Australian Berry Journal - WINTER 2021 - Edition 7

AUSTRALIAN

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EDITION 7

JOURNAL

WELCOME CELESTE COOK

R U ST U P DAT E

M I C R O WAV E MARVEL

P O L L I N AT I O N A DVA N C E S

Industry

Blueberries

Strawberries

Rubus

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47

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N E W S F R O M O U R VA L U E D PA R T N E R S

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DISCLAIMER: Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this journal, the information contained is necessarily of a general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific advice.

The advice and opinions in the articles published in Australian Berry Journal are essentially those of contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Berries Australia or the Editor. The advice is at the reader’s own risk, and no responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of the material presented. Inclusion of an advertisement in this publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of the product, company or service

by Berries Australia or the Editor. Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (Hort Innovation) makes no representations and expressly disclaims all warranties (to the extent permitted by law) about the accuracy, completeness, or currency of information in Australian Berry Journal. Reliance on any information provided by Hort Innovation is entirely at your own risk. Hort Innovation is not responsible for, and will not be liable for, any loss, damage, claim, expense, cost (including legal costs) or other liability arising in any way, including from any Hort Innovation or other person’s negligence or otherwise from your use or non-use of Australian Berry Journal or from reliance on information contained in the material or that Hort Innovation provides to you by any other means. Copyright © Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited 2020 Copyright subsists in Australian Berry Journal. Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (Hort Innovation) owns the copyright, other than as permitted under the Copyright ACT 1968 (Cth). Australian Berry Journal (in part or as a whole) cannot be reproduced, published, communicated or adapted without the prior written consent of Hort Innovation. Any request or enquiry to use the Australian Berry Journal should be addressed to: Communications Manager, Hort Innovation, Level 7 | 141 Walker Street, North Sydney 2060, Australia | E: communications@horticulture.com.au | P: 02 8295 2300

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UVC TREATMENT

BEERENBERG FARMS

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B L U E B E R R I E S

S T R A W B E R R I E S

R U B U S

Welcome Celeste

Understanding Blueberry Nutrition: Part 1

Breeding Update

Pollination Update

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91

Heavenly Success

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Grower Profile: Meet Burlington Berries

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35

Communications Project Mid-Term

Marketing Preview

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40

Microwave Marvel

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FWO Piece Rates

Levy Update

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45

66

New Permit Issued

Post Harvest Handling

Urban Biosecurity

Blueberry Rust Options

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22

47

Red Leaf Update

Coir in Australia

Pollination Research

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25

50

Farm Biosecurity

Mapping Flowering

Grower Profile: Meet Parvinder Lalli

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81 Heat Shrinks Fruit

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E D I TO R

C O N T R I B U TO R S

Jane Richter

Jane Richter Rachel Mackenzie Peter McPherson Simon Dornauf Jonathan Shaw Richard McGruddy Melinda Simpson Dr Angela Atkinson Suzette Argent Celeste Cook Aileen Reid Helen Newman

TERES Communication 0431 700 258 jane@teres.com.au

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ADVERTISING Dr Christopher Menzel Jenny Van de Meeberg Dr Jessica Lye Jodi Neal Katie O’Connor Dr Sophie Parks Jen Rowling Julie Inglis Dr Scott Mattner Cora Zon Dr Dylan McFarlane Sandra Shaw

Liam Hescock Graham Brodie Yilin He Damon Watling Michelle Paynter Joanna Kristoffersen Madeline Betts Clinton Buck Robert Walker Helen Newman Sandra Shaw

For all Advertising & Partnership Enquiries Wendy Morris 0491 751 123 | admin@berries.net.au All advertising and advertorial material is subject to review and approval prior to publication.

DESIGN Kern & Kraft Design www.kernandkraftdesign.com.au

Wherever you see this logo, the initiative is part of the Hort Innovation Blueberry, Strawberry and Raspberry and Blackberry Fund. Like this publication itself, it has been funded by Hort Innovation using the Blueberry, Strawberry and Raspberry and Blackberry R&D levy and contributions from the Australian Government.

Some projects also involve funding from additional sources.

I N D U S T R Y

Executive Director's Report Rachel Mackenzie | 0408 796 199 | rachelmackenzie@berries.net.au It became very clear that the Rubus levy needs to be re-set to better reflect the needs of the sector as it is currently too high. With the support of the RABA committee, I have commenced the levy review process.

It was such a pleasure to finally be able to bring all the berry committees together in the Yarra Valley recently. Whilst Zoom meetings have certainly been useful over the last year there is something special about being able to re-engage face to face and have the casual conversations that build our shared understanding.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, we are extremely pleased that the Market Access and Trade Development project has been funded through Hort Innovation. This whole of berries project managed by Berries Australia will give growers who have strong experience in export as well as those who are ‘export curious’ an opportunity to build their export opportunities. This levy funded project will build on the work already commissioned by the blueberry and strawberry industry to set us on the path for improved market access.

We held the ABGA, RABA, Strawberries Australia and Berries Australia meetings in addition to the IDO meeting, a formal dinner for committee members and a more casual get-together with local growers.

I would like to say a big thank you to my team here at Berries Australia as well as our Victorian IDO who pulled together a logistically complex series of events.

I would also like to say a big thank you to those committee members and guests who took time off from their farms to participate in these meetings. I think it is fair to say that we had an extremely productive week which laid the groundwork for the next twelve months.

I am fully aware that labour shortages are a significant concern particularly for the Queensland strawberry growers and NSW blueberry growers. We are continuing to push government as hard as we can for a range of options to manage these issues, but in the meantime keep me or your IDO informed as to the challenges you face on the ground. We will continue to update you on any relevant changes so please read The Burst or check our website.

We were fortunate to have both the Hort Innovation Chair (Julie Bird) and CEO (Matt Brand) attend the ABGA and Berries Australia meeting along with Brad Mills our Hort Innovation Industry Strategic Partner. It was a good opportunity to hear from Julie as the new Chair in terms of her goals in improving the relationship between industry bodies and Hort Innovation as well as recognition that Peak Industry Bodies such as Berries Australia have a clear role to play. It was refreshing to hear that there will be greater transparency around the financial aspects of the individual levies, and we were able to do a ‘deep dive’ into the strawberry and Rubus levy funds.

We are now reaching the pointy end of the AWU’s challenge to piece rates with the industry response due into the Fair Work Commission on 28 May and a hearing set for 13-15 July. It is important to remember that this is a legal not a political process and our efforts are best focused on supporting the NFF and Australian Fresh Produce Alliance to gather the best data to support their legal arguments. Thank you to those growers who have provided witness statements and to those who filled in the survey. The outcome is far from certain, but I do know that considerable money and effort has gone into presenting the best possible case.

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Chairman's Report Peter McPherson | 0418 666 651 | peter.mcpherson@costagroup.com.au I would like to thank Jen Rowling, Jane Richter and the IDOs for all their hard work thus far. I am sure many of you are looking forward to attending field days and workshops and I urge you to get in contact with your local IDO to find out what’s on.

Welcome to the latest edition of the journal.

I have just come back from two days of face-to-face berry committee meetings in the Yarra Valley and it was certainly a refreshing change from Zoom meetings. It was also good to reconnect with some familiar faces at the grower catch-up and reflect on how far we have come in terms of creating a shared berry perspective.

We were fortunate to have the Chair (Julie Bird) and CEO (Matt Brand) of Hort Innovation attend the Berries Australia meeting and also join us for dinner. This was an opportunity to reinforce the benefits of a united berry industry body in terms of bringing well thought out and cohesive perspectives to the table. Whilst I certainly don’t think our frustrations with Hort Innovation have been entirely resolved, I did get a strong sense that the current leadership team, led by the new Chair, are willing to listen and work with us for more efficient investment of your levy dollar.

Frank Costa

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to pay my respects to one of the giants of the horticulture industry, Frank Costa. Frank passed away in early May aged 83. I had the pleasure of knowing Frank personally and can vouch for his generous spirit, his wise counsel, and his positive outlook on life.

I can also vouch for the enormous support he gave the Australian berry industry both directly and indirectly.

Frank was a people champion and he lived by the mantra of ‘hire for character, train for skill’. There are many of us still working in the berry industry who benefited from that philosophy and I believe the sector is better for it. On behalf of Berries Australia, I would like to extend my condolences to Frank’s family and in particular his wife Shirley.

On the subject of efficient investment of levy dollars, I am very pleased that the Market Access and Trade Development project has just been contracted. The project, led by the very capable Jenny Van de Meeberg, will enable us to support the industry to meet its export aspirations through improved market access and resources to assist individual growers. Market access is a long, expensive journey but the rewards are great, and this project will keep us moving in the right direction.

For those of you who have just finished your season, I hope that you get some well-deserved down time and for those who are about to start peak production, I hope that the weather is favourable and you can access the labour you need.

The communications project (which funds this journal) has reached its halfway point and received very positive feedback from growers and stakeholders.

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President's Report Jonathan Shaw | 0418 758 268 | president@abga.com.au levy to please do the right thing by your fellow growers and pay your share. Find out how to on PAGE 45.

May is always an interesting time in blueberry growing as we see sky high prices in the supermarkets yet most of us are just ramping up our production.

The ABGA invested more than $400,000 of the voluntary levy contribution into a marketing campaign to counter the impact of COVID-19 on consumption.

It is pleasing that consumption levels remained consistent and whilst the marketing campaign is only one part of the story, as a committee we think that the focus on increasing consumption by existing buyers paid dividends. As an interesting aside, the blueberry category is now considered a mature category with 56% household penetration. Based on the effectiveness of the campaign strategy we have decided to continue with that approach albeit with a reduced budget.

It still astonishes me that the media and many consumers don’t seem to understand the seasonal nature of production and have an expectation of consistent prices year-round.

From a committee perspective, one of the ABGA’s key roles at this time of year is to set the levy rate for the upcoming season and identify our expenditure priorities.

As the levy is voluntary, the committee can set the rate in response to key issues and priorities. You may recall that last year the base levy was set at 5c/kg and an additional 5c/kg marketing levy was raised to enable us to respond to market predictions around COVID-19.

This year the levy has been set at a single rate of 7c/kg which will cover both marketing and R&D investments including our $275,000 contribution to the Hort Innovation combined industry fund.

Whilst there are many things growers cannot control (labour shortages, frosts, flood and drought), there is one thing we can control and that is the quality of the fruit we send to market. Remember that one bad experience by a consumer results in that person not buying for several weeks and reduces demand. We saw this a couple of years ago with frost affected fruit. So please, do not send poor quality fruit to your agents and help us promote the quality and benefits of blueberries.

