itinerary where the writers were treated to fresh fruit on the trees and dried fruit samples as they wandered through the orchard. It was followed by an impressive morning tea featuring scones heaped with prune jam and other prune delights. The theme for the famil was “People and Produce” and Frank and Lucy’s son,

daughter-in-law and grandchildren were on hand to help guide the visitors around the farm and talk about how their family grew and dried prunes.

Peter said the industry was fortunate to have so many growers willing to open their farm gates to help promote the industry.

“Grant Delves is another who is passionate about prunes and sharing his knowledge. His Hanwood property will feature in a cooking segment on Justine Schofield’s Everyday Gourmet television show,” Peter said.

Aus Prunes invested money from the prune promotional levy to be part of the event with both Angas Park and Verity Fruits contributing additional funds from their own promotional budgets.

“Justine’s passion for Australian produce is obvious and she appeared keen to learn about the Australian prune industry,” Grant said.

Several photos were taken around the property and activities captured on film. The highlight was the cooking segment in the orchard where Justine prepared a bruschetta comprising spiced prunes with marsala and ricotta cheese.

All material from the event will be made available to Aus Prunes for use in their own social media and promotion campaigns with additional promotion via Justine’s own social media, and that of Everyday Gourmet and Griffith Tourism. v

Phil Chidgzey

APIA

national secretariat secretary@ausprunes.org.au

Top: The redeveloped Aus Prunes website offers new opportunities in understanding consumers. Middle: Justine Schofield filmed a segment of her Everyday Gourmet cooking show on Grant Delves’ Hanwood prune property.

Below: The Destination NSW tour bus at the De Rossi farm.

The backbone of industry

WOMEN IN HORTICULTURE

Welcome to the second instalment of our Women in Horticulture series. Women have played an integral role in horticulture for centuries, from areas as diverse as production, research and business management. We continue to celebrate their role by speaking to women in all areas of horticulture, from trailblazers to emerging leaders.

Navneet Kaur

Technical Agronomist

Sheehan Genetics Australia

How long have you been working in horticulture?

I have been working for a year in horticulture now. And have been voluntarily helping farmers back in my town whenever I can while doing my bachelor degree.

Did you always want to work in the sector?

I grew up in a farming family back in Punjab, India. Growing up I used to listen to my father and grandfather talk about how they were managing their farms and what pest and disease was causing trouble to the crop. I always wanted to learn the technical side of this sector to solve the problems for local farmers in my town.

Who or what has inspired you in your career?

My background and my mother – who wanted to be a botanist but due to some reason couldn’t pursue her dream – inspired me to choose this career.

What is your favourite thing about working in your industry?

Agriculture is the backbone of all the countries. Working in this sector gives me a sense of responsibility and pride that, all the research we are involved in, or the services we can provide to this sector, can improve the present and carve a better future for coming generations.

What is an accomplishment/career moment you’re proud of?

Moving from India to Australia alone to do master’s in agricultureat the University of Melbourne despite social and economic hurdles has

proven to be fruitful. Not many girls get such opportunities back in India but I believe if their parents can support them then anything is possible.

What advice would you give to the next generation of females about working in horticulture?

Think outside the box and be creative in whatever you do. If you want to be successful, then never fear taking the road less trodden.

How would you encourage women to take on roles, or get promotions, in horticulture?

Be hard working and honest in whatever you do.

Bronwyn

King

Dried grape grower, Pomona

How long have you been working in horticulture?

I’ve been involved in horticulture since 1979 when my husband purchased the first 16 of our now 200-plus acres of vines at Pomona.

Did you always want to work in the sector?

Having had no one in my family involved in any sort of farming, it had never been on my career list! Both my parents worked in education. I had planned to do teaching, but once Mark had bought the first block and we decided to get married, my life in horticulture began.

Who or what has inspired you in your career?

I don’t think any one person has inspired me, rather there have been many people over the years who I’ve admired, not just in the dried fruit sector but in many agricultural areas. I’ve always admired couples who work together on the land and make a success of things.

What’s the best thing about working in the industry?

My favourite thing about working in the dried fruit industry would have to be the lifestyle and that you are your own boss, to some degree. Obviously at harvest time you have to pick when the fruit is ready, but if it’s going to be really hot you get to pick early and knock off before the real heat of the day.

There is always something to be done and there are always challenges that keep life interesting.

While you are dependent on processors to take your crop, your success is entirely up to you. How much effort you put into your property usually dictates how well you do.

Of course we are also dependent on the weather gods! We have been very fortunate in that over the 40-plus years we’ve been growing dried fruit, we’ve really only had three bad years when we’ve lost the bulk of the crop to the weather.

One of the best things is the people we’ve met over the years, from people who picked for us that became friends, to people we’ve met from other countries who farm like us.

We could write a book about some of the experiences we’ve had with pickers! How has the industry changed over the years?

So much has changed in 40 years. Looking back, I’m amazed at how hard we worked (and I don’t mean just us,

but all people). Things are much easier now with our property as most of it is summer pruned and machine picked. We have our own harvester and dehydration set-up, which is a far cry from our early days when we hand picked fruit, spread it on the racks, sprayed it, shook it down, put it onto ground sheets for the final drying process, then boxed it. It was very hands-on and labour intensive. One year we did 30 racks this way.

Picking time also meant smokos for anywhere from 10-20 people, kids in a car seat fixed to the tractor, pickers, cart men, water bottles and plenty of sunscreen. Now we do smoko for six to eight summer pruners and, while it is still labour intensive, it’s much easier.

Something that has changed is the amount of ground you need to make a living.

Once, 40 acres was considered a living. You need double that now.

What is an accomplishment you’re proud of?

