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03www.apal.org.au AUSTRALIAN FRUITGROWER October/November 2018

C O N T E N T S

Wherever you see this logo, the initiative is part of the Hort Innovation Apple and Pear Fund. Like this publication itself, it has been funded by Hort Innovation using the apple and pear levy and, in thecase of R&D, with contributions from the Australian Government. Some projects also involve fundingfrom additional sources.

Edition Booking and editorial copy deadline Ad material deadline

Dec 2018/Jan 2019 24 October 2018 7 November 2018

Feb/Mar 2019 7 January 2019 14 January 2019

Australian Fruitgrower

PublisherApple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) is

a not-for-profit organisation that supports and provides services to Australia’s commercial

apple and pear growers.

Suite G01, 128 Jolimont Road, East Melbourne VIC 3002

t: (03) 9329 3511 f: (03) 9329 3522w: www.apal.org.au

Managing EditorCurrie Communicationse: [email protected]

Technical EditorAngus Crawford

e: [email protected]

AdvertisingThe publisher accepts no responsibility for the

contents of advertisements. All advertisements areaccepted in good faith and the liability of advertising

content is the responsibility of the advertiser.

Pulse Hubm: 0429 699 553 | e: [email protected]

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e: [email protected]

CopyrightAll material in Australian Fruitgrower is copyright. NOmaterial can be reproduced in whole or in part without

the permission of the publisher.

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of contents, APAL accepts no liability for the information.

DisclaimerHorticulture Innovation Australia Limited (Hort Innovation)and APAL make no representations and expressly disclaimall warranties (to the extent permitted by law) about theaccuracy, completeness, or currency of information inAustralian Fruitgrower. Reliance on any information

provided by Hort Innovation and APAL is entirely at yourown risk. Hort Innovation and APAL are not responsiblefor, and will not be liable for, any loss, damage, claim,expense, cost (including legal costs) or other liability arising in any way, including from any Hort Innovation,

APAL or other person’s negligence or otherwise from youruse or non-use of Australian Fruitgrower, or from reliance

on information contained in the material or that HortInnovation or APAL provide to you by any other means.

ISSN 1447-5618

APAL’s CEO report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Industry strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

MARKETINGPathways to boosting consumption . . .8

Nielsen insights into snacking . . . . . .11

Aussie-bred apples among healthiest 11

Consumer behaviour research . . . . . .12

Goulburn River Gold® pears . . . . . . . .14

Asia Fruit Logistica: New pear brands . .15

OUR COVER: Mitchell McNab (see pg 20).

State Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

PROFILEEyeing the future of robotics . . . . . . .20

MANAGEMENTA quality crop with limited water . . . .24

Data a vital business input . . . . . . . . .30

R&DA tool for secondary thinning? . . . . . .32

Agri-tech to help with thinning . . . . . .34

New fruit fly handbook and website . .36

R&D update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Quiz and crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

30

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSAPAL would like to thank our partners who provide uswith funding and support.

15

When it comes to transforming today’s industry challenges into tomorrow’s opportunities, hope is simply not a strategy.

APAL has devoted considerable effort to mapping thestrengths and challenges facing the apple and pear industryand preparing a strategy to deliver real improvement in valueover the five years to 2023.

The new Apple and Pear Industry Strategy 2018-2023 (seepage 6) sets out the first phase of this plan and lays out aclear actionable agenda of aligned, long-term transformationat every stage of the supply chain.

This is not a plan to sit on the shelf. It is there to drive, align anddeliver real outcomes. To do this it requires real commitmentand across-industry collaboration.

The success of premium brands, such as Jazz™, Kanzi® andBravo™ is testament to the powerful impact like-minded growerscan have on the industry by working together.

We need a concerted whole-of-industry effort to engineergrowth opportunities and dismantle structures hamperingcontinuous improvement.

Core to the new strategy is the need to redress an existingimbalance of investment that has delivered a significant growthin productivity, without a corresponding effort to stimulatemarket-demand. A review of the current industry governanceand funding model will be a core part of this strategy.

To build a strategy to grow consumption of apples and pearswe must first understand what drives consumer fresh fruitpurchasing behaviour and the criteria they value.

To this end, APAL engaged Melbourne-based research agencyThe Source to undertake a robust consumer research studyinto why people buy apples and pears (see page 12). A keyfinding from this study is that price is not a primary motivation.Consumers clearly prioritise quality over price.

Research itself is not a strategy and the next step is to usethese findings to inform the development of a strategy forapples and pears that aims to grow consumption and improvewholesale prices. APAL will work with grower groups overthe coming months to do this.

A key part of working to achieve potential is having access tothe necessary information and ideas and I congratulate FruitGrowers Victoria Ltd (FGVL) on the success of its inauguralconference in August. The high quality of presentations and thethought-provoking panel discussion will have given attendeesa lot to think about. I also extend a warm welcome to thenew FGVL chair Mitchell McNab.

Goulburn Valley pear growers are all too familiar with theproblems which result from an imbalance of supply anddemand. APAL has been working with growers to develop a new premium, quality-controlled pear brand for Packhampears to grow exports into selected, new markets. TheGoulburn River Gold® brand brings together the characteristicsof Australian provenance, collaborative supply, independentquality control, marketing support and premium branding thatexemplify the best managed-varieties (see page 14).

APAL showcased both the Goulburn River Gold brand and theANP-0131 blush pears – test-branded as Fránk™ – at Asia FruitLogistica and I am pleased to report there was considerablebuyer interest (see page 15).

There is a lot of work to be done to grow pear exports, but itis good news to see that exports to key markets have risensignificantly this year to 12,500 tonnes in the 2017/18 financialyear, up 75 per cent on the previous year. Contributing to thiswere a 36 per cent increase to New Zealand; 37 per centincrease to Indonesia; 80 per cent increase to Canada; 160per cent increase to Singapore and an 800 per cent increaseto India.

At the time of writing the spring Future Orchards® walkswere getting underway focusing on quality. With quality highlighted by our consumer research as a key driver for purchase it is good to see so many growers using these eventsto improve their knowledge of how to better manage theirorchards to achieve high quality.

APAL’s annual general meeting will be held in Melbourne onFriday, 30 October. I look forward to seeing many of you thereand talking about what we have achieved and what is yet tobe done. :afg

By Phil TurnbullCEO, APAL

Steps in place towards a stronger future

“ ”…pear exports to key markets have

risen significantly this year to 12,500

tonnes in the 2017/18 financial year,

up 75 per cent on the previous year

www.apal.org.au AUSTRALIAN FRUITGROWER October/November 2018 05

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I N D U S T R Y U P D AT E

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Over the next five years, the apple and pear industry has the potential to positively shift its commercial and sustainability prospects. This is the core message to come out of the new Appleand Pear Industry Strategy 2018-2023 co-ordinated on behalf of the industry by APAL.

It’s a positive outlook for growers operating in an industryincreasingly exposed to fast-moving and complex global forcesfrom biosecurity to currency fluctuations; from technologyadvances to more informed and demanding consumers.

With premium brands exciting consumers and future accessto new markets (particularly the booming Chinese market)offering tantalising growth potential, the size of the prize is significant. APAL CEO, Phil Turnbull, is bullish about theindustry’s prospects – but strongly cautions long-term successwill take a fundamental shift to the current operating modeland an end to obstructive supply chain fragmentation.

“If we’re serious about our commitment to positively impactingthe future for growers, we need a concerted whole of industry effort to engineer growth opportunities and dismantlestructures hampering continuous improvement,” he said.

“The success of premium brands, such as Jazz™, Kanzi® andBravo™, are testament to the powerful impact like-minded

growers can have on the industry by working together onprovenance, collaborative supply and aligned marketing.

“It’s these same learnings that we will apply to GoulburnRiver Gold®.

“The new Apple and Pear Industry Strategy 2018-2023 lays outa clear, actionable agenda for aligned, long-term transformationat every stage of the supply chain.”

Four pillars for industry transformationDeveloped as a living, actions-oriented strategy, APAL anchorsthe Strategy to four key pillars for industry viability beyond 2030and the corresponding actions required for it to be delivered.

“We are charting a course to redress and optimise levies,Government funding and commercial investments across the most critical areas,” Phil said.

The four interdependent pillars for industry transformation laid out by the new Strategy are:

1. Market growth: Targeting domestic and export opportunities through well-managed brands.

2. Supply chain management: Building, capturing and disseminating industry intelligence to accelerate value.

3. Industry sustainability: Bolstering industry viability,integrity and brand reputation.

4. Capability and capacity building: Enhancing the skills and culture of industry players to deliver and leadtransformation.

By simultaneously addressing these pillars through a widerange of planned activities, growers can expect a lift in unitvalue through:

• Improving consumers’ experience in the domestic category.

• Greater export opportunities by playing to Australia’s competitive advantage.

• Growth of premium market segments.

• Clear governance and direct accountability for strategydelivery.

• Improved supply chain intelligence and risk managementsystems to accelerate learnings and facilitate decision-making.

the industry plan for action Industry strategy: Laying out

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Plan to shift towards an integrated, high value industry

www.apal.org.au AUSTRALIAN FRUITGROWER October/November 2018 07

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I N D U S T R Y U P D AT E

• Strong focus on factors driving industry sustainability, e.g. improved workplace practices, technology uptake,application of Future Orchards® and biosecurity.

• Equipping industry players with skills, market intelligenceand access to resources, to lead industry change.

• Advocacy for growers’ commercial interests as inevitablebroader supply chain changes occur, both domestically and globally.

Coordinated by APAL, the new Strategy draws heavily ongrowers’ insights from recent consultation conducted for the industry’s Strategic Investment Plan, the latest consumerresearch and the many strategies and industry plans that havepreviously been developed for the industry, including the Apple& Pear Industry Export Development Strategy which set exportgoals of 10 per cent of production by 2027.

The key difference between this Strategy and previousapproaches is the emphasis on setting out a clear, integratedand outcomes-oriented agenda that will guide whole of industryactivity towards a mutually-beneficial future state.

“The plan will be iterative and responsive to real data andevents,” Phil said. “It is not a plan to sit on the shelf. It isthere to drive, align and deliver real outcomes.”

Striking a new balanceRedressing an imbalance of investment and focus also sitsfirmly at the core of the new Strategy.

“Productivity initiatives, such as Future Orchards, have proved enormously impactful,” Phil said. “But without a corresponding effort to stimulate market demand, especiallyin light of diminishing consumption, the ability to optimisethose productivity efforts is lost.”

Significantly, the new Strategy also calls for a review of thecurrent industry governance and funding model to ensuredelivery partners are directly accountable to growers and programs are not compromised by funding restrictions.

“If the current funding model is unable to support this IndustryStrategy, then we need to reconsider how we go about fundingthe plan,” Phil said. “Rather than jeopardising growers’ futuresby compromising on what needs to be done.”

The new Industry Strategy is now available via the APALwebsite. :afg

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M A R K E T I N G


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There are many paths to increasing apple and pear consumption – the ultimate target of levy-funded marketing activities. Hort Innovation’s Olivia Grey shares an update of targeted marketingactivities part of the 2018 marketing campaign for apples and pears.

Pathways to boostingapple and pear consumption

Apples advertising wrapping upMost of the above-the-line advertising – advertising that targets a broad rangeof consumers via mass media (i.e. TV,print radio and the internet) – for AussieApples wrapped up at the end of August.The final report of the campaign will bepublished in the next edition ofAustralian Fruitgrower.

As part of the four weeks of TV advertising that aired from July to August,the Aussie Apples TV commercial featured in some of the most popularTV shows including The Bachelor,Survivor, Ninja Warrior and Masterchef.

related to apples. Following the positiveresults from the work, Hort Innovationhas renewed its partnership with Joanna.

In a media release titled Four reasonsyou should never peel an apple, Joannasummarised recent research regardingthe benefits of eating apples with theskin on. The release was distributed inAugust and has already achieved somepositive coverage including in The DailyMail and Babyology.

Several studies published in the pastyear have highlighted the wide-ranginghealth benefits of apple polyphenols – a large group of natural, plant chemicalsthat are more concentrated in the apple skin.