The flexibility afforded by the voluntary levy means we can be nimble in terms of responding to emerging issues and priorities and also reduce the cost burden to growers where appropriate. It was interesting to hear at the recent berry committee meetings the difficulties faced by our fellow berry commodities in terms of being able to shift statutory levy rates.

In terms of other investments, the blueberry industry will be a major beneficiary of the recently contracted Market Access and Trade Development project and we are thrilled to have Jenny Van de Meeberg supporting the industry in the export space. The ABGA have also committed funds to the fight against unfair development approval requirements in the Coffs Harbour region. I also hope you have received your copy of the excellent Guide to Plant Protection developed by our blueberry IDO Melinda Simpson.

I continue to believe that the voluntary levy is still the best option for the industry, but the downside is that not everyone contributes, and this places an unfair burden on those who do. As a small grower I know that my contribution is not much in monetary terms, but it is important to me to be a team player. As this journal is a direct outcome of levy investment, I would ask that any of you reading this who do not pay the blueberry

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Best of luck for the upcoming season and please contact Rachel and the team at Berries Australia if you have any questions.

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President's Report Richard McGruddy | 0408 763 804 | richard@berryq.com.au

As President of RABA, I see one of the key roles of the committee is to ensure that your levies are invested for the benefit of the industry. Hort Innovation presented a summary of levy income at our recent face to face meeting, and it has become abundantly clear that the levy is too high.

One of the things we need to consider is an appropriate levy to cover our biosecurity obligations, but rest assured the intent is to reduce the overall levy rate.

There is a specific process that needs to be followed and we must ensure that all levy payers understand the proposed changes and have the opportunity to vote.

Please keep your eye out for information on the different options and make sure you vote when the time comes.

The levy amendment process may take up to a year.

At the end of the 19/20 financial year the closing balance of the Rubus fund held by Hort Innovation was nearly $3 million with less than $500,000 being spent on projects. While we have been working with Hort Innovation to get more projects up and running, it is obvious that levy collection exceeds the amount needed to support industry levels of research and development.

Whilst it is easy to gripe about levies it is important to remember the positive outcomes they fund including this journal and our IDO network.

We are very excited that Celeste Cook has been appointed as our new Rubus and Tasmanian IDO. At this point the role is still part time but we are in the final stages of negotiating for this role to be full time. Celeste comes with a wealth of experience particularly in the biosecurity space having come from the Nursery and Garden industry. She will try and get around all of the Rubus growing areas in Australia so please welcome her to your farm.

The Australian government also has a cap on the amount it will match, and we are close to reaching the point where there is no benefit in contributing further levy funds. If you are interested in the specifics of your levy spend I urge you to check out the Raspberry and Blackberry fund annual report (www.horticulture.com.au/growers/raspberryblackberry-fund/fund-management).

It was very energising to re-engage face to face with the RABA committee and participate in the Berries Australia meeting on your behalf. The issues around worker availability are common across all berry sectors and it is great to see initiatives where growers are working together to address these shortages.

As I am sure you are aware, the current levy is set at 10c/kg for R&D and 2c/kg for marketing, which at a total level is significantly higher than for many other horticulture commodities (e.g. cherries 7c/kg and melons 4c/kg).

I do urge all RABA members to participate in the October AGM which will be held in Coffs Harbour in association with the Protected Cropping Association conference.

At the recent RABA committee meeting we resolved to fund a business case to review this levy amount and identify the most appropriate levy amount and allocation.

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Chairman's Report Simon Dornauf | 0408 681 206 | simon@hillwoodberries.com.au industry and we will continue to hold Hort Innovation to account over their processes and delivery. It was useful to hear from the runner growers about what they perceived as the research gaps and there was considerable alignment with the growers. We will be providing detailed input into the berry strategic investment plan as that document guides levy investment over the next five years.

It was great to finally be able to participate in some face-to-face meetings in early May when the boards and committees for Strawberries Australia Inc (SAI), Berries Australia, ABGA and RABA converged on the Foothills Conference Centre in the Yarra Valley for a series of general meetings and networking opportunities.

I think it is more important than ever that SAI remains supportive of Rachel and the team at Berries Australia to help us ensure a smooth path forward for accessing seasonal labour and addressing other pressures that we as an industry will face in coming years. All the berry commodities are experiencing the same labour problems and we will find that most key issues will have a commonality across each berry category so a united front via Berries Australia will ensure that our voice is heard.

Whilst online platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have been an excellent way to maintain continuity of committee meetings, it was a very enjoyable and productive change to be able to once again sit around a table with my fellow committee and board members to discuss current industry issues.

Runner growers from Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania participated in discussions with the SAI committee about how SAI and propagators can potentially work better together, develop improved communication channels and support each other going forward. These discussions are a first step in a move towards a more collaborative approach to the entire strawberry supply chain for the good of the industry. I appreciate that sometimes these relationships can be difficult but ultimately, we are dependent on each other for success and it is better to be communicating at an industry level.

From an export perspective, it’s great to see that Jenny Van de Meeberg has joined the Berries Australia team as the Export Trade Consultant. The export project that Berries Australia will run will hopefully help speed up the process of opening more export options for the Australian Strawberry industry and help meet one of the pillars of our strategic plan.

As we transition from the end of the summer strawberry growing season to the winter season in Queensland and WA, I would like to wish all of our fellow growers a successful season. Hopefully with more open borders, worker movements will be easier and there will be greater possibility of reconnecting with growers and industry in our respective regions through on farm workshops and field days coordinated by our IDOs.

The face-to-face meetings were attended by Hort Innovation Chair Julie Bird and CEO Matt Brand. I had the opportunity to sit with them at dinner and whilst there are still concerns, the relationship has come a long way in the last few years. As a committee we are providing scrutiny over the levy expenditure to ensure that it is spent on projects that are important to

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Berry Industry Development Officer, Strawberries & Queensland Suzette Argent | 0438 752 177 | berryido@qldstrawberries.com.au Be on the lookout for wet weather, optimise farm hygiene practices and always follow the label when applying agrochemical products. Remember to rotate your fungicides through different modes of action to minimise the risks of resistance developing.

Lots of rain was seen in late March and early April with above average rainfall in Stanthorpe and South East Queensland from two lows.

Rain in mid-March put a small delay on the supply of strawberry plants and the lack of labour for planting prolonged planting this season. The silver lining to the labour shortage story was seeing growers helping each other out by sharing the labour force to get everyone’s plants in the ground. When times are tough it is great to see the industry unite.

Just as planting started, a COVID-19 outbreak sent Greater Brisbane into a hard lock down for 3 days followed by two weeks of mask-wearing for the entire state, ending just as the Easter long weekend commenced. Credit to the industry for implementing and continuing to follow the COVID Health Management Plans, as it meant restrictions and the lock down did not impact on the berry industry significantly. It is important to regularly review your “Health Management Plan (HMP)” and to keep the necessary records.

From discussions across the grower base it is clear that significantly fewer strawberry plants have been planted for the winter season to manage the risk of labour shortfalls. The extra workload for finding and maintaining workers this year is tiring so it is important to ensure time is allocated to take care of yourself, so you do not burnout. Make time for yourself, your family and activities that bring you enjoyment not just work, work, work!

Upcoming Events A Berry Industry Fair & Field Day is planned for 8 July at the Wamuran Hall. This event will be a welcome opportunity for everyone involved with the industry to reconnect face-to-face. The event will be held from 11am until 3:30pm with presentations and trade displays and we encourage everyone in the SEQ region to support the event. Visit bit.ly/BA-EventList to register (FREE for growers, $55 for non-growers)

In an attempt to address the labour shortage, QSGA launched a labour campaign competition “Pick & Pack for your chance to play to Win” to raise the profile of strawberry jobs in the region and attract locals to take up jobs. Growers have been encouraged by the interest shown and you can read more about the activity on PAGE 70.

This years’ QSGA Annual Dinner & Awards night is scheduled for Saturday 30 October at the Events Centre in Caloundra.

The Sandstone Point Strawberry & Dessert Festival is going ahead on Saturday 18 September. We are looking for growers who are interested in supporting the event through fruit donations and this year we will be partnering with local charities & community groups to staff the event instead of growers themselves.

A pre-season workshop was held in March with Apollo Gomez from DAF highlighting that disease management will be very important this year due to the wet conditions early in the season. As I write this article, we are receiving more rainfall and the long-term forecast is for wet periods across winter.

It is a timely reminder to ensure you have a disease management plan for protecting your crop and know what options are available so you can be proactive.

I hope the weather conditions are kind and growers have a good quality season.

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Berry Industry Development Officer, Blueberries & New South Wales Melinda Simpson | 0447 081 765 | melinda.simpson@dpi.nsw.gov.au The Berry Plant Protection Fair, a collaboration between NSW DPI, OzGroup Co-Op Ltd. and Berries Australia, was held in Bucca on Wednesday 28 April.

This event saw growers, agronomists, industry experts and crop protection companies gather to learn, network and appreciate all things plant protection in Berries. (Figure 3, 4, and 5).

Since the last edition of the Australian Berry Journal, natural disasters have continued to impact NSW. Over 450mm of rain fell throughout a 10-day period and many areas of NSW were flooded. Only 3 weeks earlier, a 1-in-100 flood event hit Corindi, with approximately 300mm falling in 24 hours, severely impacting many growers.

The Berry Plant Protection Fair had over 20 Exhibitors showcasing their product ranges and providing technical information in their respective fields relating to berry crops. Technical talks and demonstrations at the fair ranged from soil health & biology, spray calibration & coverage, pest & disease management, beneficial bugs, pest monitoring tools and much more.

A raspberry grower lost everything, including all his newly planted raspberries and the entire crop which they had just started picking. Not only did they lose all their plants, but they had a huge amount of infrastructure damage too (Figure 1 and 2). Similar damage occurred to many greenhouse vegetable growers nearby. My deepest sympathies go out to all the growers that were affected, and as always I’m here to help in any way I can.

Key speakers at the fair were Dr Nancy Schellhorn (Co-founder & CEO: RapidAIM), Dr Graham Stirling (Nematologist: Biological Crop Protection) and Dr Jay Anderson (Plant Pathologist: SCU) with each presentation taking place at the Technical Tent.

Nancy, Graham and Jay each had strong interest from the audience with many technical questions being asked.