I’d have to say I’m proud of the fact that we started with 16 acres and gradually built up to the 200-plus we have now and that it is a family concern, with one son working with us and the other showing a lot of interest. That in itself is an achievement as when they were younger neither of them wanted to be blockies!

Winning a Sunbeam award for being a provider of quality dried fruit twice was something we were proud of.

Sue McConnell

Program Manager, Horticulture

Agriculture Victoria

How long have you been working in horticulture?

I have been working in horticulture for more than 30 years.

Did you always want to work in the sector?

I was always keen to work in agriculture and when I graduated from the University of Melbourne with an Agr Sci degree, I was lucky enough to be part of a large intake of graduates by the then Department of Agriculture & Rural Affairs. The job I was offered was in horticulture and I have worked in that industry ever since.

Who or what has inspired you in your career?

My greatest inspiration for my career was my first supervisor, Keith Leamon, who was the section leader and later the institute director at

the Agriculture Victoria horticulture centre in Irymple. Keith was highly respected by both industry and government. He was a great strategic thinker and negotiator and always had time to mentor and problem solve with his staff and colleagues. What is your favourite thing about working in your industry?

The horticulture sector is very diverse and made up of multiple different industries. I work across these industries and enjoy being able to facilitate the sharing between industries.

Has your industry changed (in general / for women) since you began? If so, how?

The research and development field within the horticulture sector has always employed and valued and employed both male and female employees, however there has been an increase in women in management roles over the past 30 years.

What is an accomplishment/career moment you’re proud of?

Throughout my career, I have been lucky enough to be part of many different teams working across a variety of projects. Some of these included “Grape Potential” in the 1990s, which saw us make significant advancements in the post-harvest management of table grapes and the development of our production

systems to focus on export markets. I was also part of the implementation team for the community developed salinity management plans which saw significant achievements in our management of both irrigation and salinity in the Sunraysia region. v

FACTS: WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE

Until 1994, no Australian woman was allowed to list their legal status as “farmer”

Women comprise more than 40% of Australia’s agricultural workforce but only 18% of management roles

37% of women in agriculture are also involved in volunteer or community activities, substantially higher than the national figure of 21%.

Dried grape import and export statistics from July 2020 to February 2021.

TOTAL DRIED GRAPE IMPORTS (TONNES) 2020 – 2021 DRIED GRAPE EXPORT DATA (AUD) JUL 2020 – FEB 2021

Table grape consumer behaviour

Harvest to Home insights on table grape consumer behaviour for the 52 weeks up to 21 March 2021.

75% buying households (ê 1%)

$45.10 annual spend (ê $4)

9 shopping occasions 8.5kg average annual weight (é .3kg)

RETAILER DOLLAR ($) GROWTH

SMALL SCALE FAMILIES SPENT THE MOST WITH $53.80 AVERAGE ANNUAL SPEND

SENIOR COUPLES BOUGHT THE MOST, WITH AVERAGE AMOUNT PURCHASED OF 10KG

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Future focus

A look to the year ahead

After harvest each year, it’s time to let everybody know about our plans for field day activities for the coming year.

This time it will be a little different as the current Hort Innovation funded DFA extension program finishes at the end of this financial year.

Given the end of the project is near, we actually made a start on this year’s program even before harvest began. In late January we had two significant events.

The first was a trial and field walk addressing the issue of late-season Botrytis control.

With help from NuFarm, we set up demonstrations on two properties on the use of Botector, a biological fungicide that can be used right up until harvest.

The key issues are that this product is completely different from any chemical spray we have used previously for the control of Botrytis.

It contains another very specific and much less damaging fungus that actually takes up all of the sites that botrytis would normally grow on.

This means that it must be in place before Botrytis starts to grow. You really only need to target the fruit with spray application, the product must be stored and used in a certain range of climatic conditions and it must not be used with some chemicals that can impede the Botector fungus.

In both the sprayed and unsprayed blocks, there really wasn’t any significant botrytis so for the demonstration this was a bit of a disappointment.

However, the event was really valuable for those attending as they had an update on whole-of-season Botrytis control from Dr Bob Emmett, and a chance to discuss how to use Botector with the NuFarm representative.

Our second event for the year was a research, development and extension planning forum. The forum included a cross-section of 22 industry participants, which was pleasing and manageable given the COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time. It was really pleasing to include representatives from Hort Innovation in the process.

The three major themes developed during the day were;

1. New equipment and automation

2. New trellis design and management systems

3. Education and training

These are now being developed in more detail to fit into potential new project applications for the industry. Thanks to all who participated.

The project took a break for harvest and now we are looking forward to activities for the remainder of the financial year.

We are still working through our trials on the use of Chlormequat on currants and will report back after our expert panel reviews the data.

The final collection of benchmarking data and a review of the past three years will soon take place. Participants will identify key messages that we will share with the industry.

We will also be able to keep industry up-to-date with outcomes

from our mechanical pruning development project.

Finally, we will have a display at the Mildura Field Days, so see you there if not before. v

Stuart Putland

Dried Fruits Australia field officer 03 5023 5174 projects@driedfruitsaustralia.org.au

Variety in the spotlight: Sunglo

Managing a successful dried fruit property is all about planning, balance and managing risk.

One way to offset and spread the risk of weather events through the season is to plan carefully and plant varieties that not only offer good returns, but also spread risk.

Planting varieties that ripen early, mid and late season means one weather event at an inopportune moment will not derail an entire harvest.

Likewise, planting varieties that ripen at varying points throughout the season also give property managers opportunities to efficiently manage harvest and labour.

Here, we highlight the Sunglo variety that ripens later in the season.

Sunglo is available from nurseries, and growers are encouraged to plan ahead and make orders now for future plantings.