In the release Joanna said:

Apples are full of nutritional goodness, and apple polyphenolsare becoming the stand-out compound that holds the key tomany of the fruit’s health benefits.The latest science has found applepolyphenols may have a role to playin weight loss and stopping thegrowth of cancer cells. Emergingresearch also shows they may evenslow the progression of osteoarthritis.

Like green tea and blueberries,apples are rich in polyphenols. Thepolyphenols are found in both thewhite flesh and the skin of apples.However, there are two and a halftimes as many antioxidants, includingpolyphenols, in the apple skin.

So crunching on a juicy apple, skinand all, could actually be the healthiestway to eat this super fruit.The Aussie Apples and Australian Pears display at the Royal Queensland Show, Ekka,

where samples of apples and pears, juice and slinkies were all handed out to an appreciativeaudience looking for a healthy alternative.

By Olivia Grey

Apples public relations Hort Innovation has a public relations(PR) strategy for Aussie Apples thataims to extend the reach of paid advertising and promotions to earnedcoverage across traditional media, socialmedia, and blogs. The Aussie Applespublic relations strategy seeks to inspirepeople to use apples for different snacking occasions and for cooking, and to educate consumers about thehealth benefits of apples.

To support this work, last year Hort Innovation engaged nutritionist Dr Joanna McMillan as an influentialhealth spokesperson to help review and communicate research results

M A R K E T I N G


Consumer feedback has highlighted that the lack of knowledge about pearripening is a barrier to purchase. A keyfocus of the sampling program is educating consumers on pear ripeningso they have the confidence they canget the best from their pears.

There were 286 sampling sessions thatwere conducted across Woolworths and Coles nationally between November2017 and January 2018. As reported in In-store pear tasting boosts sales by 24 per cent (Australian Fruitgrower,Apr/May 2018), Woolworths storesshowed a 24 per cent increase in overallpear sales in the stores where samplingoccurred compared to the previous fourweeks. And there was a 66 per centincrease in 1kg sales of prepacked pears.

u Another component of the PR campaignis working with health and food social‘influencers’ – people with a high profile who write, talk or otherwisecommunicate, particularly across socialmedia, with large audiences interestedin listening to them.

Hort Innovation is working with influencers to create compelling contentfocusing on snacking, food trends andhealth. This content is shared throughthe influencer’s own channels to reachtheir engaged audience. The content isalso pitched to traditional media outletsto drive wider coverage.

Hort Innovation has partnered withthree influencers in the areas of healthand food – Jessica Sepel, Leah Itsinesand Amy Whiteford – who appeal to millennials and mums, which are thekey target audiences for Aussie Apples.

Jessica Sepel is a leading nutritionistand one of Australia’s most well-knownhealth influencers. She has a strongmedia pull, especially in the health and wellness space, with an Instagramfollowing of almost 200,000. She hascreated a delicious apple, pecan anddate muffin with caramel sauce recipethat she has published on her Instagram.This recipe has also been picked up byBody+Soul magazine and shared acrosstheir Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Amy is a recipe developer, food bloggerand mum of two. She creates and sharesfamily-friendly recipes and food tips andtricks, all of which are relatable to the u

Joey Fruit Picking bags has been produced and assembled in the Goulburn Valley and Australia since 1934. They are distributed all over Australia. Current owner Glenn Bush attribute his father Patrick’s ingenuity in helping to create a bag that serves the picking industry, by being both functional and durable.

Avaliable in a range of sizes, the Joey Fruit Picking bag is made of high quality fabric,and assembled with a strong attention to detail. The Joey “Pickers Pouch” has and will continue to serve the agricultural industry for many years.

Joey Fruit Picking Bags

Contact us: 1300 720 919 [email protected] 111 Fryers St, Shepparton, Vic www.joeyfruitpickingbags.com/

everyday mum. She has a Facebook following of over 90,000, and her ownwebsite, healthylittlefoodies.com,where she shares content. Her recipefor apple waffles has been featured byNine Kitchen.

An update of ongoing coverage will beprovided in the next edition of AustralianFruitgrower.

In-store pear samplingTowards the end of 2017, HortInnovation conducted in-store samplingin Woolworths and Coles. Brand ambassadors served wedges of Packhampears to shoppers with the aim ofincreasing awareness of pears and educating shoppers on ripening techniquesand growing regions.

Apple, pecan and date muffins created by health influencer Jessica Sepel who has sharedthe recipe with her nearly 200,000 Instagram followers. The recipe has also been picked upby Body+Soul magazine and shared across their Facebook and Instagram accounts.


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Due to the great results, a further 200sampling sessions were conductednationally across Woolworths and Colesin August and September 2018. Theobjectives were to drive awareness ofpears in-store to keep them top-of-mindat the point of purchase, educate consumers to give them the confidenceto choose ripe pears or ripen them athome, increase varietal awareness, and,ultimately, to drive sales.

The execution involved displaying themajor pear varieties to explain their difference in flavour, ripening and seasonality, as well as sampling wedgesof Packham pears. Demonstrators alsohanded out leaflets that contained information on ripening, the differentvarieties, seasonality and recipe tips.

The initial feedback on the campaign hasbeen positive. Consumers appreciated theinformation on the leaflets and enjoyedthe taste of Packham pears. More resultsfrom the sampling campaign will be provided in the next edition.

Ekka – The RoyalQueensland ShowAussie Apples and Australian Pears wereagain present at the Ekka show, with afresh and visually engaging exhibit in thebusy Woolworths Fresh Food Pavilion.

This year, approximately 400,000 attendees enjoyed the show over 10 days.

About the author:Olivia Grey, Apple and PearMarketing Manager, Hort Innovation,

t: 02 8295 2387e: [email protected].

They were able to purchase wholeapples and pears, slinkies and applejuice. In addition, sampling of PinkLady®, Jazz™ and Granny Smith applesand Packham pears was conducted todrive varietal education. In total, over16,000 apple and pear wedges weresampled, accompanied by leaflets containing information about varieties,seasonality and recipe tips. The AussieApples mascot Mr Crunch also maderegular appearances each day and was a huge draw card, especially with kids.

Feedback from attendees was incrediblypositive, with crowds queuing to findout more about apples and pears.Show-goers appreciated that there wasa healthy snack alternative present atthe show and enjoyed the information in the leaflets that were handed out.

Export: Taste AustraliaIn the 2017/18 financial year, AustralianApples were promoted in Thailandthrough the Taste Australia program inTops stores. The retailer imported threecontainers of Pink Lady apples which wassupported by an in-store sampling programwith branded materials. Education andtraining were significant components ofthe program, which included sessionson storage, handling and productripeness. In addition, media activityincluded a cooking demonstration on theFood Stylist Facebook page and website.

Additional in-store sampling of Australianapples and pears in Hong Kong took placein May and June 2018. Retailers Park NShop and Wellcome hosted the samplingacross 19 stores. Park N Shop samplingdrove an increase of 327 per cent insales compared to a period withoutsampling, and Wellcome sampling drove an increase in sales of 52 per cent compared to a period without sampling.

Australian pears were also showcasedin Thailand through the Taste Australiaprogram, with in-store sampling withbranded materials supporting activity inTops, Makro, Tesco, The Mall, Villa andFuture Park Department Store (Zpeel).

Education and training of retailers was a significant component of the programwhich included sessions on storage,handling and product ripeness. Feedbackfrom market was that importers andretailers were dumping pears if soft oryellowing. This training was effective in decreasing waste and increasing understanding of product diversity, quality, nutrition and eating experience.

Media outcomes aimed to increaseawareness of pears through cookingevents with media gift baskets andcross promotion with other Australianproducts such as pears in salads anddesserts. This content was published on the websites and Facebook pages of Somethingcooked and Food Stylist.:afg

A shopper in Hong Kong making the most of the Australian Pears – Taste Australia promotion.


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Nielsen has released new statistics about snack choices, including mention of behaviours aroundconsumption of apples and pears. Understanding the context around how shoppers make theirsnacking decisions can help growers and industry to work out how best to market their produce.

• Promo snackers, who purchase solely based on price.

• Indulgent snackers, who buy snacks for emotional rewardand comfort.

Of those surveyed, 93 per cent said they would snack on fruitand vegetables when asked what snacks they were most likelyto consume. A key part of the report also focuses on weekdayversus weekend snacking practices and concludes that fruitand vegetables are the leading snack type chosen by allseven profiles during weekdays.

Also of note is the demographic findings: Millennials are moreinclined to be ‘Promo’ snackers, while Baby Boomers aremore inclined to be ‘Healthy’ snackers. :afg

The study identified seven key snacking profiles as a basis forbetter understanding the shopping behaviours and dynamicsdriving this category:

• Impulsive snackers, who purchase based on snap decisionswithout forethought.

• Planned snackers, who pre-plan what they will eat duringthe day or week.

• Meal replacers, who eat snacks in place of a core meal.

• Healthy snackers, who avoid unhealthy snacks and specifically seek out nutritious options.

• Investigators, who compare and contrast snacks with afull suite of information.

Nielsen insights into snacking

Eating apples is good for you, ongoing research carried out by The University of WesternAustralia (UWA) and Edith Cowan University (ECU) has reaffirmed.

"We have screened the flavonoid content of over 100 applesfrom the national breeding program based in Western Australia,and identified apples that are high in flavonoids, including PinkLady® and Bravo™ branded apples.

“Two clinical trials have demonstrated the positive effect ofPink Lady apple consumption on cardiovascular health – onestudy demonstrated improved blood vessel function withinhours of eating apple and the second trial showed these effectsare sustained following four weeks of daily intake by peopleat risk of cardiovascular disease.”

Research supporting the presentation was funded by HortInnovation, WA DPIRD, UWA, ECU, Pomewest and Fruit West.:afg

The science behind how apples assist human health byimproving cardiovascular health was presented at WesternAustralia’s Horticulture Update by UWA senior research fellowMichael Considine and adjunct research fellow CatherineBondonno, a postdoctoral research fellow in the School ofMedical and Health Sciences at ECU.

Michael said the work began about 10 years ago with the aimof trying to validate the health benefits of apples to add valueto varieties developed from the Australian National AppleBreeding Program funded by WA’s Department of PrimaryIndustries and Regional Development (DPIRD).

“The research has three parts: to identify the traits of a healthyapple, develop tools to accelerate the breeding program, anduse the outcome as a marketing and promotion tool for WAapples,” he said.

Apples are high in ‘flavonoids’ (antioxidants), which are concentrated in the skin rather than the flesh of apples.

“Apples are particularly high in the flavonoid quercetin, however consumption of the whole fruit is necessary toobtain the health benefits,” Catherine said. “A large numberof studies have shown that dietary flavonoids provide manybenefits for cardiovascular health.

Pink Lady® and Bravo™ applesamong the healthiest

Both Pink Lady® andBravo™ apples are highin healthy flavonoids –eat them with their skinon for maximum benefit.


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Research: What consumerswant from apples and pears

Key industry stakeholders concerned at the lack of currentconsumer behaviour data tasked APAL in 2017 with commissioning a robust study into why people buy applesand pears.

APAL engaged Melbourne-based research agency The Sourceto conduct the study and answer some critical questions:‘Are you personally buying less apples/pears?’ and ‘If yes, why?’;‘What are the drivers behind your purchasing and most recentchange in purchasing?’.

To sharpen our understanding of these questions, wefocused specifically on the levers growers have most influence on:

• Price (or the ‘value’ equation); and

• Quality (What is quality to apple and pear consumers andhow do we currently measure up to expectations?).

To create outcomes and a report which would be respectedby retailers and industry, we commissioned a combination of consumer groups, accompanied shopping trips, in-storeintercepts and a big online quantitative survey. It was importantthat much of the work was conducted in retail stores whenconsumers were making purchasing decisions. The storeswere multi-state, covering both semi-rural and metropolitanlocations. Findings were then tested in a robust survey ofover 2,000 respondents.

The findings – applesOf the broader concepts uncovered by the research, whichspanned both apples and pears, having consistent quality wasmost important. In apples that quality was assessed visuallyand physically and defined as – firm feel, vibrant colour, roundshape and crisp texture. “If an apple is not crisp, it is not agood apple.”

Retailers have used point-of-sale promotional material andadvertising to condition consumers to expect perfectly rounded,blemish free apples with a vibrant colour. They are reluctantto pick up a product that has anything on it that could be considered an imperfection, unless it was purchased from a farmers’ market.