It was great to see that the Army came in to lend a hand and spent a week helping growers to tidy up the incomprehensible mess. As a result of the flooding events, the NSW Government have announced grants of up to $75,000 for growers that were affected. You can access this grant through the Rural Assistance Authority website raa.nsw.gov.au/disaster-assistance/ special-disaster-grants-floods. The closing date for applications is 31 October 2021.

Over 100 growers attended and showed great interest in learning new topics, networking and asking questions of the numerous talks and demonstrations of the day.

All technical presentations and demonstrations were recorded and will be available through the Berries Australia website shortly. A massive thank you to the OzGroup agronomists, Gaius, Deon, Josh and particularly George and Anika for all the effort they put in to help make this event happen and to run smoothly on the day. It is greatly appreciated.

This year, due to the continuous rain, blueberry rust and botrytis are an issue for growers on the NSW North Coast. Research looking at alternative control options for blueberry rust continues and the results of this project will be communicated shortly. A reminder for growers using chemicals to control these diseases, please rotate across different chemical groups to avoid the diseases becoming resistant to fungicides.

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The latest edition of the Berry Plant Protection Guide was also released at the Berry Plant Protection Fair and each attendee received a printed copy of the guide.

This edition builds on the previous editions with the inclusion of new pests and diseases and features the

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addition of berry icons on the top of each pest and disease page indicating what berry crops are affected by which pest or disease (Figure 6 and 7).

If you would like a hard copy of the guide, please send me an email or text with your postal address.

2.

Berry plant protection guide 2021–22 NSW DPI MANAGEMENT GUIDE

Figure 1 & 2. Impact from Corindi floods February 2021.

Photo credit: Melinda Simpson, NSW DPI 3.

www.dpi.nsw.g ov.au

Melinda Simpson

Managing diseases in ber

ries

Alternaria fruit rot

Alternaria spp.

Alternaria fruit rot can affect blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. The fungus overwinte twigs and plant debris on the rs in old ground. The optimal temperatu re for growth of the fungus germination is 28 °C, however and spore 20 °C is optimal for disease development.

Risk period

Table 4. The peak risk period for Alternaria Budswell

Bloom

Disease identification and

fruit rot.

Fruit development

damage

Alternaria fruit rot is characteri sed by sunken areas with dark green-greyish spores (Figure 28).

Infected fruit becomes soft and shrivelled.

Increased infection on leaves can cause considerable damage to fruit after harvest. In packing facilities, spores from in-field berries can contaminate inspection infected belts and other surfaces. Healthy berries coming into contact with these surfaces pick up the spores and the berries may become infected through wet stem scars.

Management Cultural and physical Remove or break down all leaf and pruning

Harvest

Postharvest

Vegetative growth

residue, especially when leaf disease has occurred in the previous season.

In larger commercial-sized orchards, mechanised mulching can be used to hasten the breakdown of prunings and leaf matter (Figure 29). Picking buckets, packing lines and inspection belts should be cleaned frequently to reduce the chances of contamination by fungal spores.

Biological There are no known biological controls for Alternaria fruit rot in berries.

Chemical The chemical option for controlling Alternaria fruit rot is listed in Table 5.

4.

Figure 28. Alternaria fruit rot in blueberries. Photo: Pscheidt and Ocamb (2021).

Table 5. Registered or permitted product Active constituent (example trade name)

Fungicide WHP¹ Activity group(s) (days) Boscalid + pyraclostrobin Curative/ 7 + 11 (Pristine®) PER82986 protective 1

¹ WHP = withholding period.

Figure 29. Mulching prunings to hasten the breakdown of diseased leaf matter. Photo: Melinda Simpson.

for Alternaria fruit rot in Australia.

² Always refer to the label.

Effect on beneficials Registered for use in...² Low

Blackberries Raspberries (field and protected grown)

12 | Melinda Simpson

Figure 6 & 7. The Berry Plant Protection Guide 2021-22 and an example of the new format.

We will be continuing to run workshops, webinars and events over the next few months so please keep an eye out for the details in The Burst.

The Protected Cropping Australia Conference will be held this year in Coffs Harbour from the 25-28 October, more information is available at www.pcaconference.net.au

5.

Figure 3, 4 & 5. Berry growers learning and enjoying Berry Plant Protection Fair 2021. Photo credit (3 &4): Melinda Simpson, NSW DPI Photo credit (5): Diana Unsworth, NSW DPI

I N D U S T R Y

Victorian Strawberry Industry Development Committee

Berry Industry Development Officer, Strawberries – Victoria & South Australia Dr Angela Atkinson | 0408 416 538 | ido@vicstrawberry.com.au In South Australia, Queensland and Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak restrictions are still in place, and will be until December 2021. This is affecting the movement of fruit around Adelaide and in the Riverland. For more information go to fruitfly.sa.gov.au

Since the last edition of the Australian Berry Journal, a pollination workshop and farm walk have been held in collaboration with the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority, in Silvan in the Yarra Valley. In true COVID-19 fashion, the workshop was a hybrid event, with one speaker, Prof. Saul Cunningham, Zooming in from the Australian National University in Canberra, while the rest of the workshop and the farm walk with Dr Julian Brown (ANU) were in-person.

Victorian growers who signed up for the OHS essentials program at the start of the season to put their COVID Safe processes in place, are reminded they are still able to take advantage of the free confidential advice from their consultant regarding any other OH&S concerns.

The OHS essentials team will be in contact as the season comes to an end. This service is available to all Victorian businesses and more information can be found at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/ohs-essentials-program The Victorian Government has also announced extra funding for the Agriculture Energy Investment Plan, which provides matched funding for farms to improve energy efficiency. Applications are still open until 15 July 2021 agriculture.vic.gov.au/support-andresources/funds-grants-programs/agricultureenergy-investment-plan

The workshop focused on Julian’s work with native reed bees as managed pollinators in Rubus crops, and we visited the trial site in Silvan to see the reed bees in action in a raspberry crop. Recordings of the presentations will be available on the berries.net.au website.

In April, I visited berry growers in South Australia and spent a day with Rachel Mackenzie (Berries Australia Executive Director) visiting growers in the Adelaide Hills.

We hosted a dinner meeting for growers at the Haus in Hahndorf, where Rachel gave a presentation on how Berries Australia works and its role in supporting and advocating for the berry industry. Unsurprisingly, in our visits with growers, the major concern expressed was labour shortages during the current season, and moving forward.

A field day/forum for growers is being planned for June in the Yarra Valley, with topics including biosecurity, pest and disease management and protected cropping/ substrate among others. The Berries Australia team will continue to run workshops, webinars and events over the next few months which will be advertised in the Burst, as well as other email communications.

In terms of berry growing, the season has been a good one, despite ongoing labour problems. The weather has been mild in South Australia and Victoria, although parts of Victoria have certainly had their fair share of rain. The humid conditions increased the risk of Queensland fruit fly around Melbourne and in the Yarra Valley. Continued farm hygiene, trapping and bait spraying will hopefully ensure populations are cleaned up before winter.

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Reed bee on Rubus flower.

Photo credit: Julian Brown

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Industry Development Team, Strawberries & Western Australia, Agricultural Produce Commission

Qfly area freedom

The Wanneroo strawberry season got off to a good start with most new plants in the ground by late April.

Qfly eradication activities in the Perth suburb of Coolbellup are progressing well with no new detections as of mid-May. Restrictions at the Perth Markets are expected to be lifted when the current quarantine area notice expires on 18 June and area freedom is declared.

Plug plants performed particularly well early on, with vigorous healthy growth and no signs of disease.

Problems have since appeared on some Red Rhapsody plugs; at this stage less than 10% of plants are affected. In the great southern region, heavy rainfall created problems for in-ground growers, but both in-ground and tunnel plantings are on schedule and are expected to finish in late May. Overall, new plant numbers are down by an estimated 20% compared to 2020, with many growers holding onto larger numbers of second year plants in the face of possible labour shortages come harvest time.

Industry events Farm safety and labour were the focus of our last industry meeting which was held in March. Melissa Denning from Vegetables WA provided insight into the efficiencies that can be gained when using Seasonal Worker Program and Pacific Labour Scheme workers and how to access the programs.

Bernice Russo from Rural Enterprises spoke about the Harvest Trail program and other labour sources.

Maree Gooch from Safe Farms WA and Nigel Martin from WorkSafe WA spoke about the new industrial relations reforms, what to expect during a WorkSafe inspection and what support services are available to help improve farm safety.

Harvest Harvest of second year fruit started gaining momentum in the Wanneroo area in early May and fruit from plugs started to appear in early to mid-May. In the great southern region, growers under tunnels continued to harvest 2020 plantings until mid to late-May. Harvest finished earlier for the in-ground growers following some heavy rain events. While labour has been tight, growers are optimistic and expect that there will be enough workers to manage early to mid-season fruit volumes. As local vegetable production ramps up in the Wanneroo area later in the season, competition for labour will intensify and some expect to pull back on strawberry harvest.

Our next industry event, to be held on 26 May, will look at the economics and practicalities of transitioning from in-ground strawberry production to growing in substrate under tunnels.

Anthony Yewers (Berry Sweet) is kindly hosting this workshop on his Bullsbrook property and will share his knowledge and experiences with substrate strawberry growing. Ronan Hoyle (Galuku) will talk about the basics of substrate growing and will provide setup options and costings.

Fumigation It is pleasing to see an increased range of fumigant formulations more readily available on the market. There has been good uptake of the 80% formulation of Telone®, which is particularly useful for the control of fusarium, crown, and root rot which are an ongoing issue in WA. Draslovska’s EDN® is also in use, providing good control of these pathogens and offering excellent flexibility with its short plant-back time.

Both Helen and Aileen are available to support growers, please contact: Aileen Reid | 0467 783 981 Helen Newman | 0428 335 724 Email: WABerryIDO@berries.net.au

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Berry Industry Development Officer, Rubus & Tasmania Celeste Cook | 0400 100 593 | ido@fruitgrowerstas.org.au Celeste’s role at GIA focused on improving nursery production systems through grower assistance, training and development, research and extension. In her role at GIA, she provided on-farm support to industry across the ornamental, fruit and vegetable, nut and forestry supply chains. She assisted them in the implementation of the Australian Plant Production Standard (APPS) programs, including the Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme Australia (NIASA) and BioSecure HACCP, with an emphasis on plant protection and biosecurity.

