managing for maximum productivity and quality
TRANSCRIPT
Managing for maximum
productivity and quality
Simon Newett
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Nambour, Queensland
Today s talk
1. Phytophthora root rot
2. Irrigation
3. Nutrition
4. Canopy management
5. Spotting bug
1. Phytophthora root rot
Managing root rot is your highest priority and always will be.
“Never let up”!
How far can this car go?
Trees with root rot
do t ha e heels !
Drainage is your highest priority
1. 1 to 1.5m well drained soil
2. Ensure that water lies nowhere!
3. Plant on mounds
Timing is CRITICAL for phos acid!!
- for applications (and monitoring)
Once spring leaf flush has hardened
& feeder roots actively growing:
• Sick trees – inject all
• Healthy trees – inject or spray if
root level is less than 90ppm
Once summer leaf flush has
hardened & feeder roots
actively growing:
• Main time to apply phos acid
to all trees (8 week window)
• Sick trees must be injected
• Healthy trees can be sprayed
or injected
Key practices for root rot
Follow the Phytophthora management poster
NO SHORT CUTS!
1. Excellent drainage & plant trees on mounds
2. Test level of phosphorous acid in feeder roots
3. Apply phosphorous acid every autumn
4. Apply phosphorous acid in spring if needed
5. Inject sick trees
6. Inject OR spray healthy trees
7. Ensure correct timing of phos acid applications
8. Do t o e ate . Redu e irrigation to sick trees
YouTube video in BPR
It is on your far a d it o t go a ay!
Give it half a chance it will get away from you
After Phytophthora root rot management
irrigation is probably the next highest priority.
2. Irrigation
Avocado orchard management
priorities in Chile
1.Irrigation
2.Irrigation
3.Irrigation
4.Nutrition and pruning
Francisco Mena, leading avocado researcher &
consultant
The irrigation conundrum
Avocados have a high water requirement
and are inefficient at taking up water . . .
but they are also sensitive to wet soils
because feeder roots have a high oxygen
requirement & they are prone to root rot
Consequences of under watering
Moisture stress = fruit drop
Water stress = ringneck (incomplete abscission)
Water stress = death of seed coat = small fruit
Water stress in first 6 weeks after fruitset = poor
shelf life due to low calcium levels
Water stress = poor quality fruit
e.g. vascular browning
Consequences of over watering
U de -irrigating will affect
o e seaso s p odu tio , but over-irrigating will affect
several yea s
Francisco Mena, Chile, 2015
Phytophthora root rot
Drowned avocado tree
Waterlogging = fruit fall &
uneven ripening
How to estimate water need?
1.Water used by tree is directly related
to evaporation
2.If daily evaporation is 10mm water,
trees will need 10mm x crop factor
e.g. 10 x 0.7 = 7mm
3.Sometimes, e.g. during flowering or
leaf flush, crop factor may be 1 or
more
The o ept of RAW
Readily A aila le Water
RAW is the water that a plant
can easily extract from the soil
Drainage
Water availability for avocado
Not
available
Limited
availability Readily
available water
(RAW)
Saturated soil 0 kPa
Wilting
point
Refill point -20 kPa
Full point
- 8 kPa
Dry soil -1500 kPa
Refill point for grapes
-40 to -60 kPa
Readily Available Water (RAW) for avocado
Soil
texture
Soil water extractable
between -8 and -
20kPa for avocado
(mm/cm)
(assumes 0.5% OM)
Sand 0.33
Sandy
loam
0.46
Sandy
clay loam
0.39
Clay loam 0.30
From: Waterwise on the farm, NSW DPI Fact sheet,
2004
Readily Available Water (RAW) for avocado
Example: Sandy loam
Main root zone 20cm
20 x 0.46 = 9mm
Soil
texture
Soil water extractable
between -8 and -
20kPa for avocado
(mm/cm)
(assumes 0.5% OM)
Sand 0.33
Sandy
loam
0.46
Sandy
clay loam
0.39
Clay loam 0.30
From: Waterwise on the farm, NSW DPI Fact sheet,
2004
Readily Available Water (RAW) for avocado
Example: Sandy loam
Main root zone 20cm
20 x 0.46 = 9mm
RAW can be increased by 3 - 4mm for every 1% increase in soil organic matter.