Contact Dried Fruits Australia for the full Sunglo fact sheets, or contact your nursery. v

VARIETY: SUNGLO

At a glance: Sunglo is a seedless, high yielding, rain tolerant variety that produces a dried product similar to Sultana when treated with drying emulsion. Sunglo was named and released by the US Department of Agriculture and CSIRO in December 2010.

Product type: Considered a sultana type and cannot be differentiated from the standard dried product from Sultana.

Maturity: Ripens about 10 days later than Sultana. Optimum maturity levels for drying were achieved in the second week of March.

Storing and processing: The fruit stores very well prior to processing with excellent colour retention and good friability. Capstems are

IN THE BUSINESS OF DRYING FRUIT OR VEG?

Goman Foods is seeking expressions of interest for purchase of fruit and vegetable drying equipment.

Up for grabs are motors, starters, fans, burners, variable LPG controllers and cabling Two 22,000lt and two 11,000lt LPG tanks with road tanker unloading system.

- Pastro semi-auto tray decanter

- 5000 steel / mesh trays (940mm x 900 mm)

- 200 trolleys with greaseable castor wheels

Offers for all removable items will be considered.

Inspection available: Goman Foods, Campbell Street, Darlington Point, NSW

Contact Bruce on 0429684164 for all enquiries

easily removed during processing, ensuring minimal skin damage and maintenance of product quality.

Susceptibility to pests and diseases: Sunglo is not disease resistant. Standard applications of fungicides are required.

Rain tolerance: The rain tolerance of Sunglo has been proven in semicommercial sites when rain damage to Sultana caused major losses associated with berry splitting, berry abscission and mould development.

Key feature: Sunglo has the potential to offer consistently high yields. A trial of the variety grafted on Ramsey rootstock and managed on a swing-arm trellis, had an average dry yield of 9.6 t/ha, compared to 6.6 t/ha of Sultanas.

FOR SALE - EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Realising strategic trade solutions for industry growth

This summer season has presented a new combination of challenges for many of Australia’s fruit crops, writes Mathew Jones of Produce Plus.

These challenges have drawn attention to the value of building dynamic supply chains with strategic market access.

While air freight capacity has been impacted during the pandemic, it continues to be a unique point of differentiation for Australian grape exports competing against sea freight from countries such as Chile, Peru and South Africa.

Air freight has been used by importers to manage risk, able to scale up and down quickly to match demand while helping manage cash flow and quality.

The flexibility and effectiveness of market access is critical to enabling industry to realise demand and to pivot as markets require. One treatment that is proving strategic for this is irradiation.

This chemical-free option is recognised as generically effective for almost any insect in any crop. It is a rapid process that maintains the cold chain avoiding any risk of heat related damage. It offers a quality friendly, simple one stop solution for fruit fly.

Australian Table Grape Association CEO Jeff Scott said the ATGA was currently working with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and irradiation facility Steritech to “pursue additional irradiation protocols having seen the success in exports to Vietnam and New Zealand”.

“We hope to see the treatment added

for markets like Thailand in the short to mid-term,” Jeff said. “We also have efforts to pursue market access improvement by adding the treatment option to North East Asian market protocols.”

Irradiation is also a tool available for domestic trade. The success of domestic biosecurity is important to Australia’s export market access.

“A significant volume of Australia’s grape trade is reliant on ensuring South Australia and Tasmania remain fruit fly free,” Jeff said. “It would be good to see ICA-55 used more commonly for interstate trade of all fruit crops. The reliability and quality of the treatment protects Australian grape growers and enhances trade opportunities.”

Steritech fresh produce manager Ben Reilly recently spoke with Produce Plus, sharing that ICA-55 had been used more widely this season.

“We have experienced a large increase in premium interstate consignments of summer fruit, mangoes, berries and fruiting veg,” Ben said. “This has been shipping via market agents to leading independent retailers in Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.”

“Australia uses irradiation for fruit shipping east to west to protect Queensland fruit fly (Q-fly) free states. I would like to see the Melbourne facility used to equally protect eastern states from Mediterranean fruit fly (Med-fly).

“The Melbourne x-ray facility is set up to securely receive and treat interstate shipments however states must establish operational work plans to allow the fruit access to the facility.

“Irradiation is one of the most reliable end point treatments available in the fight against fruit fly. In over 15 years

of use we have had zero treatment failures identified. A perfect record.”

Produce Plus visited Steritech’s Melbourne x-ray facility late last year to see the latest generation of irradiation technology in use. The highly automated process operates by turning electricity into x-rays.

Since this visit, Steritech has commissioned the facility’s first stage of solar infrastructure, which will offset more than 3500 pallets of fruit treatments per year. v

Mathew Jones

Produce Plus www.fruitnet.com/produceplus

High priority exotic pest threat

ANGULAR LEAF SCORCH AND ROTBRENNER

Angular leaf scorch, found in in North America, and rotbrenner found in Europe (particularly France and Germany), are caused by two related types of Pseudopezicula fungus.

Particular grapevine cultivars vary greatly in their susceptibility to the diseases, and the amount of damage they cause varies from season to season. With prolonged rains the fungi can cause severe crop losses. Both species can overwinter in dead leaves on the ground, producing spores in early spring that infect the new season’s growth, attacking leaves, flowers and fruit stalks.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of both angular leaf scorch and rotbrenner are predominantly seen on leaves. Lesions first appear as faint, yellowing spots which enlarge, changing from yellow to reddish-brown before the tissue eventually dies.

Lesions are typically confined by the major veins and the edge of the leaf and may be several centimetres wide.

On white-fruited cultivars the lesions are initially yellow. On red and blackfruited cultivars lesions are typically

bright red to reddish-brown.

Late season infections may look like freckled spots. Infected leaves often fall from the vine prematurely.