Born in tropical Townsville, Celeste started out as a town girl but trips with her grandparents on holidays to country Australia gave her a taste for the bush that she has never escaped! After her schooling, the two pathways she was considering were cheffing or gardening and the hours are so much more sociable in the garden world. Celeste secured an apprenticeship with Parks and Gardens in Sydney and from there her career expanded further after she completed her degree. The journey has now brought her south to the berry industry with her partner, two dogs and a cat.

Celeste drafted the first version of the NIASA Ethical Plant Production Specification which will be added to the NIASA best management practice guidelines for industry to implement or adopt as a formal audited specification under NIASA. Celeste’s qualifications include a BAppSc Hons (animal and plant biosecurity, plants major), a diploma of horticulture and a graduate certificate in teaching.

She also holds lead auditor qualifications.

Celeste Cook has joined the Fruit Growers' Tasmania team as the new berry Industry Development Officer (IDO) for Tasmania, having recently moved from Queensland to Hillwood in north Tasmania to be closer to family.

Having attended the recent Berries Australia Conference in the Yarra Valley, Celeste is raring to go and can’t wait to meet and get to know berry producers throughout Tasmania and the rest of Australia. Her aim is to provide meaningful, industry focused resources and events to improve production and connect growers with the information and means to help them achieve their goals.

Prior to this, her role with Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA), the peak industry body for the production nursery industry, was to engage with production nurseries, greenlife markets and growing media suppliers from Cairns in north Queensland to Coffs Harbour in NSW, delivering on several key projects.

These included the Hort Innovation project, ‘Improving Pest Management for the Nursery Industry’ aimed at providing a cost-benefit to production nurseries across different cropping sectors; the ‘Virtual Reality Crop Monitoring’ training module developed by GIA and her primary project for GIA, the ‘National Nursery Biosecurity Program’.

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Please feel free to reach out to Celeste directly and note her new email is ido@fruitgrowerstas.org.au

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Fair Farms gains momentum Marsha Aralar, Fair Farms National Program Manager, Growcom

A farm’s most valuable asset is its people. Growers are making the switch to the simpler, Australian training and certification that supports employers to prove ethical practices on-farm.

Growcom’s Fair Farms program is seeing excellent take-up from across the berry industry with more than 130 berry businesses starting the certification process and twelve fully Fair Farms certified already.

The businesses that have already completed the process range from the small family operation to the large multi-state organisation, but with one key characteristic in common; a keen interest in ensuring they are operating with good workplace practices.

“Strong uptake of the program so far indicates growing intent along the supply chain to demonstrate fair and equitable work practices and eradicate exploitation,” Ms Aralar said.

“Fair Farms is about giving producers easy and affordable access to the resources they need to understand and conform with the laws that underpin the treatment of workers.

While audits are a fact of life as customers’ expectations on growers increase, the Fair Farms program was developed to provide growers with an alternative to SEDEX with an Australian-made training and certification program designed to help farmers in the horticultural sector engage in fair and ethical work practices.

It’s about levelling the competitive playing field by raising awareness and commitment to good work practices while reducing the burden of unnecessary red tape for farmers.

It provides growers with employment best-practice standards, in a straightforward, less expensive, and auditable process that farmers can use to demonstrate that they conform to the law and treat workers well.

Brendon Hoyle operates two strawberry farms in south east Queensland spanning both the summer and winter seasons. For Brendon and his business partners in Ashbern Farms, aligning their business with the Fair Farms standard was a simple decision to take. “The program provides a clear, industry relevant framework to follow and as a standard that is supported by our customers, it makes good business sense too.”

For those few bad seeds that do not do the right thing, Fair Farms will help weed them out and, through industry and community sentiment, eradicate them from the market.

“It’s not fair for exploitative operators to achieve the same prices in market as those operators who are paying and treating their workers fairly,” Ms Aralar said.

Fair Farms National Program Manager Marsha Aralar said since June 2020 the program has experienced a 230 per cent increase in registered participants, and those who had completed their online self-assessments had more than quadrupled ahead of the formal auditing process.

“Decent operators are fed up with being tarnished with the same brush as a few opportunistic operators.”

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Ms Aralar said that Fair Farms, which had been designed in collaboration with businesses along the supply chain, will become expected by consumers who want the produce on their tables to have been grown ethically and to the highest standards.

Ultimately, the Fair Farms program is about ensuring Australia has a strong, thriving horticultural industry which benefits not only individual farmers and the industry, but the broader community as a whole.

“Consumers don’t want wholesome foods produced through unwholesome work practices,” Ms Aralar said.

“With Fair Farms certification, growers will be able to show their commitment to fair and equitable work practices – and this will mean greater access not only to a more willing and able labour force, but to retailers, like Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and Metcash (IGA) who want to meet the needs of customers who increasingly demand products that have been ethically sourced.

WHY CHOOSE FAIR FARMS? • Results not shared with retailers.

Results determine training needs, are not used to determine risk or need for audit (all participants seeking certification will go to audit)

• Australian owned and operated • Designed by industry for industry • Local support – only a phone call away.

Brisbane based, serving all of Australia and supported by Berries Australia

• Fair Farms training is tailored to Australian legislation and industry standards in horticulture

• Supported by retailers (meets the responsible supply policies of Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Metcash (IGA))

• Clear rules for re-audit cycle (1, 2 or 3 years depending on audit outcome) published in the Fair Farms Audit Guide (available on our website)

• Benchmarked against Australia’s employment laws, industry awards and practices.

• One published standard for all horticulture businesses with clearly defined requirements

• Annual membership fee: $150 per site (ex GST)

• Written in plain English, similar layout to Freshcare and straightforward to follow

• Demonstrates your commitment to ethical supply practices to help the berry industry as a whole and puts you in the global picture of the sustainability framework for all of Australian horticulture, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (Global SDGs)

• Completion of online self-assessment takes approximately 1-2 hours – you only answer the questions that are relevant to your operation • Questions are matched against the Fair Farms Standard and any local State/Territory legislation

You can learn more about joining Fair Farms online: www.fairfarms.com.au

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New berry exciting export project underway MT20004: Joint Berry Export Trade Development is an investment under the Hort Innovation Blueberry Fund, Raspberry and Blackberry Fund, and Strawberry Fund. Jenny Van de Meeberg, Export Manager, Berries Australia development for the berry industries so that an increasing volume of product can be moved offshore, over time, at sustainable prices. By fostering a welleducated, well-resourced, export-focused cohort the berry industries will be able to remove product from the domestic market and alleviate saturation.

The Australian berry industries are in a period of continuing production growth and many in the industry are concerned that they are approaching domestic market saturation.

The consequence of oversupply will be downward pressure on domestic market prices and therefore an overall reduction in the profitability of the industry.

All berry growers will benefit from this project; exporters will receive the advice and assistance they need to grow their international business and non-exporters will benefit from stabilisation of the domestic market.

Currently, only a very small percentage of each berry crop is exported to international markets however with targeted intervention, there is an opportunity to increase trade and ensure a positive future for the industry.

To achieve these objectives, the project proposes five pillars: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

From a global perspective, berries continue to gain popularity internationally and the category has maintained a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8% for strawberries and 13.8% for blueberries over the last decade (ITC calculations based on UN COMTRADE and ITC statistics). The trend towards healthy eating, the rise in popularity of fruit for ‘snacking’ purposes, the classification of blueberries as a ‘superfood’, and the versatility of berry products suggest both global berry consumption and the corresponding opportunity for Australian exports is positive. Furthermore, the blueberry industry has the added advantage of Australian-owned, premium, world-class genetics which gives the industry an extra edge on the international competition.

Export Readiness and Capacity Building Trade Development and Market Access Risk Management Communication Collaborative Partnerships

Through a series of targeted and professionally designed activities, the project will improve grower’s understanding of export opportunities, enhance grower’s ability to engage in export supply chains and empower the industry to provide clear advice to government on market access and trade development priorities. It will also mean future levy-funded projects designed to support market access and trade development will be better informed and be rich in technical detail, therefore delivering a better return on investment.

With many of the priority issues common between industries, the benefits of looking at a collaborative berry market access and trade development project are significant. This project will realise efficiencies in expenditure and the Berries Australia project team are well placed to deliver this project because of their deep existing relationships across all three industries.

The project commenced in May 2021 and will run through until March 2024, with updates to be published in future editions of this journal. If you would like any further information, please contact Export Manager Jenny Van de Meeberg: export@berries.net.au, 0410 536 269

The overall objective of the newly contracted project, MT20004: Joint Berry Export Trade Development, is to proactively manage market access and trade

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation using research and development levies from the Blueberry Fund, Raspberry and Blackberry Fund and Strawberry Fund and funds from the Australian Government. For more information on the funds and strategic levy investment visit horticulture.com.au

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Industry development and communications project delivering on its promise despite COVID-19 challenges Jen Rowling, Project Manager, Berries Australia A Communications Manager is also tasked with coordinating the production and delivery of the Australian Berry Journal, The Burst eNewsletter,

The Industry Development and Communications project (MT18020) for the Australian Berry Industry has reached the halfway point of its three-year term and feedback received from a recent mid-term evaluation indicates that it is delivering on its objectives despite significant challenges as a result of COVID-19.

the Berries Australia website and development of other essential information resources in collaboration with the broader project team.

A Project Reference Group, encompassing the experience and expertise of growers and industry associates from across the Australian berry industry provides input and feedback on workplans and the direction of the project to help prioritise activities, extension events and products.

Berries Australia Ltd was contracted to deliver a nationally coordinated, locally implemented industry development program in September 2019. The overarching objective of the project is to enhance the adoption of innovation and technology in the Australian berry industry through brokering research and development (R&D) information and facilitating capacity building with an emphasis on:

To accurately analyse the success of the project to date, RMCG were engaged to undertake a midterm evaluation and provide recommendations for improvement of delivery in response to feedback received. The mid-term evaluation incorporated a desktop review of the project plan, needs analysis (compiled at the beginning of the project), milestone reports submitted and all communication outputs produced to date, together with semi-structured interviews with key stakeholder groups including:

• Improving production efficiency • Increasing access to export markets • I ndustry capacity building and engagement with industry services

• Project Team

• Increasing domestic consumption through

• Project Reference Group

improved quality and forecasting.

• Berry Growers

The state-based matrix model provides all Australian berry producers with access to a local berry Industry Development Officer (IDO) while separate specialisations are incorporated to support the range of extension and communication needs of the three berry industries.