Soil
texture
Soil water extractable
between -8 and -
20kPa for avocado
(mm/cm)
(assumes 0.5% OM)
Sand 0.33
Sandy
loam
0.46
Sandy
clay loam
0.39
Clay loam 0.30
From: Waterwise on the farm, NSW DPI Fact sheet,
2004
Any moisture stress will affect fruit size
Irrigation is a key component in
achieving high yields of good quality &
good sized avocados.
For avocados a very focussed and
responsive approach to moisture
monitoring and irrigation is required.
Most critical time for soil moisture
Key times of cycle for moisture
FRUIT GROWTH GRAPH IS S SHAPED (sigmoidal)
Sep Apr Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar May
Fruit
growth
Phase of
exponential
fruit growth
The most critical time to
irrigate for fruit size is
during the 12 weeks after
fruitset when fruit is
growing exponentially
Key practices for irrigation
1. Only plant what you can fully irrigate
2. Design system to cater for peak demand
3. Calculate Readily Available Water (RAW)
4. Install soil moisture monitoring devices
and have a secondary system
5. Monitor soil moisture at least daily
6. Establish Full and Refill points and keep
moisture between these points
Managing soil moisture - irrigate when probes tell you to
Full point
Refill point -20 kPa
-8 kPa
Key practices for irrigation (cont.)
7. Target top 20 to 30 cm but charge up
deeper levels ahead of a peak demand
8. Respond immediately to moisture
needs
9. Expect to irrigate daily in summer
10. Do t o e i igate! 11. Reduce irrigation to sick trees
12. Test the uniformity of your irrigation
system
YouTube video in BPR
Mulch
Mulch
• Mulch will not reduce the water that
the trees actually need, but . . .
• It makes more efficient use of the
water you have (e.g. 40% reduction) • Reduces evaporation from orchard floor
• Over time improves water holding capacity
of soil by increasing organic matter content
(a NQ grower improved organic matter of
soil from 0.5 to 3%, thus increased RAW by
about 9mm)
Suitable mulching materials
15cm of coarse material
• Fibrous, stalky, straw-like or chunky
materials break down slowly and allow
free drainage of water. Avocado wood
chips, sorghum, corn stalks etc
• Sawdust, bagasse, too fine, form a barrier
that initially prevents water penetration,
once wet, they become soggy, dry slowly
and make underlying soil too wet.
• Keep 5cm away from trunks
If you a t ig ops a d a t to minimise alternate and irregular bearing
you eed to feed the t ee
3. Nutrition
a) Healthy root system
Pre-requisites for good nutrition . . . .
b) Good irrigation
c) Regular leaf and soil analysis
d) Highly recommended . . . mulch
Use coarse, free draining material with low N
e) plus . . . The est fertiliser is the a ager s footsteps
Just as i porta t as the leaf sa ple is to go into the orchard and look at the leaves to
o ser e their olour, shi e, size a d shape. Francisco Mena, Chile, 2015
Most important nutrients for
productivity and fruit quality
• Nitrogen
• Boron
• Calcium
• Zinc
Leach easily Must be
balanced
Nitrogen (N)
• Nitrogen is the ‘dynamite’ of plant growth - learn to harness it
• Balance is critical
– Excess N depresses Ca in fruit & encourages excess vegetative growth
– Deficient N depresses yields & fruit size
Tailor N rates to match fruitset load
Redu e ates i a off yea to a oid over-stimulation of vegetative growth
N timing
Little and often with main focus on . . .