There was also a sense that apples lack the dynamism andexcitement of other ‘newer’ fruits namely berries, avocados,mangoes and pomegranates. That energy is driven by taste,versatility and sharp or salient health benefits (superfood claims).Apples were seen as convenient and dependable, but a bitboring by comparison.

Category dynamism for apples will be achieved throughswitching consumers to branded/premium apples which haveestablished some of these ‘modern’ and ‘fun’ cues. It mustbe noted though that consumers can’t find the headspace toabsorb benefits, new varieties and brands, or sharper healthclaims, if they have to spend time concerned about quality.

The most compelling finding is that consumers aren’t particularly price sensitive when it comes to apples. Applesare seen as money well spent due to the fact they last, theyget eaten by everyone (no waste) and they are less expensivethan more exotic fruits. As such, they are a staple purchase,hold their price well and show little price fluctuation.

Overall, 62 per cent of respondents said that if price moved it would not affect their purchasing volume. But, this must beunderpinned by dependable quality within their variety/brandrepertoire. Nothing will work if the quality is patchy.

Other key findings were around loyalty to variety. Great qualityin another commodity did not translate to a consumer switching.This shows that quality is the responsibility of all growers and not just those growing managed varieties. New snackingapplications and new forms of consumption are peripheral to improving the quality of the product offer.

Helping consumers experience the ‘indulgence’ of pears througheducation about selecting pears and ripening them will be key toimproving pear purchases.

Consumer research commissioned by APAL on why people buy apples and pears will underpinthe development of new industry strategies to grow consumption.

By Craig Chester


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Next stepsAPAL will work back through the working groups for pearsand apples respectively. Those groups have been assembledbased on competency and access to the market, and will formthese insights into a coherent high-level category strategy. Thiswill guide initiatives for growers, retailers and consumer marketing.

Supply, quality, price strategy, terms of trade, category segmentation, category management, consumer experiencein stores and at home will all be addressed through theseworking groups. The objective is a well-developed, consideredstrategy for the industry to own and implement, which willhelp to create stronger, sustainable returns for growers. :afg

The findings – pearsPears are viewed as conventional and old fashioned, withoutthe nostalgia of an apple. They are not rejected for this, theyare simply not thought of. Relatively few people knew thevarious varieties or how to ripen pears, and there was nocommonly-identified criteria that could be used to select agood pear. When product knowledge is low, consumers fallback on their negative perceptions. And on this, pears falldown on many of the important areas of value consumersuse to assess a fresh product for purchase.

They are difficult to ‘catch’ at perfect ripeness at home, have niche versatility, the health benefits are not well defined,they’re awkward to eat, damage easily and are not dependablein quality. The pear’s sense of value comes from the fact they are cheap. The nuances of apples are not perceived in pears – their purchase frequency is tied very much to price. Unfortunately for growers, at the moment there is an expectation from consumers that pears will remain thelowest priced fruit.

With limited understanding of pears, consumers shop for themusing the same criteria they judge apples on – shiny/vibrant,brightly coloured, perfectly shaped. Many therefore buy products that don’t fit their taste preference (Corella) andavoid products that would suit their preferences (BeurréBosc). The gritty, rustic look of a Beurré Bosc doesn’t chimewith consumers because they don’t know what to expect interms of taste and the texture will be largely inconsistent.

However, a good pear was seen as an ‘indulgence’ and it was common for respondents to report a good pear ‘is like no other, absolutely amazing’ and beats a good apple for taste.Indulgent, but elusive: ‘either too ripe, or not ripe enough’.Therefore, we wanted to understand whether consumershave the bandwidth to be educated about choosing the rightpear given consumers think pears:

• are an old-fashioned product

• have limited versatility

• are not very desirable

• have questionable health benefits

• are simply not as interesting as other fruits.

The answer to that has to be ‘yes’ given what a good pear candeliver — we just need to help them experience this sensationof indulgence more often. At the heart of any education has tobe something that sheds the image of a boring, old-fashionedproduct. We need to have some fun with them, and introducesome levity. Consumer connection is important as well.

Craig Chester, Head of Commercial & Brand Development, APAL t: 03 9329 3511 | e: [email protected]

Consumers are largely not concerned about the price of applesbecause they see them as good value for money because they keepfor a long time and everyone eats them.

Timeline

Present research findings to industry Complete

Present research to key retailers Complete

Debrief research to Pear Working Group Complete

Debrief research to Apple Category Group Complete

Develop strategy for industry August – October 2018

Present first draft strategy at October 2018stakeholder meeting


M A R K E T I N G

The brand will be used to deliver a high-quality Australianpear to retailers and consumers. It borrows some of the bestelements of successful controlled variety-programs globally.A combination of Australian provenance, collaborative supply,independent quality control, marketing support and premiumbranding is the formula we hope will deliver a more profitableresult for Australian growers.

The brand itself – Goulburn River Gold® – is about simplicity.A recognisable and attractive logo device has been createdand the strapline is uncomplicated – Australia’s Finest Pears.The colours, typeface and layout are based on modern premiumdesign. APAL has begun protecting the brand in priority exportmarkets, and will make it available exclusively to participantsin the export program. High quality Packham pears that meetthe brand’s standards will be the pear behind the brand.

APAL’s Global Development Director Andrew Hooke and histeam are providing services and resources in the developmentof the strategy. “We acknowledge export markets are notnew to Australian pears, but this is the first time there hasbeen real intent from the industry to focus on export and thesuccessful elements required to deliver a profitable program,”Andrew said.

“APAL looks forward to assisting the Goulburn Valley growersto deliver Goulburn River Gold in 2019.”

The Goulburn Valley pear growers’ group was formed late2017 and is made up of key pear growers. The group meetsmonthly to plan and discuss global opportunities.

Goulburn River Gold is a trademark of Apple & Pear AustraliaLimited, and reserved for the exclusive use of licensees.

Enquiries: [email protected] or 03 9329 3511. :afg

The Goulburn Valley Gold® brand will only be able to be used bylicensees on Packham pears for export produced in the GoulburnValley that meet the brand’s quality standards.

IntroducingGoulburn River Gold® pears

To build on export opportunities to Asia and other priority markets, APAL is assisting the GoulburnValley pear growers’ group in developing a brand to be used exclusively by program participants.

By Craig Chester

How to apply

Quick and Easy Tying in the Orchard• Heavy duty rubber bands with a hook at one end• UV-stabilised • Vulcanised rubber compound• Reusable for up to 3 – 5 years• Available in 35mm – 200mm lengths• 1kg bags with 20 bags per carton

1 Marlow Road, Keswick SA 5035 P: 08 8351 8611 | F: 08 7225 [email protected] | www.eclipseenterprises.com.au

Craig Chester, Head of Commercial & Brand Development, APAL t: 03 9329 3511 | e: [email protected]


M A R K E T I N G

The launch of a new premium-pear brand Goulburn River Gold® and blush pear Fránk™ at AsiaFruit Logistica in Hong Kong in September attracted strong interest from international buyers.

Pears attract strong buyer interest at Asia Fruit Logistica

Australian exhibitors reported a string of trade enquiries forthe blush pear ANP-0131 that was bred at the AgricultureVictoria’s Tatura-based Australian National Pear BreedingProgram. Test-branded as Fránk™, the pear proved popularwith buyers attracted to its colour, texture and eating quality.

Asia Fruit Logistica is Asia’s premier fresh produce trade showattracting over 11,000 attendees from 70 countries. Attendedby growers, marketers, exporters, importers and retailers fromacross Asia and beyond, the annual event offers an unmatchedopportunity to showcase Australian fresh produce.

APAL attended the event to promote apple and pear exportswith Hort Innovation under the ‘Taste Australia’ banner. TasteAustralia brings together more than 20 of Australia’s leadingproduce exporters, brands and peak industry bodies to promotethe finest Australian exports to the world. Taste Australia unitesand showcases the best of Australia, driving awareness andbuilding equity in Australian produce.

Many companies take advantage of the event to launch newproducts, varieties or brands, and this year APAL joined in,launching a new premium pear brand from the Goulburn Valley,and a bold new blush pear.

Goulburn River Gold® is a premium, quality-controlled pearbrand for Packham pears developed by APAL and GoulburnValley growers to grow exports into selected, new markets.

Pear exports have grown strongly this year to key markets inNew Zealand, Canada, Indonesia and Singapore.

Fránk was also on display and very well received. Market testing of bold, new branding for the pear attracted a highlevel of interest from importers and retailers keen to try the pear and experience its excellent eating qualities.

Apple and pear growers who attend the event have a uniqueopportunity to speak directly with Asian buyers and build relationships with them. Seeka Australia Sales ManagerCameron Carter said he received at least a dozen genuinetrade enquiries arising from the promotion of Fránk pears.“Buyers were commenting on the pear’s unique colour andboth firm and ripe eating quality,” Cameron said.

Pears were a feature of the Taste Australia stand with a newrecipe featured each day. These recipes were well receivedand displayed the diversity of Australian pear growing.

APAL, in conjunction with Pink Lady Development Ltd hostedan al fresco style stand to promote the Pink Lady® brand andproduct to buyers across the region. The Pink Lady brand hasrecently received a refresh, with the new, modern look alsoon display for the first time. The stand was a hive of activityacross all three days of the show, with existing importers mixingwith new and hopeful participants. The new look brandingwas a feature in conversation.

APAL’s Head of Group Brand and Regional Manager for Asia,Craig Chester, described the Pink Lady stand at Asia FruitLogistica as a vital hub for meeting with stakeholders fromacross the region. “With Asia becoming increasingly importantto the Pink Lady brand, the importance of the stand in HongKong also increases,” Craig said.

There are many benefits in attending an event such as AsiaFruit Logistica and growers who are serious about exportingtheir apples and pears to Asia are strongly encouraged to attendin 2019. The APAL stand can be used as a base for growersto speak with Asian buyers and build relationships.

Asia Fruit Logistica will run 4-6 September 2019. Anyoneinterested in participating on the APAL stand can contact APALHead of Group Quality and Innovation Andrew Mandemakerat [email protected] or 03 9329 3511. :afg

By Andrew Mandemaker

The colour and flavour of the blush pear ANP-0131 – test-branded asFránk™ – proved popular at Asia Fruit Logistica.

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S TAT E R O U N D U P

Drought support Find information about NSWGovernment drought supportmeasures athttp://bit.ly/NSWDroughtHub.

Find informationnformation onAustralian Government droughtassistance measures at http://bit.ly/AusGovDroughtHelp.

Irrigation probedemonstrationsThe 2017-18 Future Orchards®

soil moisture monitoringdemonstrations at Batlow andOrange showed orchardiststhe benefits of having a constant logging soil moistureprobe in their orchard.

New South WalesWinter across the NSWgrowing regions was coldand dry. Cold nights andregular frosts ensured adequate chilling, howeverbelow average rainfall hasmeant that many growersstarted the new seasonwith less than ideal waterstorage levels.

At the time of writing almost100 per cent of the state isofficially drought declared.Current indications for ourmain apple growing districtsas at 31 August 2018 are,Batlow ‘Drought Affected’,Orange (Canobolas)‘Drought’, and Bilpin/SydneyBasin ‘Intense Drought’.Growers across most areashave reported little or norun-off into dam storagessince winter 2017.

Unless we receive very significant spring rainfall inthe coming weeks, manygrowers will be starting the season with less storedwater than is required toproduce a normal crop.

Drought management• Check irrigation systems areready to run by flowering.

• Put irrigation systems inplace for new plantings towater in trees immediatelyafter planting.

• If you think you won’t haveenough water to establishyoung trees properly, itmight be better to holdthem in a nursery plot foranother season.

• Apply mulch where practicable, to retain soilmoisture.

• Ensure thorough weedcontrol (i.e. weed freestrip) to reduce moisturecompetition.

• Reduce crop load early(and by more than usual).

• Try to avoid moisture stressduring flowering.

• Plan for aggressive blossom thinning and early fruit thinning.

• Monitor soil moisture frequently, within and belowthe active root zone. Knowwhere your irrigation wateris going in the profile.