• Advisors and Extension Providers • Industry Associations • Researchers • Supply Chain Participants

A series of deliverables for the IDOs in each state are incorporated into annual workplans and include grower visits, industry workshops and field days, webinars, information resources, conferences and training.

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One of the key successes of the project to date that was acknowledged across all stakeholder groups is the ability of the project team to efficiently and effectively adapt to the changing needs of the industry, which was clearly evident in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team were able to navigate complex and somewhat conflicting information regarding on-farm restrictions, border closures and other labour related issues to deliver timely and accurate COVID-19 specific material.

Despite the adjustments to information delivery caused

by COVID-19, the project continued to demonstrate progress towards the intended outcome of improving awareness of berry industry R&D through its key communication products, the Australian Berry Journal and The Burst eNewsletter. Industry relevant R&D information was effectively disseminated, and this was validated through the grower survey, stakeholder interviews and the desktop review, all of which confirmed the reach of these communication platforms (84% of respondents to the grower survey confirmed they had received the communication material).

This helped to ensure that growers had their information up to date and were able to meet government requirements for on-farm health and safety. Information was distributed via special editions of The Burst e-Newsletter, weekly emails and the production and distribution of relevant resources for use on farm such as COVID-19 checklists, policies and safe plans relative to the respective state guidelines.

Moving into the second half of the project and with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the team are now looking forward to being able to re-focus on the strategic research and innovation needs of the industry, and to incorporating the delivery of in-person activities back into workplans. Whilst digital delivery of information will continue as a means to effectively reach a broader network of growers, activities such as workshops and field days will be rolled out to capitalise on a desire across industry to “re-connect”. This, together with the improved relationships and trust that has been formed between the IDOs and growers during the pandemic will help ensure that the project is back on track to contribute to the longer-term outcome of on-farm practice change.

A contributing factor to the effectiveness of this response is the cohesion within the project team and their ability to work well together despite geographical distance. Although the pandemic restricted the ability to coordinate on-farm or in-person workshops and field days, the team were able to adapt to online workshops, webinars and Zoom meetings, and get creative with video production shared via YouTube.

A subsequent unintended but valuable outcome of the project during this time is that growers have now became more familiar and confident with these online technologies and meeting platforms, providing access to content at times that are more convenient to them and allowing increased opportunities to participate in online activities due to travel not being required.

Broad recognition from across industry indicates that stakeholders believe investment in an ongoing industry development project for delivery of extension and communication resources and activities is a priority, and would like to see the project extended beyond the current 3 year iteration.

Celeste Cook (Tas) and Angela Atkinson (Vic/SA) and Suzette Argent (Qld) at recent IDO Conference.

Photo credit: Jen Rowling, Berries Australia

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MT18020 – Current project team Management/Administration Position

Name

Organisation

Location

Project Leader

Rachel Mackenzie

Berries Australia

Brisbane, QLD

Project Manager

Jennifer Rowling

Berries Australia

Brisbane, QLD

Project Coordinator

Wendy Morris

Berries Australia

Brisbane, QLD

Position and Expertise

Name

Organisation

Location

Industry Development Officer — NSW (Blueberries/Pollination/Chemical/Next Gen)

Melinda Simpson

NSW Dept of Primary Industries (NSW DPI)

Wollongbar, NSW

Industry Development Officer — VIC & SA (Strawberries/Biosecurity/Pest & Disease)

Angela Atkinson

Vic Strawberry Industry Development Committee (VSIDC)

Wandin, VIC

Industry Development Officer — QLD (Strawberries)

Suzette Argent

Qld Strawberry Growers Association (QSGA)

Caboolture, QLD

Industry Development Officer — TAS (Rubus)

Celeste Cook

Fruit Growers Tasmania Inc (FGT)

Launceston, TAS

Industry Development Officer — WA (Strawberries)

Helen Newman / Aileen Reid

Agricultural Produce Commission (APC)

Perth, WA

Communications Specialist

Jane Richter

Teres Communication

Glasshouse Mts, QLD

Needs Analysis, MERI framework and midterm evaluation

Emily Tee

RMCG

Melbourne, VIC

Project Team

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation using research and development levies from the Blueberry Fund, Raspberry and Blackberry Fund and Strawberry Fund and funds from the Australian Government. For more information on the funds and strategic levy investment visit horticulture.com.au

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Piecework: Fair Work Ombudsman Update The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has recently announced a series of updates to its “Horticulture Showcase”, a web-based hub which is designed to provide tools and resources to help you ensure that you are paying your workforce correctly.

The updates are focused on Piecework Rates and include:

Requirements under the Horticulture Award Piecework agreements must be in writing and made without coercion

• c lear information about when piecework rates should be set; • b ase rate hourly information from the Horticulture award;

• a piecework agreement must be made in writing and signed by the employer and the employee

• c omprehensive information about how to set piecework rates, including factors to consider in determining an ‘average competent employee’; and

• t he employer and employee must have genuinely made the piecework agreement without coercion or duress

• details about the type of records that should be kept.

• t he piecework rate agreed is to be paid for all work performed in accordance with the piecework agreement

The FWO have introduced a new visual template that explains very simply how piecework rates should be calculated and the information that has to be transparent to the worker in the application of the rates. Both parties – employer and worker – must sign the piecework agreement, and any subsequent changes to it must also be signed by both parties.

• a n employer must give the employee a copy of the piecework agreement and keep the piecework agreement as a time and wages record

An example Piecework rate table — You will be paid on the following basis:

Crop

Rate

Unit

Variables

To get pay equivalent to at least 15% more than your minimum hourly rate in the Award you must pick or pack at least

Example 1

Strawberries

$x

Kilograms (kg)

Rainy day

1kg/hour

Example 2

Strawberries

$y

Kilograms (kg)

Sunny/ cloudy day

2kg/hour

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Piecework agreements must have an appropriate pay rate • a piecework rate must ‘enable the average competent employee to earn at least 15% more per hour than the minimum hourly rate’ for their employment type and classification • t he current minimum hourly rate for an adult casual employee is $24.80 • t o work out a piecework rate, an employer needs to identify the average competent employee and their pick rate at the time the piecework agreement is entered into • P iecework rates must be set before starting work under the piecework agreement.

They also must be regularly reviewed • T here are many factors that affect what an ‘average competent employee’ is at each enterprise at a particular time. There is no standard across the horticulture industry or within particular industries or locations. It can be different between properties with the same crop type and location. It can even be different on the same property at different times • T here are a range of factors in each case to assess the characteristics and pick rate of the average competent employee

Payslips must be produced & given to all employees • You must issue pay slips for all payments to employees • P ay slips have to be given to an employee within 1 working day of pay day, even if they are on leave • They can be in either electronic form or hard copy

Records must be properly made & kept aking and keeping proper employee records is not M only good business practice – it’s also the law.

To comply with the law, employee records: • m ust be written in English, and be clear and easy to access • c an only be changed to correct an error (you need to keep details of the change made) • can't be false or misleading • m ust include all the required information for each employee • must be kept for 7 years.

Visit www.fairwork.gov.au/horticulture-showcase for the useful tools and resources

Checklist for Employers Use the checklist below to help ensure your new piecework agreement meets the requirements of the Horticulture Award and other workplace laws.

Put it in writing The piecework agreement (Agreement) must be in writing and signed by the employer and the employee.

Check the piecework rates are okay

The Agreement must have an appropriate rate of pay.

The piecework rate(s) paid must enable the 'average competent employee' to earn at least 15% more per hour than the minimum hourly rate in the Award for the employee’s type of employment and classification level. For casual employees, this calculation must also include the casual loading.

Keep a record of how the piecework rate(s) was calculated, including details of the average competent employee and their pick rate.

Be clear about what work is covered by the Agreement If the employee is performing extra work that is not covered by the Agreement, the employee must be paid in accordance with the applicable time-based rate under the Award.

Get it signed The employer and employee must both sign the Agreement. If the employee is under 18 years of age, it's considered best practice and may be required by state legislation for a parent or guardian to co-sign the agreement.

Translate it (if required) If an employee’s understanding of written English is limited, you should take measures to ensure the employee understands this Agreement. This may include translation of this Agreement into an appropriate language.

Keep a copy You must keep the signed Agreement as a time and wages record.

ive a copy G You must give a copy of this signed Agreement to the employee.

Review your rates regularly It’s your responsibility as the employer to ensure the piecework rate paid is compliant at all times.

Piecework rates should be reviewed regularly and increased in line with:

— changes to the Award rates (which usually occur in July each year)

— changes in the workforce, crop or business that effect the pick rate of the employee of average capacity.

Make any changes in writing Any changes to the employee’s piecework rate(s) must be recorded in a new piecework agreement, signed by both parties.

The Fair Work Ombudsman Horticulture Showcase provides a host of templates that make compliance with the regulations simpler.

You can access all of these templates and forms, as well as a large selection of tools – in multiple languages – at www.fairwork.gov.au/horticulture-showcase There is a self-audit checklist that is useful to help you to identify where you may need to updates your staff management processes – find it and complete it at www.fairwork.gov.au/horticulture-showcase/self-audit-checklist

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Urban plant biosecurity: Understanding the opportunities to better safeguard primary industries Dr Jessica Lye This article draws on findings from Lye J & McGregor H. (2020), APBSF Project Final Report, Urban plant biosecurity: Using a foundational approach to understand emerging risks, support resilient cities and safeguard rural industry.

However, it is not all doom and gloom. From a plant biosecurity perspective, we can find the opportunity in this changing context. As they become more apparent, those key challenges may in fact support a movement towards improved plant knowledge and stewardship.

This is a movement in motivation and knowledge that may be used as a vehicle to strengthen biosecurity arrangements, if the context is understood.

Exotic plant pest transmission pathways are often closely associated with the movement of people or products, with major Ports of Entry being, in turn, being associated with high density residential urban areas and arterials, which can lead directly to production zones.

However, plant biosecurity activities in urban environments throw up a variety of challenges that can complicate awareness, surveillance and response efforts.

Capturing the changing context for better biosecurity The concepts of ‘urban greening’ and ‘urban rewilding’ are becoming increasingly normalised in high-density urban areas, such as Australia’s capital cities. As an example, in most major cities in Australia, until more recently, urban agriculture has been a fairly novel activity. However, the past five years has seen an upsurge of urban agriculture activities in major cities, with the SUSTAIN Gardening in the Pandemic survey (9000 respondents) identifying that during 2020 over 60% of respondents had spent more time than previously gardening and, in particular, growing food.

Why do urban areas represent a challenging environment for plant biosecurity engagement and response?