Both pathogens may attack flowers before or during bloom, causing them to rot and dry out. Only the fruit stalks (pedicels) are attacked, not the bunch stem (rachis). In severe cases, the berries are destroyed, leaving the rachis of the cluster bearing only a few individual berries or none at all.

Protecting your vineyard

Both angular leaf scorch and rotbrenner could spread to Australia in infected cuttings. Once in a vineyard, they are spread through water and airborne spores.

To protect your vineyard against Pseudopezicula fungi:

- Source high health status plant material (preferably certified) only from reliable and accredited suppliers.

- Check your vineyard frequently for the presence of new pests and investigate any sick grapevines for unusual symptoms.

- Make sure you are familiar with common grapevine pests so you can tell if you see something different.

- Keep records of anything unusual.

- Ensure all staff and visitors adhere to on-farm biosecurity and hygiene practices.v

If you notice anything unusual in your vineyard call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline 1800 084 881.

This series from Plant Health

Australia, the national coordinator of the government-industry partnership for plant biosecurity in Australia, features exotic pests that would survive, spread and establish in Australian vineyards should they get through border quarantine controls. Growers should be familiar with their appearance and symptoms so that they can distinguish them from the pests that they normally encounter.

Left: Angular leaf scorch on grapevine leaf, changing from yellow to brown as the tissue gradually dies. Image: M. Sosnowski, South Australian Research and Development Institute

Right:Rotbrenner infected tissue changes from yellow to reddish-brown before the tissue eventually dies. Image: Agroscope ACW, Werner Siegfried

Operation mealybug

They might be tiny and slow-moving, but mealybugs have caused a swift mid-to-late season infestation in table grape vineyards in Sunraysia.

Mealybug populations are generally controlled naturally by a range of beneficial predatory and parasitic insects. But when natural biological control is inadequate, favourable breeding conditions occur, and spray program applications become out of sync, populations build up in the midto-late season in the vineyard, enabling a perfect storm.

A perfect storm

Mealybugs prefer mild warm weather with temperatures about 25°C and high relative humidity. Hot dry conditions in summer can kill juveniles and reduce mealybug infestations, but this year’s summer in Sunraysia – lacking its usual weeks’ long heatwaves of 40°C or greater – presented an opportunity ripe for mealybugs to strike.

Growers expecting mealybugs to build up in November or December did not recognise the shift in the season, or realise that their spray treatments would be thrown off their spray schedule and couldn’t be enacted by date.

Growers who waited for the first sign of mealybugs in the crown, or among fruit, applied their initial spray too late to achieve control.

Numbers would have already been building to significant levels by the time growers became aware of the rapidly developing issue, which meant that eradication programs were reactive, rather than proactive. Replacing some of the previously used chemistry with new and unfamiliar

chemicals has also impacted treatment programs.

Timing is everything! Proactive treatment begins while mealybugs are still in debris and under bark on trunks. Using summer oil or systemic insecticides to control the population in the early season has minimum impact on the beneficial insects that help control mealybug outbreaks.

Pest identification and damage

Infested table grape bunches are unmarketable. The mealybugs are unsightly and sooty moulds grow on the honeydew that mealybugs produce.

Mealybugs have also been identified as vectors that transmit grapevine viruses, especially leafroll-associated viruses. Some of these viruses can reduce vine growth, yield and fruit quality, and may cause graft incompatibilities.

Long-tailed and other mealybugs

Adult mealybugs are soft-bodied, flattened, oval shaped insects covered in secreted white powdery wax. They have characteristic filaments around the edges of their bodies and are around 5mm long. They live in colonies predominantly composed of adult wingless females, eggs and nymphs (juveniles).

Various species of pest mealybugs can be found in Australian vineyards. Body filaments and the colour of body contents of mealybugs can be used for their identification:

- the long-tailed mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus) has pale yellow body contents and long tail filaments

- the citrophilus mealybug (Pseudococcus calceolariae) has dark-red body contents, and short, thick tail filaments.

- the obscure mealybug (Pseudococcus viburni) has orange body contents and short, thin tail filaments.

Vigilance is key

Australia has continuing pressure from mealybug. It’s not a matter of if but when, so growers must remain vigilant and proactive, not just reactive.

Even young vines and new plantings play host. Growers must inspect and be prepared to treat young vines early in the season.

Waiting until there is evidence of adults on the crown is too late, growers should monitor vine trunks by removing bark to check for dormant insects early in the season, and continue monitoring throughout the season, noting first appearance of crawlers to establish an effective early eradication program.

Some agronomists recommend treating earlier with oils and systemic applications before mealybugs are visible. This is key to prevent the first generation of crawlers from surviving.

Frequent or poorly timed use of contact chemicals in the vineyard will reduce beneficial insect populations. An integrated pest management program will increase the effectiveness of natural predators.

It is important to ensure vineyard hygiene programs are kept in place. Canopy and trunk hygiene management will reduce hiding places and allow eradication programs to be of more use.

Vineyard workers should also be made aware of transference risks through equipment, and machinery should be cleaned between patches.

Post-harvest treatment program

For early varieties, straight after harvest, while the vine is still active, some agronomists recommend applying a systemic treatment.

Later varieties may not be actively growing after harvest, so systemic treatments wouldn't be very effective: wait until after leaf fall to gain better access to the vine. Prune and remove trunk bark to expose overwintering mealybug and apply a contact treatment.

From budburst, be vigilant, looking under bark and on shoots for the first signs of crawlers, and then apply a contact spray to keep numbers low.

Before making any chemical choices, read the product labels carefully, be aware of any risks to foraging bees, and check MRLs of your export markets. v

Instar I

Instar I

Instar II

Instar II

Instar III

Instar III

Pupae Pre pupae

Spray diary to go digital

Growers and processors will soon have a more streamlined, convenient and reliable way to monitor and communicate chemical use through a digitised spray diary.