• Autumn – to build tree up for flowering
• Spring (after 1st fruit-fall) - for fruit development
& spring leaf flush
• Summer - for fruit size and summer leaf flush
Grae e Tho as re o e datio for extra
N if a large crop is set
1. As soon as it appears that you have an above
average fruitset (when fi st f uit fall is o e …
2. Apply 50% extra* N in fortnightly fertigation
applications for 2 – 3 months till an obvious
spring leaf flush is starting
3. The ai is to get 18 of sp i g leaf flush over the fruit
4. Sample spring leaf flush to check N and adjust if
needed
* Assumes optimum leaf levels in autumn sample
Calcium (Ca)
• The higher the Ca in fruit the better the quality and shelf life.
• Boron & calcium co-dependent
Calcium uptake into fruit
• Most calcium is deposited in the fruit only
during first 6 weeks of growth (before fruit
stomata close up and turn into lenticels)
• If inadequate Ca in soil solution &/or
insufficient soil moisture at this time then
you have missed the boat!
• Rootstocks have major influence on fruit
Ca o te t, Vel i k is good
Boron (B)
YouTube video in BPR
• Tricky to get right
• Narrow margin betw. deficiency & toxicity
• Required wherever growth is happening
• Calcium and boron co-dependent
Deficiency Deficiency
Deficiency
Boron toxicity
. . . and leaf fall
Optimum soil boron levels are different
for different soil textures
•Clay 3 to 12 mg/kg
•Clay loam 2 to 8 mg/kg
•Loam 0.75 to 3 mg/kg
•Sandy/sandy loam 0.25 to 1 mg/kg
Also . . . starting rates are also different
for different soil textures
Boron application worksheet
Normal fruit Deficient fruit
Tied up by:
• clay soil
• high pH
• high phosphorous
levels
So preferably apply as
band along drip line
Foliar sprays are
ineffective &
compromise leaf tests
Zinc (Zn)
Key practices for nutrition
1. Attend to irrigation first
2. If fertigating check irrigation uniformity
3. Analyse leaves every autumn (& spring)
4. Analyse soil every 2 or 3 years, check pH
5. Ma age s footsteps!
6. Match nitrogen with crop load
continued . . .
YouTube video in BPR
Key practices for nutrition (cont.)
7. Do t o e apply it oge 8. First 6 weeks of fruit devt. critical for Ca
9. Use boron worksheet or get expert advice
10. Apply foliar B (without N) at flowering
11. Use mulch if possible
12. Consider using good compost
YouTube video in BPR
4. Canopy management
A o ado t ees g o like eeds – get
into them!"
• Leaves & flowers disappear from lower canopy,
due to lack of light, becoming unproductive
• A big tree expends up to 75% of its carbohydrate
just to ai tai its s affold a hes
Overgrown trees
Large tree
Productive area (green)
Unproductive area (black)
Extensive “scaffold”
Avocados need light to flower
- isolated branch in interow
Overgrown trees
• Expensive and dangerous to pick
• Less productive
• Poorer quality fruit
• Impossible to spray effectively
What you do t a t to see
Key practices for canopy management
1. Choose a tree spacing that you can manage
2. Start before orchard becomes overgrown
3. Prune every year with follow up
4. Do t hold a k! 5. Cut low
6. Selective limb removal, completely remove
one major branch per year = canopy
completely rejuvenated every 4 -5 years
7. Consider PGRs on summer flush
Crop losses of more than 50% have been
attributed to spotting bugs.
5. Spotting bug
Acknowledgements
Ruth Huwer & Craig Maddox, NSW DPI
Ian Newton & Donna Chambers, DAF Qld
Banana Spotting Bug = Amblypelta lutescens (Northern)
Fruit Spotting Bug = Amblypelta nitida (Southern)
Current situation
1. Endosulfan de-registered 2010
2. Dipterex/Lepidex (trichlorfon), Bulldock
& Suprathion (methidathion) registered
• Dipterex - important to have a low
pHwater (4 - 5) in the spray tank
• Bulldock – leads to flare up of scale
insects & mites if used too often
• Methidathion – dangerous to use and
also broad spectrum
Current recommendations
1. Ide tify hot spots a d o ito them
• Hot spots ofte fou d alo gside ati e bush along creeks lines, and high areas
• Expect influx after hot windy days
• Look on warmest/highest parts of tree
2. If possi le li it sp ayi g to hot spots
3. Spray whole orchard on calendar basis if
necessary
Current recommendations (cont.)