In comparison to rural areas, land is extremely fragmented, there are more boundary lines, a greater number of land managers per set area, a greater variety of skills, knowledge, attitudes and values, diversity of culture and language, and at least at a high level (without taking into account special interest groups), there is less social capital and cohesion at a community level.

In our recent urban biosecurity study, we identified 231 urban (176) and peri-urban (55) gardens across 28 metropolitan council areas of Greater Melbourne.

We mapped these gardens against key peri-urban production areas, including berry growing regions.

Importantly, we identified significant scope for collaboration between community gardeners and primary producers for the purpose of exotic pest surveillance and the setting up of sentinel sites. In addition, we identified key risk areas near Ports of Entry and distribution centres that host a high number of community garden groups with strong, informal communication networks.

A changing urban context may support a movement towards improving urban plant health (and biosecurity)…

In looking at major cities in Australia (particularly Sydney and Melbourne) we can also foresee some significant challenges on the plant health front. Using Melbourne as an example, the population is forecast to grow significantly over the next three decades, but the Melbourne food bowl will drop in production capacity by more than 20%. This is largely due to climate change and predicted expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary.

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Strawberry farm in peri-urban environment, Yarra Valley, Victoria. Photo credit: Angela Atkinson, VSIDC

But, would people who live in high density areas even spare a thought for plant biosecurity?

Yes, they certainly would.

Understanding the opportunity, and taking a long-term engagement outlook Major cities, such as Melbourne, are surrounded by high-value peri-urban agricultural food bowls that stand to significantly benefit from plant health protection activities undertaken in adjacent urban environments.

To give you an example of the production capability of the Melbourne food bowl, 40% of the Australia’s strawberries are grown on the fringe of Melbourne (one priority exotic pest that has the potential to significantly impact on strawberry is the spotted winged drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), a pest that has a high likelihood of establishing in urban areas before spreading further afield to production regions).

A growing disconnection between urban residents and primary production industries would certainly increase the challenge of maintaining good plant biosecurity in cities. However, does a ‘disconnection’ really exist between city resistants and biosecurity? This is an important question, as exotic pest detection in high density urban environments is a crucial risk mitigator of subsequent pest establishment in adjacent, high value peri-urban production zones.

In a survey dataset of 456 urban and rural residents across Victoria we actually found that the likelihood of reporting a suspect exotic pest did not significantly differ based on current residential location (rural or urban) and setting of upbringing (rural or urban), with the majority of survey respondents indicating they were likely or highly likely to report a suspect exotic pest.

Urban and peri-urban regions cannot be understated as critical zones for maintaining plant biosecurity engagement and plant health stewardship activities.

Fortunately for primary industries that are commonly found in peri-urban areas next to high density Australian cities, this study demonstrated that significant good-will exists among city residents to report exotic pest species.

We also found that there is high alignment between rural and urban residents in relation to motivations that would drive reporting. For example, across all ‘high likelihood’ exotic pest reporters, key motivators were moral duty, environmental protection, agricultural protection, and general awareness of risk.

When engaging with urban residents during an incursion usually awareness is raised through a major push of communication in a campaign approach. This is not to say that there is an issue in taking such an approach, but the question is, what are the pre-emptive engagement activities that may be employed now to strengthen plant health awareness and practices in urban communities?

A lack of knowledge and confidence among potential reporters is potentially a major limiting factor in improving plant health outcomes in urban and rural environments. This barrier is unlikely to be appropriately addressed through traditional biosecurity outreach approaches that place an emphasis on providing direct ‘top-down’ information about priority pests.

Rather, a more holistic process of building community social capital (strengthening informal networks) and empowering individuals and groups to become more familiar with their seasonal garden ecology will likely support longer-term positive outcomes.

This study was funded by the Australian Plant Biosecurity Science Foundation.

The full report can be found at www.apbsf.org.au/apbsf-projects

23

The Protected Cropping Australia Conference is an unmissable opportunity to connect with like minded people driving protected cropping management in Australia. Attending the conference will enable you to share new experiences and advancements in knowledge and practice.

Are you interested in sponsoring PCA 2021?

To receive a copy of the 2021 sponsorship prospectus contact

nitesh.p@asnevents.net.au

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I N D U S T R Y

Coir in Australia Aileen Reid, Industry Development Officer, Strawberry Growers Association of Western Australia

Currently, the global annual production of coir fibre is about 350,000 tonnes of which India and Sri Lanka account for about 90%.

Other coconut growing countries, such as the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are also now expanding their production and export of coir.

The world scene

The processing of coir has come under criticism for the quantity of water used in the washing process.

In some cases, the washing process is not done locally but is transferred to the country doing the bulk of the processing. This minimises the environmental impact of salt being washed into the environment in the place of harvest.

The coir industry uses what has been historically left as a useless by-product of the coconut industry. Prior to the use of coir in horticulture, large waste stockpiles of coconuts were left on the sides of the roads and in growing fields, leaching salts and phenolic compounds into agricultural soils rendering them useless.

An ageing process follows to reduce the carbon: nitrogen ratio and the levels of harmful phenolics in the material.

The microbes that degrade lignin require a ratio of about 24:1 to function. Below this they cannot proliferate – their growth requires nitrogen. The less microbes there are, the less nitrogen drawdown (which adversely affects plant growth) and the slower the rate of decomposition of the product.

While the coir industry has been a very profitable solution to this problem, there remains an issue with some less respectable enterprises where working conditions and productivity are generally poor.

Reputable companies dealing in coir practice ethical sourcing, giving workers fair pay and conditions.

There are several factors that affect the quality of coir.

First and foremost is the proximity of the source material to coastal regions and therefore its potential for salt accumulation.

Coir longevity The longevity of coir is in part manipulated by changing the proportions of pith and fibre/chip in the product.

A substrate with more pith has a higher water holding capacity but will have a shorter lifespan than a substrate with more fibre and/or chip. This is due to the lower percentage of lignin in pith, making it more susceptible to decomposition via microbial interaction. All this must be weighed against the requirements of the crop in which it is being used.

Most experienced coir suppliers are well aware of this and try to avoid coir from coastal regions. When and if they do, they use diligent washing processes to remove the excess salt. It is likely only to be an issue with coir produced and sold as an unwashed product.

This product usually comes into Australia via sole traders, at a price cheaper than the cost of production of reputable producers that follow due process. In short, you get what you pay for.

Chemical & physical properties of coir Coir has a high lignin content of 20-40% making it highly resistant to degradation. It also is far less likely than other potting mix components to become hydrophobic (non-wetting) after drying. Fibre, however, has a very low water holding capacity (WHC), so should be used sparingly and as short cut fibres to prevent pockets of poor moisture distribution.

Coir processing The first process that coir undergoes is the removal of any excess salts (sodium, potassium and chloride).

Buffering is not necessary if the final EC of the coir is low enough but may be desirable to optimise plant growth in the initial stages.

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Coir accreditation

The expansion ratio of coir on re-wetting is high and depends on the particular mix of pith, chip and fibre being used. Strawberry growbags, for example, which are about 1000 x 200 x 80mm (2 kg weight when compressed) will hydrate out to a volume of about 16 L. Raspberry bags which weigh about 1 kg, hydrate out to between 9 and 10 L.

There is no official accreditation scheme for coir products in Australia. In the Netherlands, a private company (www.rhp.nl/en/home), manages the quality mark ‘RHP’ for substrates, growing media and potting soils as well as ‘RAG’ for green roof substrates, soil supply and soil improving materials.

The water retention curve of coir is quite like that of peat with a large proportion of water released at under 1kPa of suction, making the process of plant water uptake quite energy efficient.

They conduct a range of research, training and education activities to ensure that the end product conforms to a range of general, chemical and physical properties and will fulfill the phytosanitary requirement of importing countries. Latter entrants into the coir market have adopted this certification to generate market space, but it has generally only been considered relevant to the hobby side of the market in Australia since reputable suppliers have their own in-house testing and quality assurance.

Sometimes coir is mixed with perlite or peat but often it is used by itself with proportions of coir fibre and pith or chip varied to tailor the WHC and air-filled porosity (AFP) to each crop’s specific requirements.

Due to the sensitivity of berry crops to both salinity and WHC/AFP, research into coir blends has also expanded into other parameters affecting crop longevity and productivity such as container volumes.

Biosecurity issues Weed seeds can be an issue. Currently, all care is taken to minimise the risk (largely on sourcing raw materials from various vendors) and containers are fumigated and/or inspected prior to leaving countries of origin.

In the past fungal pathogens have also been found in coir. On the other side of the coin, unsterilised coir has also been found to support various beneficial fungi such as Aspergillus terreus however the importation of such coir would not be permitted.

The pH of coir is between 6 and 7 so unlike sphagnum peat moss it does not require liming. The cation exchange capacity of coir is variable, somewhere between 30 and 100, not too dissimilar to coir, this relatively high CEC also helps stabilise the pH.

Quality Quality coir should be 100% sterile.

Mixed coir material

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Summary

Currently imported coir must be:

Coir is a remarkably versatile substrate with wide application across a number of horticultural crops.

• 100% coir • c lean, free from soil, contaminant plant material, animal material and be subjected to microbiological testing for Salmonella and E. coli

It was probably first recognised for its excellent water holding characteristics, and logistically, is highly efficient to transport in the dry, compressed state.

• p ackaging used with the consignment must be clean and new

In recent years, growers have found the longevity of coir to be superior to many other container mix components such as rockwool, pine bark and sawdust.

This is particularly useful for perennial crops such as blueberry and raspberry.

Note that these conditions do not preclude the occurrence of other issues affecting coir quality such as sodium chloride accumulation.

As interest in and adoption of coir substrates continues to grow in the berry industry so does research and development to support the use of coir in these crops.

Much of the R&D done by the more reputable companies is in-house and available only to growers using their products.

Compressed coir block

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I N D U S T R Y

IPM Strategy: Pest Specific Fact Sheets Julie Inglis & Celeste Cook, Fruit Growers Tasmania Inc

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is helping to future proof the berry industry in Australia, making cropping more sustainable, reducing chemical resistance, and providing a safer workplace.

Continual reviews by regulators on the types of chemistry that can be used on crops and with options for new chemistry limited by cost and time, a reliance on pesticides as a single method of pest management is no longer an option. This coupled with consumers demanding lower residue levels on their fresh food products means IPM offers the most sustainable solution to long term berry crop management.