Dried Fruits Australia received $30,000 through the Australian Government’s Traceability Grants Program to digitise the industry spray diary.

Dried Fruits Australia was one of 14 projects to receive funding under the program.

DFA chief executive officer Anne Mansell said the national industry body published the spray diary each year, detailing the latest Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) and acting as a vital element of supply chain communication.

“Each year there are changes to MRLs and the industry – including our growers, processors and marketers –needs to be aware of changes to ensure we can maintain our export markets,” Anne said.

“MRLs are ever-changing, particularly in key export markets in Europe and Asia, so it’s important that we’re proactive in meeting guidelines.

“The digitised version of the spray diary will give growers another way to keep up-to-date on MRLs and record chemical use in real time, with that information able to be shared seamlessly to processors.

“We thank the Australian Government for this grant and look forward to delivering this project for our industry.”

Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said the grant would provide an opportunity to modernise an important part of the dried grape industry.

“The Dried Fruits Australia Industry Spray Diary will assist producers to monitor their own chemical usage. It will also provide them with timely information on which chemicals can be used, when they can be used and changes to Maximum Residue Limits,” he said.

“This grant will be used to create real-

time traceability in the Australian dried fruits supply chain.

“Ensuring compliance with MRLs is important for access to international markets. This project will assist producers to log their chemical usage more efficiently and to maintain awareness of MRLs for export markets.

“Not only will the digital spray diary make life simpler for producers, but it will also assist in securing the industry’s supply chain between producers, processors and marketers."

Minister Littleproud said the round two recipients of the Traceability Grants Program would give Australian exporters the competitive edge.

“We know that consumers in Australia and internationally want greater transparency and real-time advice about the origin and safety of products in the modern digital marketplace,” he said.

Anne said DFA will work with growers, processors and key stakeholders to develop the user-friendly digitised spray diary, which is expected to be ready to use for the 2023 season. v

Protection of the Ralli Seedless

We pride ourselves on the high quality that Ralli Seedless have come to be known for.

We’ve received many enquiries about the availability of Ralli Seedless vines and cuttings from next year - once its PBR protection expires.

It’s important that industry members understand that this expiry does not put G & I Ralli & Sons Pty Ltd’s (“G & I Ralli”) rights in the Ralli Seedless vines into public domain.

All Ralli Seedless vines that are in the possession of nurseries or growers have been supplied by G & I Ralli (or else are illegal), which has never sold the rights of ownership of any Ralli Seedless vines, cuttings or plant material and has only granted leases or licences to the right to grow or propagate fruit from such vines, cuttings or plant material.

The PBR expiry next year does not change the fact that all of those vines, cuttings and plant material are still the property of G & I Ralli. Any person who attempts to deal with them in a way inconsistent with our company’s property rights will be pursued to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Anyone parting with possession of Ralli Seedless vines, cuttings and plant material or purporting to sell or lease the same, without our company’s prior written approval, or in any other way to deal with them free of our company’s rights and not subject to our prior approval will be, in effect, dealing with our company’s property illegally. Our company would, in such circumstances, be entitled to take court action whether a private prosecution under the criminal law for theft or under the civil law for conversion and it will not hesitate to do so if necessary.

We welcome all enquiries pertaining to the supply of Ralli Seedless vines, cuttings or plant material.

Please contact: Joe Ralli joe@ralliseedless.com.au m: 0427 375 625

A challenging harvest season

AUSTRALIAN PREMIUM DRIED FRUITS

The 2021 season has supplied its usual list of challenges for growers and processors alike.

The original estimates of the crop were once again impacted by weather and yield issues.

Firstly, the weather was as unpredictable as ever. The severe hail storm in the Nangiloc area on New Year’s Day put us well and truly on the back foot, as this created a big hole in our estimated volumes before we even started the harvest.

Then a couple of early rain events in January and February had us on high alert. For once, we seemed to get some reasonable luck in missing much of the major storm activity across the east coast of Australia through March.

Overall the drying season has been very good, considering the predicted forecast of a wet season produced by the La Nina. Some longer hot weather periods would have been better than the regular mild weather conditions, but we can be relatively happy with how the weather treated us from late February onwards.

Secondly, the yield per hectare was not as anticipated. There are some success stories on better than average yields, which there always are each season, but the majority of bin weights received were surprisingly low compared to the prediction.

The good growing conditions in spring and summer helped produce advanced maturity levels in most cases. Brix levels of the fruit were excellent and this created an expectation of heavier bin weights than an average season.

For example, an average bin of Thompson sultana weighs 400-450kg in any given season.

We have seen in seasons where fruit has high sugar levels (i.e. 2018) where

bins can consistently weigh more than 500kg. This heavier weight can have a very positive impact for both grower and processor in terms of the total weight produced/received.

Although we saw some strong results in bin weights for early varieties like Diamond and Summer Muscat, this failed to flow through to the main sultana varieties of Thompson, Sunmuscat and Sunglo.

Thirdly, the average yields from most vineyards was down on an average year, when things looked quite promising in spring from the early bunch counts.

Therefore, between the hail losses, lighter bin weights and lower yields, we are dealing with an underwhelming volume of fruit in 2021. The supply shortage we have had for a number of years has not been resolved with the 2021 harvest, so we still wait in anticipation for the much-needed growth.

Growth for the future

Our new developments should bear fruit in coming seasons, so this volume combined with our traditional grower base should bring some critical mass back to the industry which is desperately needed.

We still have strong market demand for our products, but it is a very difficult situation to keep the customers satisfied with a reduction in volume from the 2020 season. All customers will be offered less volume than the previous season when they are looking to grow with us.