• Use monitoring data to helpavoid over irrigating andwasting water by leaching.

• Monitor fruit size weeklyand record data to identifyany decline in growth rate.Accurate fruit size monitoringinvolves returning to thesame apples each weekand recording the weeklygrowth rate and progressivefruit size. AgFirst’s online program OrchardNet® hasa good tool for recordingand graphing fruit size.

• Consider additional mid-to-late-season hand thinningto reduce crop load andachieve target fruit size.

• Plan which blocks will beirrigated through to harvestand which will be reducedto tree maintenancewatering only, if needed.

• Avoid irrigating in thehottest part of the day.This will reduce losses due to evaporation.

• Use shorter more frequentirrigation intervals (i.e. pulseirrigation) to keep themoisture in the root zone.

• In the worst-case situation,you may need to walkaway from some blocksand focus on those withthe highest known valueand returns.

We installed three capacitance probes in totalthat recorded hourly moisturelevels at 10cm intervalsdown the profile from 10 to 80cm and reported theresults in a daily graph.

At Batlow, the probe enabledus to identify a significantshortfall in irrigation systemcapacity, while a comparisonof a drip versus micro-jetsystems at Orange showedthe relative efficiency ofthese two systems.

Kevin DoddsDevelopment Officer(Temperate Fruits), NSW DPI

TasmaniaBiosecurity control zones preventing the movement of fruit remain in place across the state’s north but areexpected to be lifted in time for summer fruit thinning.Orchard activities are now concentrating on pruning andsetting up trees for the upcoming season. This was acentral topic at the levy-funded Future Orchards® walk on 5 June led by Stefano Musacchi (USA) and SteveSpark (AgFirst).

Tasmanian apple growers converged on Campbell Townto take part in an integrated pest and disease management(IPDM) workshop on 23 August. Participants exploredtheir experiences implementing IPDM and discussedlocal pest management issues with entomologists DavidWilliams from Agriculture Victoria, Christopher Adamsfrom the USA, and Geoff Allen and Steven Quarrell, bothfrom the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture.

Fruit growers keen on exploring market opportunities in China, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand gathered in Hobartand Launceston to take part in Fruit Growers Tasmania’sexport information workshops in August. Wayne Prowseof Fresh Intelligence Consulting shared his insights intoindustry and export trends for Australian apples, cherriesand other fruit. Other activities included updates on exportregistration and auditing dates for these protocol markets,as well as changes to crop monitoring requirements.Growers pursuing these opportunities are now in the final stages of implementing their trapping and monitoringarrangements ahead of the upcoming season.

Michael TarbathIndustry Development Officer, Fruit Growers Tasmania


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South Australia The rest of our showcasewas filled in with a ‘River ofFruit’ cascading across thedisplay. Our selling area thisyear featured HailstormHeroes, to help promote themessage that less than per-fect looking fruit is still greatto eat, with tastings andgrowers volunteering theirtime on the stand helping withthis. The feedback from thepublic was very positive andwith still a fair amount of fruitin storage, much of which

The start of spring in SouthAustralia is heralded with theRoyal Adelaide Show, whichis also our largest promotionalactivity for the year. Onceagain, a very big team efforthas gone into putting togethera spectacular showcase ofour produce. We have acompetitive fruit section,but with last year’s hailstorm,

we were down on entrynumbers this year. A very bigcongratulations must go tothose growers who did enterfruit however, with a highstandard of entries, and all exhibitors (GilmoursOrchards, AA Magarey &Sons, Filsell Orchards andCeravolo Orchards) takingaway prizes.

has some hail mark, industryis looking for continuedawareness from the public.A very big thank you mustgo to all the growers andindustry supporters who havevolunteered time and/ordonated and supplied product to make theAdelaide Show another successful promotion for theSouth Australian industry.

August was also a fairly busymonth in terms of growerand industry activities, witha range of workshops,meetings and social activitiesto bring industry together.July and August broughtsome much-needed coldertemperatures as well as somerainfall to hopefully help toset up the trees for a morepositive season ahead.

Susie GreenApple and Pear GrowersAssociation of SA(APGASA)South Australian growers put on an impressive display at the Royal Adelaide Show.

Victoria

FGVL has also met withretailers to relay the plight of pear growers and how the poor prices are affectingthe growing community.FGVL has asked each retailerfor feedback as to how the industry can work collaboratively with them toturn things around. FGVL,

The inaugural conference ofFruit Growers Victoria Ltd(FGVL) has been deemed a success by all who attended. Held 16–17 August,2018, at the Eastbank centre in Shepparton and at Turnbull Bros Orchards in Ardmona, the conferenceattracted more than 200 delegates. FGVL is nowconducting a survey of delegates and sponsors for feedback and ideas onhow we can make the next conference even bigger and better.

FGVL also announced the appointment of newchairman Mitchell McNab(see page 20 for a profile onMitchell) and new directorNathan Barolli.

After further surveys of peargrowers in the GoulburnValley, the number of treesremoved this winter hasincreased to 45,000. Thisrepresents a reduction of 12 per cent of total Williamstrees in the ground. Theindustry needs further consolidation next season ofan equal amount to correctour oversupply.

On a positive note, our pear growers need to becommended for their effortsof increased exports in 2018.Current reports are that pearexports are up by 94 per centon last season. Although thevalue has not been great thereduction of fruit within thedomestic market will go along way to improving prices.

Hort Innovation and APALneed to work closely withretailers and suppliers toprovide a marketing planmoving forward.

Michael CriseraGrower Services Manager,Fruit Growers Victoria Ltd(FGVL)

The Season-In-Review panel featuring local advisors, researchersand growers at the FGVL conference.



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Western AustraliaAfter a very dry and warmautumn, the winter seasonhas delivered very wet andcold days, with some rainfallmost days in July. It startedout to be a low chill accumulating year but we’vealmost got to our averagesby mid-August, which shouldbe a good outcome forspring. Indications are thatthe prices at market arebeginning to recover whichis welcome news and weare keen to see that trendcontinue upwards.

It has been a busy andinformative couple ofmonths for WA growerswith workshops, updatesand orchard walks everyfortnight through Augustand September.

Pomewest staff and a handful of young growersrecently attended aDepartment of PrimaryIndustries and RegionalDevelopment WA HorticultureUpdate, 16 – 17 August at the Crown ConventionCentre. The event was well-

attended and the programfocused on collaboration,export opportunities, markettrends, benchmarking andhealth messages along withgrower-focused presentationson the Horticulture Code ofConduct, HARPS, biosecurity,water, the Coles NurtureFund and food safety.

Pomewest and other industryprojects were showcasedincluding the ‘Markers, marketsand validated nutritional qualities of Australian apples’research that showed thatthe consumption of appleshas a direct impact onhuman health by improvingcardiovascular health. ThePomewest-supportedresearch project on a systemsapproach to pest managementfor market access was alsopresented.

An exciting new initiative – Hort Connect WA – waslaunched, which will see agroup of young growers andprofessionals across theentire horticulture industryform. This will enable

knowledge and idea sharingacross industries, as well ascreate valuable professionalnetworks in a sector traditionally dominated by an older demographic.Pemberton grower Mat Foxwas appointed as the ambassador for pome fruit andthis will extend and enhanceour current innovativeorchardist group project runby Susie Murphy White.

Take home messages fromthe update: 1) these types ofevents are a good opportunity

to network with all levels of businesses and differentbusiness models; 2) collaboration is key; 3) developing export marketsto manage oversupply isnecessary; and 4) produceprovenance – focus on thegood wholesome stories offood production to continueto engage consumers tobuy fresh produce.

Nardia StacyExecutive Manager,Pomewest

CANOPIES FOR EVERY KIND OF CROP1300 NETPRO (638 776) www.netprocanopies.com 07 4681 6666

ROW THROW - Alternative

Left to right: Steele Jacob, Mat Fox, Mark Martella, Susie MurphyWhite and John Hearman at the WA Horticulture Update.

P R O F I L E

For more than a century H.V. McNab& Son Pty Ltd has been at the forefrontof apple and pear production in theGoulburn Valley – the epicentre ofAustralia’s pome fruit industry – buttradition certainly doesn’t stand in theway of innovation at this family-ownedorchard and cool-storage facility.

A 2016 Nuffield Scholarship enabledMitchell to investigate the use ofrobotics in pome fruit harvesting and packing around the world and he sees great potential in automationto both ease labour needs and at the same time improve packout percentages through reduced bruisingby manual handling.

As the new chairman of Fruit GrowersVictoria Ltd (FGVL), he is encouragingother growers to consider the potential for robotics in their ownorchard management.

“Right across the industry, the idea isto try to be as efficient as we possiblycan with those labour units to eitherbring our cost down or make it a justifiable expense,” he said. “If thereare any processes we can adopt, we will.”

New technology amidheritage treesThe first block of trees was planted byMitchell’s great-great-grandfather, VictorRichard McNab (a retired teacher andlecturer), at Ardmona, Victoria, in 1910.Victor’s son, Herbert Victor, gave theenterprise its current name.

The family also helped to establish theArdmona fruit processing plant andremained an active supplier until the

“We also do some pears into Canadaand even a few Asian markets,”Mitchell said.

“In the coming years we’ll be transitioning our orchard by plantingsome more apples and stonefruit. Atthe moment we’re going through theprocess of evaluating which varietiesare going to be suitable and which provide the right opportunities.”

Skilled labour essentialMitchell joined the McNab business as a permanent team member almosta decade ago, having moved awayfrom the orchard initially to complete a business degree in Melbourne.

“Working part-time there in hospitalitywhile I studied taught me humanresources skills, for example, that are useful here now,” he said.

Mitchell succeeded his father, Andrew, asorchard manager and is now responsiblefor guiding the operation forward.

One of the first challenges he faces issecuring an ongoing supply of reliable,appropriately skilled labour.

While the perception is often that picking fruit is an unskilled job, usingthe correct handling technique is inactual fact paramount to preservingthe integrity of pears and apples.

“Between five and 10 per cent [ofwaste], at least, is caused by pickerdamage: bruising or breaking skins onpears – that sort of thing,” Mitchell said.

“Part of the reason Australia’s had anissue with its packout for a long time, I think, is that we don’t really managethat workforce properly.

of roboticsBy Rosalea Ryan

Robotics and automation will play a key role in fifth-generation fruit grower Mitchell McNab’splans to drive efficiencies and quality in his Goulburn Valley family orchard.

Eyeing the future


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company’s merger with SPC to formSPC-Ardmona in 2002.

Today, H.V. McNab & Son is one of the main players in pome fruit inthe region.

The operation’s final delivery to theCoca-Cola Amatil-owned SPC canneryat Mooroopna was made last year andit now concentrates exclusively onproducing fresh fruit for domestic orinternational consumption.

“We have about 70 hectares underfruit production,” Mitchell said.

“About 60 per cent of our productionis pears, 30 per cent is apples and theremaining 10 per cent is plums. Recentlywe’ve been planting a new club varietyof plum, Queen Garnet, which hasincredibly high antioxidant levels.

Pears grown are primarily WilliamBartlett and Packham. Some havebeen grafted over to the new blushpear ANP-0131 (test-branded asFránk™), and they also have RedSensation. Apples grown are Gala,Granny Smith and Cripps Pink (marketedas Pink Lady®).

As a result of the move away fromsupplying the processing sector, Mitchellhas begun removing large volumes ofWilliams pears.

A special row of heritage trees datingfrom 1910 is being spared, however.Believed to be the oldest commerciallyfruiting pears in Australia, they edgethe main driveway into the property.

Mitchell sells fruit domestically throughIntegrity Fruit, both into Woolworths,Coles and Aldi supermarkets, and intoselected export programs.


P R O F I L E

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“Until recently there was some value injuice, as limited as it was, but ultimatelywe need to grow high-quality fruit andwe need to ensure that while we’re harvesting it we’re not damaging thatfruit. We can grow the most perfect pieceof fruit out in the orchard and spend alot of money maintaining it, and then aworker comes in and damages it in threeseconds and that’s all the good work gone.

“We try to instil the right skillsets intopeople when they’re working with us butthe problem is having a high turnover ofstaff. With the backpacker program it’svery difficult to retain people and retaintheir skillsets.”