4. Good canopy management essential for
adequate spray cover – keep trees open
and short
5. Calibrate and test sprayer coverage
regularly
• Lure source and corflute with double-sided adhesive
• Suitable as a monitoring tool, for banana spotting bug only
• Earliest expected commercial availability of traps Oct 2016
(Gary Leeson, Organic Crop Protectants, OCP)
The banana spotting bug lure trap
Double-sided
adhesive tape
Corflute panel
Trap hedges for monitoring
Trap hedge consisting of: 1. Mock orange (Murraya paniculata) (18 months), 2 to 3 plants
2. Macadamia ternifolia (5 years), 1 to 2 plants
3. Longan (4 years), 1 plant
New insecticides
Applications submitted for registration of: • Transform® – Dow AgroSciences • Trivor® - Adama
Registrations expected 2017
These two insecticides have different modes of action. This is good and both should be used in rotation to reduce the risk of resistance developing.
Summing up . . .
key areas for productivity and quality
1. Phytophthora root rot
2. Irrigation
3. Nutrition
4. Canopy management
5. Spotting bug
6. Anthracnose management
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The project has been funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia
Limited using the avocado levy and funds from the Australian
Government. The Queensland Government has also co-funded the
project through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Video and fertiliser rate worksheet for
boron now available on BPR
YouTube video in BPR
4. Biological control
A tiny wasp, Anastasus, that preys on the eggs of spotting bug selected as it had the most potential for mass rearing
Large numbers of Anastasus were reared and released but very hard to evaluate because:
Spotting bug host range is so wide plus most of their activity and breeding takes place outside the orchard
Spotting bug eggs are difficult to find
Impact of biological control agents including Anastatus could not be proven within this project
Large numbers of spiders considered useful
Anastasus
5. Area Wide Management
• Work could not start on this until a reliable system of monitoring was developed
• Pilot study at Alstonville, NNSW indicated that a number of strategically located trap hedges were able to be monitored and this information was used to make recommendations to local orchardists about when to spray.
3. New insecticides (cont.)
Transform® – Dow AgriSciences
• Active ingredient sulfoxaflor
• Residue trials recently completed
• Toxic to bees on direct contact
• Two week residual action
• Effective against sap feeding insects
–Robert Annetts (Dow AgriSciences)
3. New insecticides (cont.)
Trivor® - Adama • Two active ingredients:
– Acetamiprid - knockdown – Pyriproxyfen – insect growth regulator
• Residue trials completed • Efficacy trails completed • Rates to be determined • Effective against sucking insects, scales etc
- Jonathan McDonald (Adama)
The project has been funded by R&D levies from the Avocado, Macadamia, Lychee,
Papaya, Passionfruit and Custard Apple industries, with additional funding via the
Across Industry Committee and matched by the Australian Government through HAL.
NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and Queensland Department of
Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) are also contributing in-kind funds to the project, and
NSW DPI is managing the project on behalf of all partners. Other project partners
include the University of Queensland, Australian Centre for International Agricultural
Research (ACIAR) and BioResources (until November 2013).
1. Development of a pheromone lure
for monitoring &/or control
On a farm at Childers last year:
• One block sprayed on a standard 21 day calendar spray schedule.
• Another block only sprayed when bug numbers caught on pheromone traps reached the threshold level.
• The same amount of damage occurred in each treatment . . . but only half the number of sprays applied in the trap block.