Hopefully this can start to happen from the 2022 season and beyond, so we ask Mother Nature to be kinder to us next season.

APDF are very committed to our traditional grower base and hope that the pricing and grades delivered are proof of our commitment to our

“Fairness to Growers” core value.

Overall, the feedback on grades has been very positive this season, which we have been very pleased to hear. We are keen to grow our number and volume with local growers, so please get in touch with us to discuss long- term partnerships and be part of our exciting future growth.v

Enquiries:

Grower liaison officer

Larry Dichiera | 0488 199 221 larry@apdf.com.au

Strong demand as season ends

SUNBEAM FOODS & ANGAS PARK

The 2020/2021 harvest season for all dried fruits is coming to a close. Comparing this year’s crops to 2020, the dried vine fruit intake will be up, prunes will be slightly down and dried tree fruit is also up on the previous season.

We continue to see strong demand for all of our dried fruits from export, industrial and retail markets.

Dried vine fruit

The season was shaping up well, the weather through to the start of harvest was perfect, the vines were in great condition and the crop looked good.

The La Nina weather pattern started to have an influence right at the point of harvest, delivering some rain that we could have done without.

There was a huge threat from an easterly rain front which, while not eventuating, brought with it a cooler, more humid weather pattern.

The season’s daily temperatures did not produce the “normal” seasonal conditions and we only experienced a couple of hot days among the very cool nights and milder daily temperatures. The flow-on effect of the mild conditions was the deceleration of the drying process, resulting in a more amber coloured fruit.

The grade is one of the important quality parameters of the fruit, as are the other attributes that affect the overall quality including stalk and stem levels, moisture and foreign objects.

It is pleasing that the fruit supplied this season has very low levels of the adjustment factors applied, maximising grower returns.

The lack of harvest labour affected a

small number of growers.

The majority of growers are set up for mechanical harvesting, relying on less seasonal labour, but there were still some anxious moments around staff availability during cutting and harvesting operations.

Digital spray diary

Dried Fruits Australia has been successful in receiving a Federal Government grant to digitise the industry spray diary.

This will give growers and processors timely information on chemical use and any restrictions that are imposed on dried fruit production.

Sunbeam is looking forward to assisting Dried Fruits Australia and our growers in the establishment of this valuable tool to ensure that our products are well below the evertightening chemical maximum residue limits, both in Australia and overseas.

Prunes

The weather events leading up to harvest were far from ideal.

The above average rainfall and the sudden climb in temperatures caused significant fruit drop. Some growers reported drop of up to 50 per cent in some patches.

This drop, accompanied by an opportunistic Sugar Plum market, has substantially reduced the dried prune crop.

The quality received has been very good and grading indications are that the fruit size will be larger than the 2020 crop.

World prune production has quickly come back to be in a slightly undersupply situation.

This is on the back of disastrous weather experienced in the major northern hemisphere growing regions and a clearing of the oversupplied French product.

The international market price is trending upward, but this is likely to be a temporary situation.

Dried tree fruit

The quantity of dried apricots supplied to Angas Park is up on the previous season.

This is a pleasing result considering there was some lost volume due to the restriction around fruit fly and apricot harvesting.

The overall quality and size of the dried fruit presented this season has been good.

The planning for the 2021/22 crop is under way and an important area is fruit fly control.

There is a heavy emphasis from all areas of the industry on identifying and eradicating the problem and hopefully these measures will eliminate the issues we faced in 2020/21. v

Enquiries:

Supply manager dried fruit

David Swain | 0407 834 044

Field officer (including SA)

Alan Lister | 0409 437 801

Field officer

Gary Simpson | 0429 960 234

Dried tree fruit operations manager (Loxton)

Luke Fitzsimmons | 0431 894 515

Delivering on organic promise

MURRAY RIVER ORGANICS

Murray River Organics (MRO) is well known in Mildura as a grower, cultivating organic dried vine fruit in the area for over a decade. However, for customers we are a company who has in many ways flown under the radar. That is, of course, until now.

Launching our retail range in early 2020, MRO defined our mission with clarity and determination; to make clean, delicious, organic ingredients accessible to all.

A little over 12 months later and Murray River Organics is fast becoming a household name with a presence in all the major retailers and an ever-expanding organics range.

The hero of our range has of course been our own-grown sultanas, with MRO creating new opportunities for the dried fruit in categories such as confectionery and breakfast.

Though the ingredient has largely

been a support player, featuring in trail and muesli mixes or being coated in delicious mylk chocolate, it has been a focus of our brand to find a presence for our hero harvest as a stand-alone ingredient.

A win for consumers

Just as the vine fruit harvest wraps up in Mildura, Murray River Organics are celebrating a massive win with our own-grown organic sultanas hitting shelves in a multi-pack format across Woolworths nationally. Their inclusion in the baking/dried fruit and nut aisle makes them one of just a few kid-friendly organic sultana options available in the section.

Typically, the coveted baking and dried fruit aisle sees little change year to year. The inclusion of not just one, but seven new organic MRO products shows a shift to include more natural, clean ingredients on retail shelves.

The true winners though are the Australian households who can now enjoy their favourite lunch snack, 100% organic, free from nasties, at an

affordable price and in an accessible location.

Our marketing team continues their work in growing demand for Australian grown sultanas and organic ingredients. As part of our launch, MRO partnered with several likeminded brands to give their audience a chance at winning an ultimate pantry hamper which of course featured the MRO own-grown sultanas.

Communications will continue to roll out across nationally distributed print and digital channels for the new range. To find out more visit murrayriverorganics.com.au v

Enquiries: Birol Akdogan bakdogan@murrayriverorganics.com.au

Domestic campaign

RESULTS HOLD FIRM THROUGHOUT CHALLENGING SEASON

Interim results from Hort Innovation’s domestic table grape marketing campaign are in, with strong results on social media.