That continual struggle around staffinghas prompted H.V. McNab & Son – whichcurrently uses MADEC as its backpackerlabour hire provider – to seek accreditationas a direct employer within the AustralianGovernment’s Pacific and Torres StraitIslands Seasonal Worker Program.

In 2017 Mitchell successfully engaged a group of 10 seasonal workers fromVanuatu for six months.

“Year-round we have four other peoplefull-time,” he said.

“At peak times – from mid-February,when the pears start – we have 80–100people a day working here. That drops

Using remote sensors established across the orchard, Mitchell measures soil moisture to help manage water requirements.

It has trended in recent years towardshigh-density planting: “about four metresby one metre”.

“Going forward we’ll be reducing thatdown to 3.5 metres, though,” Mitchell said.

“The opportunities for automated harvesting are much greater with thesenew plantings, and removing that humanlabour from the scenario is, hopefully,going to minimise any picker bruising,for instance.”

He said two companies were leading the way in developing and trialling roboticharvesting of pears and apples.

“Over the next five years, I think, there’sgoing to be a sort of transition aroundthis,” he said.

“Abundant Robotics, which has beendoing some great work, is based in the US. It’s done some trials in Australiaalready.

“And then there’s FF Robotics in Israel,which I visited.”

Among equipment examined by Mitchellwas an FF Robotics device fitted withfour individual ‘arms’ with a ‘claw’ onthe end, each capable of doing the workof eight people.

to about 30 – 40 a day for apples untilthe end of May, when we finish the lastof the Cripps Pink.”

Ideally, Mitchell said, experienced seasonal workers returned year afteryear, providing continuity and stabilityand slashing the need for training.

“It’s definitely preferable to having abackpacker who you train who then leavesin a week’s time. The turnover of stafflike that is usually very high.”

Mechanical alternativeStriving to at least partially solve the labourdilemma is the impetus for Mitchell’sinterest in robotics.

In 2016 Mitchell was awarded a NuffieldAustralia Farming Scholarship to enablehim to investigate the use of robotics inpome fruit harvesting and packing aroundthe world.

Travelling in the brief down-period ofwinter, he initially spent two weeks inIreland, then joined a group tour through17 countries.

His final research was carried out in theUnited States and Israel.

Mitchell has already begun structuringthe newer blocks of trees to suitmechanical harvesting.


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P R O F I L E

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“That’s the equivalent of 32 pickers in asingle machine, and it’s incredibly gentlewith the fruit; it does far less damagethan pickers,” Mitchell said.

Thanks to LED lights that enable thesensor to ‘see’ in the dark, it is able toevaluate fruit piece by piece on a tree,then pick according to size, colour andfreedom from blemishes, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week,when needed.

“Using these lights it will still be able tounderstand and read the colour spectrumof the fruit and sort it accordingly.

“That promises huge efficiency gains inthat we'll be able to actually pick morecrop at the optimum time and with optimum colour. We’ll be able to be moreefficient within our harvest windows.

“And there are a lot of opportunities inautomated packing as well, and it won’tend there.

“I think we can automate sprayers andall those sorts of things. Hort Innovationalready has a program around a flower-thinning automated sprayer system (seepage 34).

“Irrigation nowadays is basically automated with sensors. Applying plantfertilisers is done a lot through fertigationor spraying.

“There’ll be a lot of things: robotic tractors, robotic pruners. A lot of theorchard tasks that need to be carried

“It’s something our growers have hadto learn quite quickly how to control byimplementing the right managementprocesses. Now, as an industry we’restarting to get on top of it.”

H.V. McNab & Son was an early adopterof integrated pest management (IPM) inits orchard.

“The main issue we have around theGoulburn Valley is codling moth – ourmajor pest,” Mitchell said.

“We’ve been working with our localagronomist, Steve Booth, for 28 yearsand using IPM practices for probably 10years now. It's been a slow process toget right but we are making it work sofar.”

For data aggregation and analysis Mitchelluses orchard management softwareknown as Agworld.

“We’ve been using that for four yearsnow,” Mitchell said.

“It allows us to track all our costs out in the orchard down to the block.

“This enables us to understand the profit and loss scenarios of each blockand track our costs throughout the season to help us make more informeddecisions on what we should do withour product and also keep track of pestand disease issues in each block andtrack our labour and input coststhroughout the season.”

Additional serviceAbout 15 years ago H.V. McNab & Sonacquired an external packing shed.

There, together with five other GoulburnValley growers it established a packing andstorage business known as IntegrityFruit.

By holding apples and pears on-siteIntegrity enables its five shareholders to stream product to customersthroughout the year.

The Tatura trellis system of canopy managementis one of the pruning and training systems atH.V. McNab & Son that makes it easier forlabour to perform tasks.

out over the year could well be completedby robotic technology, removing a largepercentage of our labour.

“Using all of this, I don’t see why our labour costs couldn’t come downsignificantly within the next 10 to 20years.”

Mitchell said rather than buy a machine outright, growers or groups of growers would most likely lease onefrom its manufacturer.

“These companies have invested a lotof money and time into developing theintellectual property rights so they wantto maintain those rights. They’re goingto try to restrict who gets to purchasetheir machines with the intent of retaining them and leasing them out or commissioning them to growers on a rate of per-kilogram harvesting.

“I believe it has cost Abundant Robotics$160 million to get its machinery to thecommercialisation stage. It’s a huge,huge investment to make it happen sothey’re not just going to let anyone havethat technology.”

The right balanceCrop thinning is carried out in twochemical thinning applications whichcan be followed up, if required, by hand.

The most problematic pest of pomefruit at Ardmona in recent years hasbeen Queensland fruit fly.


P R O F I L E

u It also has the capacity to store not onlyits own fruit but some for fellow growersin its on-farm cool-storage facility.

“We’ve done this for a long time,”Mitchell said, “and in conjunction withIntegrity periodically we store some ofits product as well, as needed. It’s opento anybody who’s interested.”

Industry involvementIn addition to running the orchard business, Mitchell contributes to thebroader pome fruit industry through hisnew role as Chairman of FGVL.

In 2017 he was elected to the board ofthe organisation, and this year he steppedup to take on its chairmanship.

A current oversupply of pears inAustralia is one of the issues FGVL islooking to address.

“Trying to get an understanding of thethings we can implement to try to resolvethis is something we’ll be heavily involvedin,” Mitchell said.

“Our main aim currently at FruitGrowers Victoria is to provide value to our members and ensure we areactively advocating for grower members’ interests.”

FGVL represents about 300 grower-members state-wide.

Mitchell inspecting Alvina Gala trees recentlygrafted onto Gala trees. Alvina Gala ripens earlier than standard Gala giving Mitchell moremarketing opportunities.

Mitchell said protecting Australia’s‘clean, green’ image was a major priority.“We have maintained for a long timenow this image in our markets so weneed to continue to provide a high-qualitypiece of fruit that we can send overseasin return for the price premium that’srequired to maintain a sustainable exportprogram in Australia.”

Positive outlookBased on his Nuffield research heencourages all growers to consider thepotential of robotics when managingtheir orchards.

“We need to have a simple, narrowcanopy that makes it as easy as possiblefor our labour source, whether it berobotic or human, to perform tasks,

About the author: Rosalea Ryan,Senior Consultant, CurrieCommunications

t: 03 9670 6599e: [email protected]

whether it’s thinning, pruning or picking,quickly and efficiently.

“We also need to have the right varieties– whether they be club varieties or opencommodity varieties – for our growingregions and the environment we’regrowing in, in order to provide the highestquality fruit to consumers as possible.”

At H.V. McNab & Son, Mitchell is certainly heeding his own advice. :afg


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Growing a quality cropwith limited water

Matching crop load to tree canopy size and growing conditionsdetermines fruit quality. In the perfect world, which incidentallydoes not exist, tree vigour should be uniform at around 20 to25cm of individual shoot length, which will terminate in earlysummer with a strong terminal fruit bud and the crop uniformlydistributed throughout the canopy, largely in singles.

Present indicators are that, for many Australian fruit-growingdistricts, irrigation water supply will be scarce. By hand thinningtime the irrigation water supply situation may become clearer.The amount of water you have will determine how much cropload the trees support.

There is good data available to show that with careful management it is possible to grow marketable crops in dry years.

The first decision to make, then, when setting your thinningand crop loading policy, will revolve around the quantity of irrigation water available. If it is likely to be limiting, carefulthought will need to be given to where best to use it. It willbe necessary to set some priorities for water use.

Key areas to think about are allocating enough water to maintainyoung tree health because they are your future. Also, with anefficient water irrigation system, they do not need as muchwater as older, less intensive producing blocks, but will be muchmore sensitive to drought stress because their root systemsare not fully established.

If planting decisions have been rational, newer plantings willhave better fruit value than older orchards. Our data also showsthat modern intensive plantings reach district average orchardproduction levels relatively quickly, usually within three or fouryears of planting so, as well as having high fruit value, theyare capable of matching older orchard revenue well beforethey reach their full production potential.

Once water requirements necessary to maintain high valuenewer plantings have been established, it’s now time to attendto the remainder of the orchard. Most established orchardshave a range of blocks, some producing good returns, andothers very marginal. If there is insufficient water to irrigatethe lot, it may be time to pull out the more marginal ones soavailable resources can be directed to those blocks with thebest chance of success.

The thinning and crop load strategyWhere water supply is adequate to support the crop, a normalcrop should be the goal – assuming trees are relatively uniformand there is no entrenched biennial bearing.

Because most of the varieties grown are red or partiallycoloured and because markets demand high colour, fruit needsto be well spaced, mainly in singles with twos to build numbers,if necessary, on favoured sites.

I tend to favour large, calm canopies, in which interfruit competition reduces the fruit clusters down to ones and twos,usually with the help of an effective chemical thinning program.This makes setting crop loads relatively easy, and hand thinning manageable.

A calm canopy maximises the proportion of the tree’s carbohydrate supply going into the fruit, rather than excessvegetative growth.

Generally, the crop load determines fruit size range as there is a strong relationship between fruit sizing and crop load.Understand your market requirements regarding fruit size range.

With growers looking to set up their crop for the coming season with the possibility of limitedwater, AgFirst’s John Wilton explores ways to grow marketable crops in a dry year that are also

relevant if water is not an issue.

By John Wilton

O R C H A R D M A N A G E M E N T

High quality requires thinning to well-spaced singles.


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When setting up crop loads, analyse your previous crop historyas a good starting point for well established orchards with relatively mature canopies.

In younger trees, canopy volume determines their croppingcapacity. Assuming that excessive pruning has not disruptednormal tree growth, trunk cross sectional area (TCA) is a reliableguide to fruit canopy volume until the tree fills its allottedspace. The number of fruit per cm2 TCA is a very useful methodfor setting young trees’ cropping levels. Optimal crop levelswill depend on variety and growing conditions. Under idealgrowing conditions, with no serious limiting factors, optimumcrops for two, three and four-year-old trees are from 10 to 12fruit per cm2 TCA.

Incidentally, by the time the fruit reaches hand thinning stage,most of the damage to tree growth and development hasalready occurred, it’s the number of growing points at thebeginning of tree growth, and flowering density, that determineyoung tree vigour. Branch selection at pruning time and controlling flower bud density are what determines tree vigour.

Generally, trees growing on precocious dwarfing rootstocksperform better with some crop than without it. This is becausetheir shoot growth terminates earlier than trees growing onmore vigorous root stocks and, once this happens, leavesbecome overloaded with photosynthate and shut down. Carryingsome crop prevents this happening. Also, gibberellin fromdeveloping seed in the fruit stimulates shoot growth.

Once trees approach full canopy, TCA begins to lose its relevance to cropping capacity because TCA continues toincrease while canopy volume remains constant. In oldertrees it’s better to set crop levels based on individual branchor sub-branch cross sectional area (BCA). As branch diameterincreases there is a rapid reduction in optimal crop load percm2 BCA. Break the tree canopy down to small fruiting branchunits up to three centimetres in diameter. Optimal crop loadson branches in this size range are 3.5 to 4.5 fruit per cm2 BCAdepending on variety. These branches should be relatively settled regarding vigour, will require minimal pruning becausethey are small and will produce low fruit numbers. Checkingcrop load level is relatively simple and it’s a very efficient wayto establish a hand thinning policy and then check that it isbeing correctly implemented.

