Dried grape news

Delivering on priorities

INNOVATION AND ADOPTION PROGRAM 2021-26

DFA and Hort Innovation have signed a five-year contract for the delivery of our industry innovation and adoption program.

The dried grape industry’s research, development and extension needs were prioritised in January this year.

The process was facilitated by DFA and supported by Hort Innovation and involved consultation with representatives from across the supply chain.

The following activity areas were identified as a priorities for our industry:

- Supporting new investment decisions

- Building industry capacity through innovation and extension outreach

- New innovations for dried grape production systems.

The primary aim of this project over the next five years is to work with dried grape producers in delivering these priorities through the promotion and exchange of leading and emerging research and knowledge on innovative production techniques that will assist with productivity improvements.

Included in this will be a midterm review that will assess research work on potential on-farm production methodologies and further innovations that can add to overall efficiencies and growth of tonnes per hectare.

Field day events will, again, be the backbone of the program.

These will primarily comprise combined workshops and field walk formats.

They will focus on a mixture of technologies and ideas new to the industry along with development within existing properties and production systems.

Where technically possible, all events will be filmed and made available for the whole industry on the DFA YouTube channel. This will make all the information easily available to all dried grape growers in Australia.

Events will be promoted via DFA's Currant News and we will continue to keep growers up to date with what we are doing through articles like this in the Vine magazine.

As part of this project, every second year, a dried grape research planning forum will be held with representation from growers, processors, Hort Innovation and viticultural industry researchers to ensure any innovative or new developments that enhance productivity and growth for the dried grape industry can be assessed and incorporated into this or future projects.

Experience from within the industry shows that new investors need support to understand the nature of this highly specialised viticultural industry. To meet that demand, the project will help facilitate new and expanding producers with one-on-one sessions

using GrapeInvest, an online investment model that can be used to test assumptions using best practice industry information.

This work will be supported with the development and production of a dried grape vineyard design best practice book and updating of fact sheets outlining some of the varietal selections available for planting.

The research work in the project will support the outcomes of the 2021 Dried Grape Biennial RD&E planning forum.

A demonstration of a new latch system to improve the efficiency of tipping over swing arm trellis will be established and a desktop review of potential new production systems aimed at reducing the costs of production, while still retaining the benefits of the current production system, will be completed.

This review will be the basis of future investment in trials to investigate new production systems. v Stuart Putland Dried Fruits Australia field officer 03 5023 5174 projects@driedfruitsaustralia.org.au

“Suppliers of improved grapevine rootstock and scion wood to the grape industry” Contact Gary Thomas Tel: (03) 5022 8499 Mob: 0418 997 730 PO Box 5051, Mildura Vic 3502 Email: vamvvia@bigpond.com

Please see website for more information & order forms www.vamvvia.org