Burst 1 (November–January) and Burst 2 (January–March) activity of the Australian table grapes domestic marketing campaign are now complete, generating strong results so far.

In total so far the campaign has reached over 1.6 million people (reach is the total number of people who have seen the content) and has generated over six million impressions (an impression is the total number of time the content was displayed on a user’s screen).

While in Western Australia, the bespoke campaign encouraging WA consumers to purchase more WA local grapes has generated over 1.2 million impressions.

The top performing content both nationally and in WA has been the newly developed 6 second and 15 second videos, which showcase eating occasions and Australian grape recipes.

So far the campaign has generated a strong engagement rate of 5.35%, compared to the industry average of 1% (an engagement rate measures the level of interaction [e.g. likes, comments, saves, shares of posts] that is generated by the content).

There has been strong positive community sentiment in the form of engagement on social posts, with grape lovers commenting how much they enjoy grapes and the serving suggestions/recipes in the content.

Burst 3 activity (amplifying content across social media) has been extended to support later season varieties and promote grapes until the end of the season. Activity will continue until May, after which final results and campaign evaluation will be shared with the industry.

Despite strong results on social media, consumer insights from Hort Innovation’s Harvest to Home project reported table grape domestic sales up to 21 March 2021 were in decline (-8.3 per cent) by dollar value, but slightly on the rise by volume (+3.3 per cent). Average weight purchased by kilograms rose from 8.2kg to 8.5kg. v

SOIL SURVEY

Qualified for soil survey and land evaluation - 30 years’ experience throughout Australia

- Soil amelioration, crop suitability, rootzone depths

- Readily available water (RAW) for irrigation

Contact: geoff@soilprofile.com.au | m 0409 690 46

Top: Target Western Australian marketing content on the Australian Grapes Facebook page. Below: A still image from a short reel-like video on Facebook, promoting the benefits of eating grapes.

What the tech?

DEMYSTIFYING AGTECH BUZZWORDS

The demands on a grower are ever-increasing. In the world of modern farming practices, a grower must wear many hats. The hype surrounding digital agriculture continues, with technologies popping up on a daily basis determined to provide cost-effective, efficient and smarter solutions for growers. But what do all these agtech buzzwords mean? We take a look at nine of the most common concepts and what they mean.

LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), also called “laser scanning” or “3D scanning”, uses eye-safe laser beams to create 3D representations of a surveyed environment. A LiDAR sensor emits pulsed light waves into the surrounding environment. The pulses bounce off surrounding objects and return to the sensor, which calculates the distance travelled by using the time it took for each pulse to return to the sensor. LiDAR is used in agriculture to create digital elevations models (slope, elevation and aspect), vegetation models (location, canopy height), and for erosion control (water flow, catchments, soil loss).

NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) is a method of determining crop health by measuring the index of plant greenness, or photosynthetic activity. NDVI is calculated on a per-pixel basis as the normalised difference between the red and near infrared bands of an image. NDVI imagery helps farmers and agronomists identify variability and anomalies in their paddocks, track growth performance and create variable rate maps. NDVI can also be used to track crop growth in-season, forecast yield, understand crop dynamics and track hail, storm, drift or front events, and determine picking strategies, among others.

Blockchain is revolutionising and accelerating the agriculture industry’s move toward greater transparency. A type of distributed ledger which houses and manages data, Blockchain has huge benefits to agriculture including farmto-shelf tracing – which aids authenticity of products – increased transparency in supply chains, enables instant transactions, streamlines inventory management and connects in with AgTech and the Internet of Things (IoT). Having one unalterable source of information about your farm, stock and contracts could reduce inefficiencies, so that as a grower, you only have one place to record information.

LiDAR

Blockchain

NDVI

Traceability

The journey of fruit is fast becoming an important one, with consumers wanting to expand their knowledge of not only where they grapes come from, but the journey they took to get from grapevine to lunchbox. Traceability allows the grape supply chain and its consumers to follow the movement of a bunch, box, pallet, container of grapes through stages of production, from growth to packing, distribution and export. Increasing traceability through Blockchain technology will help to ensure each cog in the supply chain is accountable for its role.

Internet of things (IoT)/sensors

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of objects connected wirelessly using sensors, which can transmit information to each other, or a wider network, without human intervention. Connected objects can include humans, animals, plants, and infrastructure (e.g., equipment, buildings). While sensing data is not new, technology advancements in cost, quality, and robustness of sensors and enabling data analysis and connectivity technologies have accelerated the potential of the IoT for agriculture. IoT allows devices across a farm to measure data remotely and provide the information to a grower in real time.

Precision farming/ agriculture

Known as precision ag/ agriculture, precision farming is the science of improving crop yields and assisting management decisions using technology and data at many stages of farming. Agricultural land is variable and grape properties are located on a huge variety of land types, with a range of soil types and soil properties. Precision farming helps identify ways to increase productivity with greater environmental constraints, optimising inputs to maximise profitability and enabling industry to respond to market opportunities. Precision farming includes the adoption of technology such as control systems, sensors, robotics, drones, and autonomous vehicles.

Big data

Big data is a term that describes the large volume of data – both structured and unstructured –that inundates businesses on a day-to-day basis. This technology is playing an progressively essential role in agriculture as the amount of information collected on and around farms increases. The ability to track physical items, collect real-time data, and forecast scenarios could be a real game changer in production practices. Big data can be processed, mined and analysed by big data and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to help growers make smart decisions about variety/crop choice, ethical chemical use, optimising farm equipment, managing supply chain issues and more.