Case history
Multi target approach to spotting ug Ruth Huwer et al
1. Develop a pheromone lure for monitoring
&/or control
2. Develop trap crops to intercept invading
spotting bugs for monitoring &/or control
3. Investigate new insecticides
4. Investigate potential for biological control
5. Undertake a pilot study of Area Wide
Management
Project Objectives
6. Anthracnose & stem end rot
A th a ose is the ost se ious postharvest disease of avocado and a
ajo fa to o t i uti g to uality loss Anderson et al, 2004
Anthracnose management starts on the farm
Anthracnose infection
1. Spore lands on fruit
2. If fruit surface is wet (rain, dew) for just a
few hours, and temperature is above about
15°C, spores germinate & establish
i fe tio pegs i ski
3. Remain dormant, no visible signs
4. When fruit ripens the disease takes off,
rotting a hemispherical volume of flesh
that grows in size from the infection point
Leaf wetness and temperature vs
anthracnose infection
Leaf wet for 3 hours @ 25°C = 90% infection
Leaf wet for 1½ hours @ 17½°C = 20% infection
from Fitzell, Peak and Darnell (mangoes) 1984
Key practices for fruit rots
1. Canopy management for good ventilation and
spray penetration
2. Spray properly or not at all – maintain
protective film of copper fungicide on fruit as it
grows, apply every 2 to 3 weeks
3. Incorporate azoxystrobin sprays in schedule -
(a) after prolonged wet and (b) at the end of
season (very effective)
4. Choose non-Mexican rootstocks such as Velvick
Key practices for fruit rots (cont.)
5. Do t pick when it is raining &/or if fruit is wet
6. Do t snap pick:
• during a period of rainy, humid weather
• if trees have been stressed or are unhealthy
7. Keep fruit out of sun, remove field heat ASAP,
post harvest treatment with prochloraz (e.g.
Sportak®) within 24 hours, maintain cool chain,
before and after ripening, store Hass at 5°C
(other varieties at 7°C)
Acknowledgments for information,
research & updates on spotting bug
1. Ian Newton & Donna Chambers, DAF
2. Ruth Huwer & Craig Maddox, NSW DPI
3. Gary Leeson, Organic Crop Protectants
4. Robert Annetts, Dow AgriSciences
5. Jonathan McDonald, Adama
• Use 10 traps per hectare, spread about 30m
apa t, p efe a ly i k o hot spots . • Keep traps out of direct sunlight
• Monitor and replace sticky panels at least
once/fortnight (sooner if affected by sunlight,
sprays & dust)
• Renew pheromone lure every 6 weeks
• Apply insecticide if bug density reaches 0.5
bugs/trap/fortnight (5 bugs for every 10 traps)
Recommended use of pheromone trap
Other findings from project
1. Spotting bug damage worse at high
densities, in darker foliage situations
2. Beneficial insects more successful in
more open canopies (those with good
canopy management)
Possible future research
1. Identify and develop pheromones for
Fruitspotting bug (A. nitida).
2. Continue to improve the pheromone trap
3. Continue to evaluate trap hedges and
pheromone traps on commercial orchards
where both species are present
4. Continue to develop monitoring, and lure
and kill strategies using the pheromone
trap
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Trap-Tree Non-Trap Tree 20 Traps/Ha 10 traps/Ha
% Fruit with visible BSB damage
Damage significantly higher on trap trees
(40%) compared to non-trap trees (8%)
Banana spotting bug Amblypelta lutescens
Fruitspotting bug Amblypelta nitida
Trap hedges (cont.)
• Attract both spotting bugs species
• Combination of the three different plants attract
spotting bugs for the whole season - so can be used to monitor bug numbers throughout the year
• Trap hedges work because the bugs return to areas of
earlier damage
• Monitoring allowed orchard sprays to be applied to
coincide with emerging adult populations e.g. in
NNSW 5 to 6 generations/year, therefore 5 to 6 sprays applied/year
• Used for monitoring only at this stage
Water stress e ory
Red dye in water – so more red = more water flow
Un-watered Well-watered
1. Inadequate water can cause stomata to close for 3 days.
2. Further water stress induces avocado to block xylem
ith tyloses as a su i al e ha is
DW Turner et al, 2001