Where tree canopies have excessive branch numbers, over-cropping with this method of assessing crop load is possible, so it’s necessary to do some whole tree fruit countsto make sure that the trees are not carrying too many fruit.

Also, when making thinning-time fruit counts, it’s necessaryto build in an allowance for the natural drop which occursbetween hand thinning and harvest. Our data indicates thataround 15 to 20 per cent of the thinning-time fruit load willvanish by harvest.

Where irrigation water supply is short, crop loads will need to be reduced to maintain fruit size in the marketable range.

At around 50 per cent of irrigation requirement, fruit numberswill need to be halved. If it’s not going to be possible to maintain irrigation application at the 50 per cent level it maybe necessary to abandon the lower-value performing blocks to grow marketable crops on the better blocks.

MulchingA good thick organic mulch markedly reduces water needsand has the added advantage of lowering soil temperatures inthe root zone which will also improve apple tree performanceduring hot weather. There is good data to show that mulchingcan double the irrigation interval compared to bare soil.

Where sprinkler irrigation is used, evaporation losses can be very high, both during application and from the wet soilsurface following application. Increase the irrigation intervaland use longer runs to drive irrigation water well into the soilto minimise these evaporation losses.

Left: This second leaf Scilate (apples marketed as Envy™) tree on aprecocious dwarfing rootstock was de-fruited at full bloom. By lateJanuary growth had stopped, leaves were pale and cupped due to abuild-up of photosynthates in them.

Right: The same Scilate tree as shown in the left-side photo but nearharvest. The foliage shows it is still not happy. It’s also full of fruit budand likely to go biennial next year if allowed to over crop.

Left: This second leaf Scilate tree in the same block as the tree in theabove photos was allowed to crop then it was thinned to 10 fruit/cm2

TCA six weeks after bloom. Note healthy foliage, with dark green leafcolour, and adequate vigour for tree canopy development.

Right: The same tree as shown in the left-side photo but near harvest.Note good fruit colour and healthy foliage.

Thinning strategyIn hot climates, fruit needs transient shading to avoid sunburninjury. Thin off excessively exposed fruit in positions likely tosuffer injury. We have also seen increasing problems with bothsunburn and fruit colour development with increasing crop loads.

The first pass of hand thinning needs to be done before thereally hot weather arrives, and before the bunches close on a bunchy crop.

To grow a high-quality crop, two hand thinning passes may benecessary. The first to single the fruit, or at least bring themdown to ones and twos. The second, to fine tune the cropwhich will involve targeting those areas where crop loads arestill too high, remove russet and damaged fruit, and space fruitto give it enough room to grow without being shaded by nearbyfruit. As this second crop-grooming thin has to be done later,when temperatures are high, there is a high sunburn riskunless the first thinning brought fruit down to mainly singles.If you are forced to do late hand thinning in a bunchy crop toreduce crop load, it’s best to take out whole bunches ratherthan try to break them down into ones and twos.

In terms of growing a high-quality crop getting the hand thinning right is critical and one of the most important crophusbandry practices.

Biennial bearingApples and pears are naturally predisposed to alternate cropping. The warmer the climate, the greater the biennialbearing tendency.

There is also a link between high tree vigour, vigorous rootstocksand increasing biennial bearing. With appropriate management,targeting excessive tree vigour and excessive ‘on’ crop fruitnumbers, biennial bearing is manageable.


While precocious dwarfing rootstocks are generally less proneto alternate cropping, they can go biennial and once they startthis habit are very difficult to bring back to regular cropping.The message here is ‘don’t risk letting them go biennial’.

As we have been pushing up yields in recent years there hasbeen a lot of effort go toward understanding and managingthe biennial bearing problem.

An early thinning program is critical to minimising biennialbearing. The foundation to this program should be a soundchemical thinning strategy. I have found it necessary to commence the chemical thinning program on young orchardsplanted on dwarfing rootstocks in year two with an aggressivepost-bloom thinning strategy, e.g. benzyladenine (BA) plusNAA, or BA plus carbaryl. In general, this strategy has beensuperior to using bloom thinners as it carries less over-thinning risk. Incidentally, overthinning young trees can also predispose them to biennial bearing, as can completelystripping the crop off in the second or third growing season.It’s better to build up the crop gradually as the tree canopybuilds, rather than grow the canopy first then shock it intocrop with a heavy crop.

Where biennial bearing patterns are established, in theaggressive ‘on’ crop year, thinning is necessary, usually inconjunction with other cultural practices known to stimulateflower initiation and bud development to bring the trees backinto regular cropping the following year.

Where vigour is high, reducing it helps. Trunk girdling, oncefruit shedding induced by chemical thinning becomes apparent,will do a good job of reducing annual shoot growth as well asstimulating flower bud development for the next year. Theoptimal window for treatment is mid to late November. If trunkgirdling is done too soon fruit does not shed and the handthinning task becomes colossal. Where young tree vigour


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Where vigour is excessive and there is a risk of the crop being shed, girdling atpetal fall is a useful vigour control tool.

Crop load influences colour development. The lighter cropping tree on the left has much better fruit colour than the heavier crop one on the right.



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Stubbing annual shoots back in mid growing season reduces vigour.

is very high causing fruit to shed rather than set, girdling atpetal fall is a very useful tool to solve this problem.

Summer sprays of either Ethephon or NAA applied at lowrates from late November into December as a three-sprayprogram with cover sprays have been found in North America,and in New Zealand, to be very beneficial for return bloom.Particularly, NAA is now widely used to minimise biennialbearing in susceptible varieties.

Maintaining good leaf health is essential for good fruit buddevelopment. Early season water stress adversely affects buddevelopment. Low nitrogen status, as well as adversely affectingfruit set and retention, also reduces flower bud development.

Pests, such as red mite, which reduce foliage efficiency,reduce flowering in the following season.

Excessive crop load carried much beyond four to six weeksafter bloom supresses flowering for the following season andmay override the effects of the treatments mentioned above.

In orchards with biennial bearing issues, growers often try to compensate for the reduced number of fruiting sites byleaving more fruit on the fruiting sites to maintain fruit numbers.This is not a good strategy for several reasons. Firstly, fruitsite distribution is usually irregular in the tree so it’s very easyto end up with excessive crop loads on a portion of the tree.Fruit on these overloaded branches often fails to ripen properlyand will tend to behave as if the whole tree was over loaded.Secondly, fruit in bunches often fails to colour well and is difficult to pick. Thirdly, unless your thinning labour supervisionis very good, once you allow thinners to leave fruit in multiplesthere is a risk that normal crop trees will have fruit left in multiples where it should have been singled.

Set hand thinning policies that match the requirements of themajority of trees in a variable block.

In many blocks with biennial bearing problems it’s only a smallproportion of the trees with really ‘off’ crops, so their crop doesnot amount to much volume compared to the crop on the restof the block. Thinning them correctly therefore does not amountto much reduction in the total crop but will certainly make theharvest run more smoothly and the better fruit quality from doingthe thinning correctly will more than compensate for less crop.

Vigour managementVigour has a huge influence on fruit quality and, where excessive, represents lost crop potential.

High vigour is only necessary in recently planted trees whileyou are building canopy volume. As full canopy approaches,tree vigour needs to be calmed down to annual shoot growthin the region of 20 to 30cm.

Branch strength determines vigour status. Cropping is the key to vigour control. Branches need to have sufficient cropto utilise most of the photosynthates produced by their leavesso there is little surplus to fuel unwanted growth, or export toelsewhere in the tree such as the trunk and roots.

The relationship between branch diameter and its length has a huge influence on vigour. Calm branches usually havediameters near the main branch or trunk of 2 to 2.5cm permetre of length. They also need good distribution of fruitinglaterals and spurs on which to set crop.

Shortening longer branches that have outgrown their allottedspace destroys the vigour/cropping balance and will stimulateexcessive shoot growth. These branches are better removedin winter pruning rather than shortened to contain them within their allotted space.

In higher density plantings a common mistake is to carry toomany branches. Where there are too many branches shading

In this high density planting some trees on high vigour rootstock were planted by error. Petalfall trunk girdling controls their vigour and enables a crop to be set.


is a problem, as is insufficient space, to allow for adequatefruiting buds to carry crop.

Branch density needs to be around six to eight branches permetre of leader extension and less if these branches need tocarry much fruiting lateral development to accommodate thecrop load required to control excess vigour.

While establishing the correct branch hierarchy is the long-termanswer to vigour management, in the shorter term there are anumber of vigour control measures that can be implementedduring the growing season to manage vigour. These include:

• trunk girdling

• summer pruning

• deficit irrigation

• growth regulators

• branch training.

Summer pruningSummer pruning is a very useful tool and it can take differentforms. It can range from plucking out unwanted water shootgrowth prior to hand thinning on high vigour branches, to targeted shortening of the current season’s extension growthto stimulate fruit bud development.

Tipping back shoots at the seven to ten node stage, which is sometimes done mechanically, reduces their growth andforces fruit bud development behind the cut. This is a veryuseful way to avoid bare wood in varieties such as Nicoter(apples marketed as Kanzi™) and Scifresh (apples marketedas Jazz™), which are prone to this problem.


About the author: John Wilton, Horticultural Consultant,AgFirst, New Zealand | t: +64 6872 7080

The laterals towards the tip of the leader were stubbed back andhave good flower and spur development. Note the vigorous branchon the right-hand side that was not stubbed. The pruned shoots weremuch stronger growing than this one when they were pruned back.

Summer pruning needs careful supervision, particularly if it’s done as a panic move towards harvest to try and lift fruitcolour. Late summer pruning increases sunburn risk and, ifpoorly understood, often results in large amounts of nextyear’s fruit buds being lost.

Deficit irrigationDeficit irrigation is a very useful tool for vigour managementin pears and stonefruit. It’s less suited to apples due to highsunburn risk, and it can increase fruit cracking problems. Itcould be a useful tool in apples with net protection becausewater requirements under net are lower, and the net givessome sunburn protection.

Growth regulatorsGrowth regulators are useful tools, but their use needs to bewell understood and well managed.

Branch trainingBranch training is widely used to control branch vigour, and to stimulate bud development and fruit setting. It is expensiveand timing it well is critical. It is an important tool in varietiesthat tend to give stiff upright growth such as Cripps Pink.

Common mistakes with branch training are tying down far toomany branches, tying down too early and spending time andmoney on weak branches where training is unnecessary.

Reflective mulchIn recent years reflective mulch has become widely used toimprove fruit colour. For this purpose, it’s usually put downaround four weeks pre-harvest. There is also an earlier, lesspracticed application, which is to lay it down over the flowerinitiation, bud development and cell division period to liftlower tree light levels. In orchards where lower tree light levels are marginal, such as orchards under net, significantimprovements in bud strength, fruit size and quality can beobtained by using reflective mulch over this period. :afg

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B U S I N E S S M A N A G E M E N T

Collecting data may be time-consuming but, as Sarah Dunn from Battunga Orchards inWest Gippsland shares, it can deliver significant cost savings and is vital in helping makegood business decisions for long-term profitability.

large workforce to complete them – we had to find a better, moreefficient way that would improve our bottom line,” Sarah said.

“The introduction of platforms has had a dramatic change onour workplace efficiency, in some instances we’ve seen morethan a 50 per cent reduction in the cost of these tasks, whichis money better spent on other things.

“We might have had 60 to 70 people in the orchard on laddersso that’s where platforms were introduced. It makes you think‘OK that’s pruning and thinning, what about harvest?’

“Ultimately we’d like to use the platforms for harvest work too.”

Sarah was shortlisted for both the APAL Awards for Excellenceand Hort Connections Combined Industry Awards forExcellence in 2018 for her work on the business.

Finding the right toolsCurrently, Sarah manually records data for 58 categories acrossthe business and then enters it into an Excel spreadsheet.“Excel is the main program we use because we haven’tfound another one that ticks all our boxes. It’s obviously a lotof collection, a lot of work and not the most efficient systemyou can use but that’s what we currently do,” Sarah said.

“We are always looking for something that might be a bitmore appropriate but are yet to find that one package that can do everything.”