The word ‘integrated’ is particularly relevant as we must ensure all our control methods work with one another.

If we choose to use chemistry, it must be compatible with the biological controls also being employed.

In the coming editions of the Australian Berry Journal, we will be investigating a range of pests affecting berry crops, the different physical, cultural, biological and chemical control strategies available to the grower using an IPM system, and tips from experts on how to integrate them into on farm pest management practices.

IPM is a proactive way of dealing with pest and disease problems, it is more about management of the crop rather than control of an infestation once it has occurred. The aim is not a total absence of pests but to keep levels low enough so as to prevent economic damage to the crop.

Articles will begin with a focus on insect pests.

Particularly those identified as high to medium priority via SARP (Strategic Agrichemical Review Process) for the Rubus, strawberry and blueberry industries. The aim of the articles will to be to provide readers with the ability to identify pest populations and provide multiple strategies for their management.

It relies on regular crop monitoring to ensure treatments are applied when necessary and to assess the effectiveness of treatments once applied. Gone are the days of calendar spraying. With IPM, chemistry is one option available, which can be employed alongside physical (e.g. pruning to increase airflow), cultural (e.g. good hygiene practices) and biological (e.g. predatory wasps) control strategies with the right knowledge.

The following table provides guidance on the pests that will be featured in the Australian Berry Journal in coming editions, and their relevance to industry. See the spring edition of the Australian Berry Journal for the first IPM strategy on Two-spotted mites.

Berry Industry Sector

Insect Pests

Rubus

Two-spotted mite, Green stink bug, Green vegetable bug, Western flower thrips, Green mirid, Brown mirid, Crop mirid.

Strawberry

Two-spotted mite, Strawberry aphid, Green peach aphid, Queensland fruit fly, Cyclamen mite, Snails and slugs, Green mirid, Brown mirid, Crop mirid, Greenhouse whitefly, Plague thrips.

Blueberry

Light brown apple moth, Queensland fruit fly, Longicorn trunk borer, Broad mite, Red-shouldered leaf beetle, Elephant weevil, Scarab beetles, Cotton Bollworm, Native budworm, Western flower thrips, Plague thrips, Flatid leaf hopper, Scale insects, ants.

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I N D U S T R Y

Bitwise Agronomy introduces ‘Greenview’ to the berry industry Celeste Cook, Berry Industry Development Officer, Rubus & Tasmania, Fruit Growers Tasmania Inc

Having been involved in the berry industry for a short time (only 3 weeks!) the name Bitwise Agronomy has come up in conversation with colleagues and industry numerous times. This piqued my curiosity and after watching a few of their videos online I decided I should investigate their operations further.

I’ve discovered since moving to Tasmania that it seems like everybody knows everybody else, and this appears to be true of the berry industry here too. While a lot of the Tasmanian growers might know Bitwise Agronomy and their CEO Fiona Turner owner of Jinglers Creek vineyard, I thought this article would be a great opportunity to feature Bitwise Agronomy and their software "Greenview'. This will give berry growers the opportunity to learn more about some of the fantastic, home grown industry driven technology they have developed for fruit growers.

It provides data that can inform management practices ensuring they are more accurately targeted, saving time and money. Greenview can provide improvements in the areas of: • Short term crop forecasting • Harvesting and labour requirements • Pruning • H eat mapping of crop growth parameters to provide spatial analysis of the crop • C rop yield information for items like location of bee hives for pollination improvement

What is Greenview?

Greenview was originally designed by Fiona and her team at Bitwise Agronomy as a way for her to monitor her vineyard whilst she was away. It has since also been tested in raspberry, blackberry and blueberry crops, gathering data specific to those crops. Every farm is different and the team at Bitwise Agronomy work with individual farmers by tailoring Greenview to collect data that suits the farm and informs the grower.

Greenview is a smart imaging and data collection application which is driven by a custom Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform. Images are captured by attaching a camera such as a GoPro to a farm vehicle and filming the crop as you drive through the rows. As the camera films, the application recognises parts of the crop, such as flowers, buds and fruit at different stages of maturity, classifying these and collecting the data. The images are collected and classified into pre-defined categories in a street view or side on view and plotted on a map using GPS technology. The data and imagery can then be accessed and analysed by the grower in maps, graphs and tables, as well as on video.

Being able to collect and analyse data that is not only representative of the whole crop, including data point locations, provides producers with the ability to assess their crops and inform their decision making without having to walk the field.

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Example image data capture by Greenview. Photo credit: Bitwise Agronomy

The future for Bitwise Agronomy

Meet Bitwise Agronomy

The future holds even more innovative ways to use the data harvested through ‘Greenview’.

Fiona and her team are currently looking at opportunities to better use Greenview through smart glasses technology for picking, and size and volume data to inform crop forecasting.

If you would like to see Greenview in action, Bitwise Agronomy will be attending a field day held

by Berries Australia in Launceston on 17 July 2021 (details yet to be confirmed).

They will also be a guest speaker at the Fruit Growers Tasmania annual conference on 15 July. (www.fruitgrowerstas.org.au/conference-2021).

Details will also be available through the Berries Australia website and please visit www.bitwiseag.com or check out ‘Bitwise Agronomy’ on LinkedIn for more.

We are in the market of enabling our farmers insightful, pragmatic & darn right inventive qualities.

Fiona Turner

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I N D U S T R Y

The Beerenberg Family Farm, Hahndorf, South Australia Dr Angela Atkinson Beerenberg is German for ‘berry hill’, reflecting the produce grown, the family’s heritage, and the farm’s location in the hills. The farm is now run by Grant and Carol’s children, the sixth generation of the Paech family to manage Beerenberg, with son Robert managing the farm’s strawberry production. Robert’s children, the seventh generation, also have roles within the business.

The Beerenberg Family Farm in Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills is a family owned and run business, nearly 200 years in the making.

In 1839, Johann and Anna Paech left Prussia with their five children, with a dream of building a happy and prosperous life in Australia. Along with other Lutheran families, they settled in the Adelaide Hills to farm the productive, rich land, and establish the village of Hahndorf. The Paech family were mainly dairy farmers, until in the 1970s, five generations later, Grant and Carol Paech began planting strawberries.

Not long after transitioning to growing strawberries, Robert’s father introduced the idea of ‘pick your own strawberries’, with the farm soon becoming a tourist destination in the Hahndorf village. The range of products produced was also expanded to include other jams, sauces and chutneys, requiring the construction of a purpose-built factory on the farm.

The ‘pick your own strawberries’ patch is a big drawcard for visitors to Beerenberg Family Farm, as is the well-stocked retail shop.

Strawberries were initially sold from the farm, then later the market in Adelaide. As the family concentrated on growing strawberries, and expanded their plantings, they also began to make and sell strawberry jam, the beginning of the Beerenberg brand.

In the 1980s, Beerenberg won the contract to supply jams to Qantas for their first-class passengers, replacing the imported jams previously supplied.

This required the installation of an automated filling machine in the factory for the mini jars used.

Beerenberg’s 'Pick Your Own' strawberries patch. Photo credit: Angela Atkinson.

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The warehouse and factory complex, viewed from the observation area.

The vats where the products are made can be seen through the windows on the left. Photo credit: Angela Atkinson.

Beerenberg Family Farm shop and strawberry products. Photo credit: Angela Atkinson.

Robert Paech (Beerenberg farm manager) and Rachel Mackenzie (Berries Australia) in the 'Pick Your Own' strawberries patch & Beerenberg Family Farm jam range. Photo credit: Angela Atkinson.

Beerenberg Pty Ltd launched the Beerenberg Foundation in 2010 which supports philanthropic activities to conserve and celebrate the Hahndorf region’s unique heritage.

In 2018, a new state of the art factory was built on the farm site, including offices and a large warehouse.

The business now employs more than 80 people, mostly local residents, and has an extensive retail outlet as well, situated in the original factory building.

There are plans to extend the retail shop to utilise the whole former factory site. Beerenberg products are also available nationally in Coles, Woolworths, independent supermarkets and providores, with the original strawberry jam still the best-selling product.

The foundation has supported projects as varied as concerts, sculpture exhibitions, signage for heritage buildings in the village, and revegetation programs in the district.

The company underwent a major rebranding in 2013, to improve the products’ visibility in their retail outlets.

In some independent retailers there are dedicated displays of all Beerenberg products.

Rachel Mackenzie, Berries Australia Executive Director, and I visited Robert at the Beerenberg farm in April this year. We were shown the pick your own strawberries patch, where Albion is the predominant variety grown, and were lucky to visit the new factory and watch the warehouse in action from the observation area. We also had ample opportunity to peruse the extensive range of berry products in the farm store and may have done some shopping - yum!

The business also focusses on the provenance of the products, sourcing all produce used to make the huge range of jams and condiments from Australian growers, locally where possible, including Beerenberg’s own strawberries.

The provenance of Beerenberg’s products can be checked on their website using the Provenance PathwayTM, which provides information about the ingredients, nutritional information and where the product is made.

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Thanks to Robert for showing us around and giving us an insight into how his family has built a successful, valueadding enterprise from their original farming business.

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B L U E B E R R I E S

Blueberry nitrogen nutrition Part 1: The right nitrogen source Dr Sophie Parks, NSW DPI

• Blueberry plants like nitrogen in the form of ammonium • Blueberry plants do not take up more ammonium than they need • Excess ammonium in the rootzone can become nitrogen pollution in soil run-off The current NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) recommendation for nitrogen fertiliser application is a rate of no more than 100-121 kg of nitrogen (N) per hectare per year on blueberry crops.

Blueberry plants have an appetite for ammonium as a nitrogen source Plants can take up N in the form of nitrate and ammonium. These forms of nitrogen are charged chemical compounds represented by the symbols NO3- and NH4+ respectively.

This annual rate split into weekly applications, is recommended for a mature planting of fertigated blueberries grown in soil, using a plant density of approximately 3500 plants per hectare. Fertigation is the delivery of fertiliser in solution to the crop via irrigation, and in well-designed systems can direct nutrients into the root zone to meet the demands of plant growth.

Most plants prefer nitrate since ammonium cannot be easily stored in plant tissue, however some such as blueberry like ammonium included in their nitrogen fertiliser regime.

Overseas research has shown that blueberry crops perform better when an ammonium source of N fertiliser is used. Similarly, our research in northern NSW showed a small trend of increased plant growth in response to a higher proportion of N being supplied as ammonium, despite all plants receiving the same total amount of N (Figure 1).