Autonomous systems/robotics

Shorter working days, greater efficiency, better work-life balance – automation in agriculture has been creating a buzz for years. Robot harvesters, self-driving tractors, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones), and other autonomous systems, can support the role of the grower by completing the time-consuming or menial tasks. Many factors are precipitating the trend toward precision farming supplemented by technology (including robotics), including the cost and availability of labour, diminishing availability and increasing cost of water, political and regulatory procedures and hold-ups; limited acreage; better, cheaper and faster technological automation products; and climate change.

Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials can exist in nature or be manufactured. They are tiny – measured in nanometres, which is one billionth of a metre! Because of their very small size and unique chemical, optical, electronic or mechanical properties, nanomaterials can be used to manufacture products that are much smaller, lighter, reactive or soluble than conventional products. Currently, nanomaterials are most commonly used in medicine, environmental science and food processing, but they present opportunities in improving seed germination and growth, plant protection, pathogen detection, and pesticide/herbicide residue detection, as well as the development of intelligent food packaging.

Profile Michael Treeby

Michael Treeby has worked in many areas of the dried grape industry, from growing to research and industry development. The current team leader of Agriculture Victoria’s Horticulture Production Science research group sheds light on his career and the changes he’s seen along the way.

How long have you been involved in the dried fruit industry? What is your family history in the industry?

Both my grandfathers were soldier settlers at Red Cliffs following WWI, and my parents in turn owned and ran my paternal grandfather’s original allocation. My wife and I purchased that block and ran it in partnership as a wine/dried grape enterprise from about 1992 until the present. We completely re-developed the dried grape part of the property first on the Christmas tree trellis and then over to the swing arm. We only produce Sunmuscat.

How did your career begin and what path did it take?

I studied agricultural science at La Trobe, and after a brief stint with the Victorian Department of Agriculture (as it was known then) I returned to La Trobe and completed a PhD there on plant mineral nutrition/physiology in 1986. I was a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Institute for Plant Mineral Nutrition at Hohenheim University near Stuttgart in West Germany for two years before being awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship to work with CSIRO Horticulture at Merbein.

I transitioned from that to a Research Scientist and was at CSIRO until 2007. That year I took up a position with NSW DPI at Dareton.

I came back across the river in 2015 to lead the Agriculture Victoria research group here at Irymple.

What industries have you researched in?

Citrus, table grapes and wine grapes, and more recently temperate nuts with a strong focus on almonds. I was also involved for a time at CSIRO on high pressure processing of fruit as a means of preserving fresh fruit quality.

What key areas of the dried grape industry/production have you researched over the years?

Vine mineral nutrition − particularly nitrogen because it is most often the most limiting nutrient in our sandy soils − and how to manage vine nutrition to ensure that the vines can take full advantage of the advanced trellising system and vineyard layouts being used.

What changes within the dried grape industry have you seen throughout your career?

The adoption of mechanised production systems based on vigour imparting rootstocks and advanced trellising systems. I’ve also observed that the strong “gadget day” ethos of sharing ideas/innovations remains strong.

Reflecting on your career so far, what moments or achievements have been highlights?

Others can make that judgement.

What do you see for the future of the dried grape industry?

A highly productive mechanised industry profitably and reliably producing sought-after premium dried vine fruit for discerning customers around the globe. v

Pictured: Michael Treeby is Agriculture Victoria’s Horticulture Production Science research group team leader and is on both the dried grape and table grape Strategic Investment Advisory Panel.

Notice board

BOARD

Mark King (Chair) Producer, Pomona

Warren Lloyd (Deputy Chair) Producer, Irymple

Jenny Treeby Producer, Red Cliffs

Stephen Bennett Producer, Merbein

Tony Martin Producer, Merbein

Luke Lory Producer, Loxton

BOARD

Jeremey Boyd (Chair), Victoria

Rocky Mammone (Deputy Chair), Victoria

Nick Muraca Victoria

David Agg South Australia

Dominic Sergi Victoria

ATGA Industry development team members Alison MacGregor and Jenny Treeby conducted their first meetand-greet visits with Queensland growers in late April, after making the trek to St George, Emerald and Mundubbera. The team were welcomed by a number of growers in each of the regions.

Top: Jenny Treeby with Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ David Oag, and Riversands’ David Blacket in St George.

Middle: Alison MacGregor with Emerald grower Glenn Pearmine

Below: Jenny with Borderland managers John Taylor and Liz Childs at Mundubbera

Ashley Johnstone Producer, Irymple

David Swain Sunbeam Foods

Grant Leyden Sunbeam Foods

Craig Greenwood

Australian Premium Dried Fruits

Michael Scalzo

Australian Premium Dried Fruits

Adrian Cordoma Victoria

Joe Garreffa New South Wales

Peter Nuich Western Australia

Mark Leng Queensland

Disclaimer: Dried Fruits Australia, the Australian Table Grape Association and Hort Innovation acknowledge contributions made by private enterprise through placement of advertisements in this publication. Acceptance of these contributions does not endorse or imply endorsement of any product or service advertised by contributors and we expressly disclaim all warranties (to the extent permitted by law) about the accuracy, completeness, or currency of information in the Vine. Reliance on any information provided in the Vine is entirely at your own risk. Dried Fruits Australia, the Australian Table Grape Association and Hort Innovation are not responsible for, and will not be liable for, any loss, damage, claim, expense, cost (including legal costs) or other liability arising in any way, including from any person’s negligence or otherwise, or from reliance on information contained in the Vine, or your use or non-use of the material.

Copyright © Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited 2021. Copyright subsists in the Vine. Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (Hort Innovation) owns the copyright, other than as permitted under the Copyright ACT 1968 (Cth). The Vine (in part or as a whole) cannot be reproduced, published, communicated or adapted without the prior written consent of Hort Innovation and both ATGA and DFA.

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