Aside from Excel, Sarah also uses the MYOB business software program and enters orchard performance data intothe online database OrchardNet®. She also uses OrchardBusiness Analysis reports to benchmark the business againstthe ‘model’ industry orchard.

Sarah is currently on the search for an orchard and businessmanagement program that offers the complete packageaccompanied by smart phone technology where informationand data can be recorded through an app. “We’ve had a fewconversations with businesses offering elements of whatwe’re after but it’s hard to get them to take on all the aspectswe require,” Sarah said.

In an orchard, data collection can mean recording all dailyactivities including spraying, pruning, thinning, fruit measuring,pest monitoring, general maintenance, goods received,expenses, packout information and the list goes on.

Sarah Dunn has been working at Battunga Orchards for sixyears and joined the team to focus on collecting a range of dataand then understanding and reporting her findings. She nowproduces Battunga Orchards’ Annual Production Report whichis used by orchard owner Laurie Thompson and ProductionManager Mark Trzaskoma to determine what each block iscosting; how much profit they’re making; the tasks undertakenthroughout the year; and a break-down of costs per bin.

When Sarah joined the team there was minimal informationcollected and used to improve business efficiencies. Just oneyear on, the ability to identify opportunities for cost cutting hasdelivered significant savings, with costs in some operationshalved. “After the first year of collection we recognised thatcertain tasks were costing too much money and we required a

By Richelle Zealley

Data –a vital business input

Sarah Dunn collects, records and analyses data across 58 categoriesfor Battunga Orchards, helping the business make more informeddecisions and save money.


B U S I N E S S M A N A G E M E N T

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We’d like to hear from you! Have you found an effective data collection and managementsystem that records all areas and aspects ofyour business? Or, what would you like to seein your dream data collection program? ContactRichelle Zealley on [email protected] or 0438 364 728 with your suggestions.

Data makes you accountable There’s no question that data can help growers to make more informeddecisions rather than guessing and leaving decisions to chance. It’salso valuable in planning for future business growth and development.

“You can’t just rely on what you see happening in your business orwhat you might read,” Sarah said. “This can certainly be helpful, but tohave actual numbers to measure performance is much more powerful,that proof is obvious in the reports we’ve been producing over the pastsix years.”

So, if you’re looking to implement one change in your business thisyear, why not look at the data you’re currently collecting, determinesomething you’d really like to know and go out and collect that informationon a daily, weekly or monthly basis – you might be surprised with whatyou find!

AcknowledgementMany thanks to Sarah Dunn from Battunga Orchards for sharing herknowledge and time. :afg

Richelle Zealley, Manager Events & Sponsorship, APAL: t: 03 9329 3511 | e: [email protected]

Platforms have replaced ladders forpruning at Battunga Orchards afterthe team realised just how inefficientladders were for the task.


R & D

Apple trees produce more flowers than the number of fruitthat growers wish to crop. Growers need to manage thisoversupply of flowers and early stage fruitlets to maximiseyield and produce fruit of a consistent size.

Fruit trees utilise carbohydrates to grow fruit. Grower inputscontribute to carbohydrate production and thus, ideally, theseinputs should be directed into the harvested fruit rather thanthinned fruit. Through effective crop load management, carbohydrates from reserves and generated by photosynthesiscan be efficiently used to grow the fruit that are carriedthrough to maturity.

Growers use three key management strategies to set optimalcrop loads: winter pruning of buds, spring chemical thinningof flowers and fruitlets (primary and secondary), and handthinning of fruit.

It is desirable to reduce crop load early in the season forthree key reasons:

1. To maximise productivity of the tree, more carbon is allocated to fruit to be carried through and less is wastedby later thinning or fruit drop.

Secondary thinning:

Could a tool used in the US to help apple growers better manage secondary thinning to optimisefruit quality and maximise productivity be of use in Australia? PIPS researchers plan to find out.

By Rebecca Darbyshire, Dario Stefanelli, Jens Wünsche and Henryk Flachowsky

2. To minimise biennial behaviour of the tree. For some cultivars signals from fruitlet seeds inhibit bud initiation for the next season.

3. Minimise hand thinning which is labour intensive and costly.

As part of the Hort Innovation funded ‘Productivity, Irrigation,Pests and Soils’ (PIPS) project 'Physiological, metabolic and molecular basis of biennial bearing in apple', secondary thinning is being investigated by the NSW Department ofPrimary Industries and Agriculture Victoria.

US growers benefit from serviceIn the United States, a service is provided to growers toassist with secondary thinning decisions. This targets theearly fruitlet stage after flowers have been thinned. At thisgrowth stage the effectiveness of chemical thinners variesbased on the carbon balance (deficit or excess) of the treeand the prevailing weather conditions.

When a tree is in carbon deficit, that is the demand of thetree outstrips carbon availability, it weakens its hold on fruitletsmaking thinners more effective. Conversely, in carbon excessconditions, where demand is met by supply, fruitlets areretained more strongly and thinners are less effective.

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The carbon balance of a tree plays a big role in whether thinnerstargeted at fruitlets will be effective or not.

Do Australian growers needa service like the US?

Thinning recommendations for various tree carbonbalance levels

Source: newa.nrcc.cornell.edu/apple_thin_help.html

4-day average carbon balance

Thinning Recommendation

> 0g/day Increase chemical thinner rate by 30%

0g/day to -20g/day Apply standard chemical thinner rate

-20g/day to -40g/day Decrease chemical thinner rate by 15%

-40g/day to -60 g/day Decrease chemical thinner rate by 30%

-60g/day to -80 g/day Decrease chemical thinner rate by 50%

< -80g/day Do not thin (many fruits will fall off naturally)

About the authors: Rebecca Darbyshire, NSW Department of Primary Industries e: [email protected]

Dario Stefanelli, Agriculture Victoria e: [email protected]

Jens Wünsche, University of Hohenheim; and HenrykFlachowsky, Institute for Breeding Research on Fruit Crops.

R & D


Matching thinner application to the tree carbon balance mayimprove thinning outcomes. Weather conditions influence thephotosynthesis and respiration processes and therefore alsoinfluence the carbon status of the tree and hence chemicalthinner efficiency.

Cornell University has used relationships between weathervariables and apple tree carbon balance to develop an advisoryservice to help growers make secondary thinning decisions.

This tool utilises the apple carbon model ‘MaluSim’ developedby Professor Alan Lasko. Growers can select a weather stationnear their orchard, input green tip date and receive a forecastfor the next few days of the likely carbon status of the treeand a thinning recommendation.

Potential in AustraliaResearchers are testing the MaluSim model under Australianconditions, with outcomes to be delivered to growers overthe next 18 months.

For more information watch the video ‘Understanding biennialbearing in apple – 2018 update’ on APAL's YouTube channel,https://youtu.be/GlNmOQLiU8Y. :afg

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Source: Based on Professor Terence Robinson ‘rules of thumb’, see www.goodfruit.com/thin-thin-thin

AcknowledgmentThis project has been funded by Hort Innovation using the appleand pear research and development levy, funds from the AustralianGovernment and contributions from the state governments ofVictoria and NSW.

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Weather Carbon supply Carbon demand Carbon balance Thinners efficiency

Dark, cloudy weather

Decreases carbon supply because cloudy weather reduces solar radiationintercepted, reducing photosynthesis.

Lowers Thinners are more effective

High night-time temperatures(>18.3°C)

Increases carbon demandbecause high temperaturesincrease respiration.


High daytime temperatures(>29.4°C)

Decreases carbon supply because high temperatures encourage stomataclosure, reducing photosynthesis.


Clear sunny daysIncreases carbon supply because sunnydays increase solar radiation intercepted,increasing photosynthesis.

Increases Thinners are less effective

Cool daytime temperatures(<18.3°C)

Decreases carbon demandbecause cool temperaturesslow fruit growth rates.

Increases Thinners are less effective

Examples of weather conditions which influence the carbon balance and chemical thinning efficiency

A new levy-funded project will look at using agricultural robotsto measure tree canopy and flower density and deliver a moreprecise, variable spraying solution for apple flower thinning.

Led by Queensland-based SwarmFarm Robotics, theDeveloping agri-tech solutions for the Australian apple industryproject aims to develop a new system to measure treecanopy and flower density and deliver a variable and dilutionspraying solution for apple flower thinning.

SwarmFarm Robotics, in partnership with Bosch, ADAMA,and the University of New South Wales, was announced atHort Connections 2018 by Hort Innovation as the successfulconsortium selected to deliver the three-year project. It is astrategic investment under the Apple and Pear Fund and isfunded by Hort Innovation using the apple and pear levy andfunds from the Australian Government.

With the rapid evolution of agri-technology worldwide, theapple and pear industry is looking at future production systemsbased far more on automation, precision, and data-baseddecision support tools. Growers are already positioning themselves to take advantage of these technologies.

Agri-techologies offer promising solutions for growers wanting to improve production of high quality fruit, improveefficiency, or better manage inputs. Whatever the technology,the potential benefit to the industry is huge.

The key challenge in digitalising Australia’s apple industry has been attracting large companies to invest R&D funding todevelop and commercialise a product that growers can use.

Growers see many start-up companies come through, but a limitation to date has been the narrow-ranging, oftencost-prohibitive solutions which are not tailored well to commercial apple and pear production.

The current project is a response to the 2017 worldwidereview of agri-technology, commissioned by Hort Innovationand led by TechMac, which identified opportunities for the

aims to help with thinningNew agri-tech project

While still in its very early stages, a new project aims to develop a system to measure treecanopy and flower density to help growers choose an optimal chemical thinning regime forapple flowers.

By Angus Crawford

Australian apple and pear industry, including recommendationsfor future R&D investment.

Proposals for the current project were to focus on the deliveryof an autonomous flower density monitoring system, farmdecision-support system, and variable rate spray system. Thisproject was to engage commercial partners and disseminateinformation and engage with Australian growers to supportadoption of any project outputs.

SwarmFarm Robotics is an agri-tech company, based atGindie, Queensland, an area known predominantly for cattleand cropping enterprise and an industry full of big machinery.Rather than big machinery, SwarmFarm Robotics has insteadopted for smaller, lighter, more accurate machinery whichoperate in ‘swarms’. They now have commercial-ready systems, and this new project will help broaden SwarmFarmRobotics’ sights to horticulture and specifically apples for further commercial opportunity.

The three-year project will develop a new system to measuretree canopy and flower density and deliver a variable and dilution spraying solution for apple flower thinning. The Universityof New South Wales will develop the algorithms to count theflower density, ADAMA will supply the decision support toolto its agronomy network, and Bosch will supply the key technology necessary for the system.

While only in its early stages, fundamental to the deliverablesof the project are strong industry engagement, integrationwith existing technology, and commercialisation. :afg


R & D

Angus Crawford, Technical Manager, APALt: (03) 9329 3511 | m: 0427 111 852 I e: [email protected]

Brevis® advantagesBrevis®, an innovative solution to post-bloom thinning in apples. Unlike traditional hormone-based fruit thinners, Brevis® temporarily disrupts photosynthesis, leading to an earlier and increased natural fruit drop. Brevis®, reduces the time and costs associated with apple hand thinning.Rapid foliar absorption, rainfast within 2 hours and quick re-entry to the orchard. Brevis®

return bloom. Brevis® is a key tool for managing biennial bearing.

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The business of sorting and identifying the thousands oftephritid ‘true’ fruit flies affecting a wide variety of cropsgrown in Australia has just been made a lot easier.

The Australian handbook for the identification of fruit flies hasalways been popular with fruit fly diagnosticians, biosecurityworkers, and the general fruit fly community. Now that it hasbeen fully revised and updated it’s an even more valuableresource. Additional online information has also been developedvia the companion website Fruit Fly Identification Australia,fruitflyidentification.org.au.

The leader of the research project that produced theseresources, which was supported by the Plant BiosecurityCooperative Research Centre, is Dr Mark Schutze, formerlyof the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) but now atthe Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF).

“This new resource represents a complete overhaul of TheAustralian handbook for the identification of fruit flies,” saidMark. “We’ve updated all the fruit fly images using freshmaterial and produced new, tailor-made, molecular diagnostictools that have emerged from our investment in next generation genomic research.

“Both the hard copy handbook and onlineresource will, I’m sure, become aninvaluable tool for Australia’s

front-line diagnosticians to helpprotect our horticultural

and agricultural industries fromexotic fruit fliesvia more accurateand rapid diagnostics.”

Fruit flies arearguably among

the world’s mostimportant fruit pests.

They appear onalmost everycontinentand millionsof dollars

R & D

u

Get familiar with the diversity of fruit flies worldwide with a new handbook and website thatmakes identification easier – hopefully aiding in the early detection of exotic pest incursions.

New fruit flyhandbook and website

are spent annually on their control and eradication. Over 60target species of fruit flies are included in the handbook andwebsite, shown both as individual flies and in groups of fliesthat look similar to each other. Importantly, the range of variation within species is also captured.

“Fruit flies are incredibly variable in their colour patterns.We’ve done everything we can to represent as much variationas possible in the new version, as well as showing what flieslook like when they’ve been preserved using a range of differenttechniques,” Mark said.

The research project, website, and handbook were developed in partnership with the DAF, the Western AustraliaDepartment of Primary Industries and Regional Development,and Plant Health Australia (PHA), which led the website andhandbook development.

Nick Woods, PHA’s Manager, National Strategies & PolicyCoordination, said that maps showing where the flies are currently found in the world are included.

“Looking at the maps, researchers can immediately tell if thesample they are looking at is usually found in Australia, whetherit is regarded as a pest or non-pest, or if it is an exotic speciesthat is new to the country,” Nick said. “The website containsan expanded selection of high definition images as well as anupdated description of the latest DNA techniques and protocolsused to identify fruit flies.”

The high-resolution images were taken at QUT under standardised light conditions and ‘stacked’ to produce completely in-focus images, so that comparisons can be madebetween species and flies can be correctly identified by whatthey look like.

“For so long researchers have been trying to use imagesfrom a wide range of sources, collected and stored under different conditions, which can affect how well the sample is preserved and the colours of body parts that are used toidentify flies,” Nick said.

“Another advantage to having the website is that there’s lessneed to keep the printed handbook up-to-date. As new imagescome to hand they can be readily included in the list of flieson the site that we could one day find in Australia and need to identify.


Photo: N

ick Woods, Plant Health Australia.


R & D

“Being able to identify flies by what they look like is only partof the story. Many flies can look superficially the same, soanalysing the DNA is sometimes the only way to positivelyidentify a particular species.”

Advances in DNA analysis are included, with detailed techniquesavailable for download and use as recipes in the lab. The websiteincludes a new lucid key for identifying the Dacini species (thegroup of most direct importance to Australia) developed byJane Royer of DAF, as well as comprehensive data sheets.There’s also a glossary of terms, but it’s not what you mightbe thinking.

“The glossary centrepiece is a fly that rotates through 360degrees, so you can identify the general features of fruit fliesfrom all angles,” Mark said.

There’s more to the site than a bit of fun spinning a fly. Thisresource is the product of serious science that underpins somany aspects of Australia’s biosecurity system that allows producers to continue to access export markets with theirproducts. :afg

The Australian handbook for the identification of fruit flies is a comprehensive guide to identifying65 fruit fly species.

CONTACT MICHAEL CUNIAL | m: 0415 663 413 | e: [email protected] ROSS CALTABIANO | m: 0409 169 520 | e: [email protected]

www.drapenet.com.au

Although it is too late for custom-orders we have a large range of widths on hand, but popular sizes are going quickly. So do not miss out!

Drape Net has many benefits apart from hail protection. Sunburn, birds/bats, wind, specific insects (codling moth) and increased water retention also play a big part of the Drape Net system.

We have Ethan Giroux from New York State here with us. His family are our North American Drape Net distributors. So get your orders in quickly to can keep Ethan working hard!

& Drape Net Has Stock!

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Although it is too late for custom-orders we have a large range of widths on hand, but popular


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ape Net Has Stock!

Although it is too late for custom-orders we have a large range of widths on hand, but popular . So do not miss out!sizes are going quickly


e Spring is Her

Although it is too late for custom-orders we have a large range of widths on hand, but popular


e have Ethan Giroux from New YWNet distributors. So get your orders in quickly to can keep Ethan working hard!

ork State here with us. His family are our North American Drape Giroux from New Y York State here with us. His family are our North American Drape Net distributors. So get your orders in quickly to can keep Ethan working hard!

ork State here with us. His family are our North American Drape Net distributors. So get your orders in quickly to can keep Ethan working hard!

ork State here with us. His family are our North American Drape Net distributors. So get your orders in quickly to can keep Ethan working hard!

OR ROSS CALTABIANO

ACT MICHAE CONTTACT MICHAEL CUNIAL 0409 169 520 m: |OR ROSS CALTABIANO

0415 663 413 m: |ACT MICHAEL CUNIAL

www.drapenet.com.au

[email protected] e: |0409 169 520

[email protected] e: |0415 663 413

www.drapenet.com.au

[email protected]

[email protected]

More information: Dr Sharon Abrahams,Communications Officer, Plant Health Australia.t: 02 6215 7711 | e: [email protected]

u


Nursery andbreedingHoneycrisp improvementefforts

USA: Soft scald and soggybreakdown genes of‘Honeycrisp’ have been identified allowing for marker-assisted breeding to rapidlyidentify tree resistance inbreeding programs.

Nutritious heritage apples

Italy: A study of food nutritional value of 34 heritageapple cultivars has identifiedseveral with potential for re-introduction into nichemarkets.

Grafting trumps tissueculture

China: After thermotherapyof apple trees for virus elimination, survival of virus-free trees was greatest withshoot tip grafting comparedto tissue culture.

ProductionBagging good for looks

China: Bagging of apple fruitprior to harvest improvestheir cosmetic appearancebut reduces fruit sugars andaroma compounds.

New pear-growing areas

Brazil: A study of climateacross Brazil has identifiedfour regions suitable for pear production which mayreduce Brazil’s reliance onimporting pears.

No benefit from humus

Turkey: The application ofhumic substances to applefoliage or soil had no significanteffect on fruit yield or quality.

Water and temperatures Tool assesses water status

Italy: The IPL index uses datafrom chlorophyll fluorescence,carboxylation as well as airand leaf temperature todetermine tree water statusto assist in irrigation decisions

Coping with hot temperatures

China: Shade cloth or watermisting to cool Nijisseiki pearsduring summer to overcomeglobal warming is effective withtrees producing higher yields.

Water short China region

China: Pear trees growing on the North China Plain use764mm of water and withonly 469mm of rainfall thereis a water deficit of 294mm.

Waste water for irrigation

Turkey: A 1:3 dilution of textile waste water improvesapple tree growth although,without dilution, growthreduces and heavy metalsbuild up.

Root growth/droughttolerance

China: An apple gene hasbeen identified which isresponsible for dense rootgrowth and drought resistance.

International apple andpear research updateCompiled by Dr Gordon Brown

Research snippets are sourced from abstracts of published scientific papers collated in the CAB direct database. To get the abstract related toany snippet contact Gordon Brown on [email protected] or 03 6239 6411.

Pests and diseasesSprays for fruit rot

Israel: Severe fruit rot ofapples, due to Alternaria, has become a problem andcontrol by azoxystrobin + difenoconazole or tebuconazole+ captan sprays starting at115 days after petal fall isrecommended.

Rosy apple aphid resistance

Italy: Four potential genesinvolved in rosy apple aphidresistance of ‘Florina’ appleshave been identified.

Neighbourly help for fireblight

Italy: When infected by FireBlight, apple trees producevolatile compounds whichcause nearby trees to producesalicylic acid which improvestheir resistance to the disease.

Acids for aphid resistance

Spain: Hydroxycinnamic acids,particularly 4-caffeoylquinic acidand 4-p-coumaroylquinic acid,are a major player in rosy appleaphid resistance of apples.

Post-harvestReducing greasy appleskins

China: Treating apple fruit withEpigallocatechin-3-gallate, anaturally occurring polyphenol,reduces the appearance ofgreasy apple skins by downregulating fluid wax genes.

Water-stress resistance

Moldova: Vapour Guardapplied to apple trees reducesleaf area and chlorophyll bimproving a tree’s resistanceto water stress.

Flowering tofruit setNew acids for thinning

Serbia: Naphthenic acidsapplied to young apple fruithave similar effects to NAAfor thinning fruit, leading toincreased fruit size.

Mycotoxin reduces pollination

China: When the mycotoxinCytochalasin B is applied toapple pollen the pollen tubeis adversely affected reducingpollination.

Mechanical thinning viability

Spain: 13 trials have verifiedmechanical thinning as aviable alternative to chemicalthinning although olive oilapplication to non-russettingcultivars shows promise.

Promalin can improvefruit set

India: The application ofPromalin in a poor fruit setseason can improve applefruit set as well as enhancefruit size.

Apple-counting robot

China: A method of roboticmachine vision for countingyoung green apples in anorchard has been developed.

R & D

ACROSS

1. The scientific name for Qfly: Bactrocera ______

2. This can reduce water needs in an orchard

3. The test-brand name for the blush pear ANP-0131

5. New pear brand: ____ River Gold®

6. Robotic system in the making aims to measure

the ______ density

7. The part of an apple that has most antioxidants

DOWN

1. Dark, cloudy weather makes these more effective

4. Using these at Battunga Orchards reduced labour costs

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Q U I Z & C R O S S W O R D

Greg’s QuizQUESTION 4: ‘Lord Lambourne’, ‘LloydGeorge’, ‘Amber Queen’ and‘Reader’s Perfection’ are allvarieties of what kind of berry?

A: Blackberry. B: Blueberry. C: Raspberry. D: Gooseberry.

QUESTION 5: ‘Mottled Umber’ is an insectpest of northern Europeanorchards. What kind of insectis it?

A: Moth. B: Weevil. C: Beetle. D: Fruit fly.

ANSWERS:Q 1– True.Q 2– B: Iran.Q 3– D: Quince E.Q 4 –C: Raspberry..Q 5– A: Moth.

QUESTION 1:(True or False): English fruit-growing manualsfrom early last century statethat the growing of dessertapples should be avoided indistricts where rainfall exceeds30 inches per year.

QUESTION 2:Of which country is the EastAzerbaijan province its leadingapple growing region?

A: Iraq.B: Iran. C: Syria. D: Jordan.

QUESTION 3:Which of these pear rootstocks is most vigorous?

A: Quince A. B: Quince C. C: BA 29. D: Quince E.

Crossword

Reducing Listeria andbrowning

USA: Using a mixture of 4.2per cent citric acid, 3.5 per centascorbic acid and 2.0 per centNAC on fresh cut apple slicesreduces Listeria concentrationsand reduces flesh browningfor 21 days at 4°C.

Measuring dry matter

USA: NIR spectroscopy canbe used to non-destructivelymeasure dry matter andsugar content of pears.

Measuring pear sugarcontent

China: A new detector todramatically reduce the costof portable NIR equipmentshows potential for non-destructively measuringsugar content in pears.

Determining originauthenticity

China: A method using electronic nose and tonguesensors to detect the originof production of apples hasbeen developed.

Electronic nose detectsdisease

India: An electronic nose has been developed that candetect apples contaminatedwith food borne diseases.

Vacuum preservation

Korea Republic: Grindingapples under vacuum preserved fruit colour,polyphenols and antioxidantcapacity better then grindingunder nitrogen or in air.


Up online

Visit APAL’s website tofind the links to originalresearch papers www.apal.org.au/category/rd

Editor’s note

This is the last edition ofAustralian Fruitgrower thatCurrie Communicationswill be editing. AustralianFruitgrower will continueunder the direct management of APAL.Future content contributionsand general enquiries maybe directed to Alison Barber,Manager, Communications& Media, via 03 9329 3511or [email protected].

Thank you to all the advisors and contributorsto the magazine that wehave worked with.

Currie Communications

Yeast reduces mould

China: Yeast YE-7 applied toapples reduces blue moulddevelopment and patulinaccumulation in stored apples.

HarvestSelf-propelled harvester

USA: A new compact applebin filler has been developedfor use on a self-propelledapple harvester fitted with an in-field grading system.

sensation fungicide to protect · contents, apal accepts no liability for the information....

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