The 4Rs approach for plant nutrition is encouraged to improve the nitrogen-use efficiency of this recommended rate. These provide guidance on how to meet the nutrient needs of a plant based on plant requirements and include: 1. The right source – the fertiliser type the plant requires 2. The right rate – how much the plant requires 3. The right time – when the plant requires it

A small trend of increased total N concentration in leaves was also observed (Figure 2).

4. The right place – where the plant requires it In this fact sheet we are focusing on the first R, the right source of N for blueberries.

The positive response of blueberry to an ammonium source applied as a foliar spray is obvious in the greener leaves pictured in Figure 3 compared to the red leaves of plants sprayed with water.

However, nitrate cannot be ignored as an N source for blueberry, as uptake of nitrate via roots and shoots has been demonstrated in previous studies.

Research by the NSW DPI Clean Coastal Catchments project is continuing to improve our understanding of blueberry responses to both ammonium and nitrate in evergreen growing systems.

Dr Sophie Parks

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HOW TO INTERPRET BOX PLOTS: To create this graph, data are sorted from lowest to highest and separated into four quartiles. In each box, the cross represents the average or mean increase in stem width within each treatment (low, medium or high), in this case for 11 plants. The box contains the middle two quartiles of the observations with the box ends representing the upper and lower quartile measurements for increase in stem width. The ends of the ‘whiskers’ indicate the highest and lowest measurements, and the horizontal line in the box is the median (middle) measurement for increase in stem width.

INCREASE IN STEM WIDTH (mm)

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Highest Measurement

Upper Quartile

20

15

Mean x x

Median

x

Lowest Measurement

10

Lower Quartile

5

0 LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH

AMMONIUM : NITRATE Figure 1. Increase in stem width of blueberry plants grown in substrate and fertigated for eight months. All plants received the same rate of total nitrogen but the ratio of ammonium to nitrate in the fertigation was either low, medium or high. Each treatment data set is depicted as a box plot.

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MATURE LEAF N%

20

x

x

x 15

x 10

5

0 LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH

AMMONIUM : NITRATE Figure 2. Increase in nitrogen concentration in mature leaves of blueberry plants grown in substrate and fertigated. All plants received the same rate of total nitrogen but the ratio of ammonium to nitrate in the fertigation was either low, medium or high. Leaves were sampled from plants in each treatment on 4 occasions over a period of 5 months.

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Figure 3. Effect of ammonium on canopy greening. The plant on the left was sprayed weekly for several weeks with a solution containing ammonium, while the plant on the right was sprayed with water. Photo credit: Dr Sophie Parks, NSW DPI

Appropriate sources of ammonium fertiliser for blueberry

Other ammonium fertilisers can be used in fertigation when the crop has demand for sulfur (S) or phosphorus (P).

These include ammonium sulfate (sulfate of ammonia) for supplying S and mono ammonium phosphate (MAP) for supplying P. Keep in mind that the proportion of S and P in these fertilisers exceeds that of N, yet the demand by the plant for N will always exceed that for S and P. Therefore, another source of N will be required alongside these fertilisers for optimal plant growth.

Urea is commonly used as a source of nitrogen for fertigated crops and evidence suggests that plant roots can take up urea directly from the root zone solution.

Otherwise, urea quickly forms ammonium when broken down or ‘hydrolysed’ in the soil making it an ideal N source for blueberry.

Urea can also be applied as a foliar spray on the blueberry canopy to alleviate symptoms in nitrogendeficient plants and current research aims to understand how this practice contributes to nitrogen nutrition generally. However, when applying foliar urea, ensure to select a low biuret grade as biuret is potentially phytotoxic and can cause leaf burn.

Caution is required in the application of these fertilisers since they contribute to soil acidification and ammonium sulfate is the most acidifying of these.

Although blueberry plants prefer an acid soil range of pH 4.2-5.5 (as measured in a water and soil solution) based on overseas data, it is recommended that ammonium sulfate be avoided unless soil pH is above 5.0. Regular pH testing is suggested to monitor this important factor.

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Overfertilisation: when ammonium can become nitrate

Blueberry in potted substrate For blueberry grown in substrate, nutrient solutions are delivered in fertigation to provide complete nutrition, with little nutrition being provided by the substrate, unlike a soil system. However, we only have a limited understanding of how blueberry plants perform within this type of system. Research is underway which aims to provide appropriate nutrient formulations and production guidelines to optimise nitrogen nutrition, minimise nitrification in the root zone, and enable the reuse of nutrients in leachates from these systems.We are also investigating plant demand for nitrogen and other nutrients on a seasonal basis in the evergreen blueberry crop, to address the right rate and the right time aspects of the 4Rs. Further nutrition guideline fact sheets looking at nutrition rates and timing will be released through the Clean Coastal Catchments project in 2021-2022.

The key to optimal nutrition is to supply small amounts of fertiliser often when the plant demands it.

Imagine if you presented your dog or cat with a month’s supply of dinners in the one sitting. Although some pets may try, they would not be able to eat everything, and much of the food would be wasted!

Similarly, research has shown that when provided in excess, a blueberry plant will not take up more ammonium through its roots than it needs.

The danger of doing this is that the remaining ammonium in the root zone can be acted upon by bacteria, undergoing nitrification, a process that "results in the formation of nitrate.

The nitrate formed is unlikely to be taken up by blueberry roots and can easily move down the soil profile with the next rainfall event or irrigation application, contributing to nitrogen pollution in water ways.

The Clean Coastal Catchments project is funded under the NSW Government's Marine Estate Management Strategy. The ten-year Strategy was developed by the NSW Marine Estate Management Authority to coordinate the management of the marine estate.

Nitrification is also associated with rapid acidification of the soil or substrate, a problem that can reduce the availability in soils of some essential nutrients required by plants.

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B L U E B E R R I E S

Australian Blueberries Marketing Update Magnum & Co

The Australian Blueberries season 2021/22 marketing strategy will focus on engaging existing buyers to increase purchase rates. New consumers will be attracted by the strategy, however, the key focus is with existing buyers.

An integrated marketing strategy to influence this behaviour is required with advertising focusing on social & digital channels to build upon the existing, successful campaign of Bl’oo’berries, built over the last three seasons.

WHAT ARE WE DOING DIFFERENTLY THIS SEASON?

More & New Digital Channels

More Grower Content

Bigger Brand Ambassador

Refined Messaging & Creative

More & New Digital Channels

Bigger Brand Ambassador

Investing in the digital channels like Facebook and Instagram that have proven to be the most cost effective and efficient at reaching our target audience with our messages. We will also be exploring new channels like Tiktok and Pinterest to keep up with changes in buyer behaviour.

We’re going to go bigger and harder with our paid Ambassador program this year with the goal of achieving more earned media coverage, a better recipe book collaboration and fresh new content angles.

Refined Messaging & Creative We will take the messages that we know work for us and refine them along with giving our creative a fresh new look throughout all the consumer touch points.

More Grower Content Back in 2019 we sent a camera crew to the Coffs Harbour region to capture images and video that helped us to bring the grower story to life for consumers. This material was our most popular by far on our social media channels and so we will be capturing a fresh set of content to help drive that emotional connection between consumers and our Australian farmers.

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What are the key messages for this season?

We will take a season-long approach to spreading our three main content pillars to try to achieve the largest volume of coverage both from our own paid activities and the free or ‘earned’ media opportunities.

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THE THREE PILLARS OF FOCUS ARE

Benefits

Versatility

Provenance

Reaching consumers with existing & new health & wellness benefits of consuming blueberries

Showcase the many different ways to eat, create with & enjoy fresh blueberries

Bring the growers to the forefront & use their voices to educate consumers about locality, seasonality, varieties & tastes

When will the marketing activity be visible?

PRE-SEASON

PEAK SEASON

JUL

AUG

Long Lead

Launch

Always on Media Room

Christmas

Pitch out new & existing recipes to long lead media

Season launch activity and ambassador announcement

Recipes & events calendar

Round up of best recipes for summer celebrations

Capture new grower content

SEP

OCT

LATE SEASON NOV

Health benefits Grower profiles

DEC

Leveraging grower / ambassador / influencer content

If you have any questions about the upcoming season or if you’d like to be a part of the grower content, please get in touch: blueberries@magnumandco.com.au | www.australianblueberries.com.au FACEBOOK-SQUARE instagram /australianblueberries

41

Our substrate performs precisely how our customers expect it to. That’s because they are an integral part of fine-tuning the mixture. Another reason we’re successful is that we thoroughly wash and buffer the coco which is part of many mixtures. Moreover, we produce to order and our own laboratory analyses the quality of the raw materials and the finished product. Call me or one of my colleagues and tell us what you expect from your ideal substrate.

Phil Badgery

www.legrogroup.com

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SUPERIOR BLUEBERRY SORTING TECHNOLOGY

Fast, gentle and accurate, GP Graders’ AirJet® grader sorts blueberries at a speed of up to 45 units per second per lane, yielding extremely high productivity while maintaining grading accuracy.

The AirJet® Blueberry grader utilizes Ultra High Definition (HD) cameras to provide the sharpest picture resolution for size, color, softness, shrivel and defect analysis.

This advanced level of analysis is unprecedented in the fresh produce industry.

Fast, gentle and accurate, GP Graders’ AirJet® grader sorts blueberries at a speed of up to 45 units per second Businesses are unique and we recognise that one size does not fit all. We have a range of machines to suit your production volume requirements, packing specifics and your budget.

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www.elitetunnels.com Ross Watt ross@elitetunnels.co.uk Mobile: +44 (0) 7841 532 652 Office: +44 (0) 1356 648 598 Australian agent James Downey jdowney@polygro.com.au Mobile: 0400 893 250 Office: 039 305 0333

We hold stock of a variety of ancillary parts, including: C-clips • hinge-clamps sheeting-rope • rope-pullers

Our materials are proudly UK and EU sourced.

We’re proud to work with:

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a Wo r l d o f P l a s t i c s

VOLUNTARY LEVIES

SUPPORT YOUR INDUSTRY

TO SUPPORT YOUR BUSINESS! The ABGA is funding a major marketing program – please contribute your share Why should I pay the voluntary levy?

How do I pay the levy?

The voluntary levies fund all of the essential activities that contribute to the growth of our blueberry industry.

Activities include, but are not limited to:

Follow the steps below:

• Maintaining a a dedicated marketing campaign • R esearch & development into registered chemicals + IPM + Integrated Disease Management programs • F unding legal advice to support appropriate planning conditions • P rogressing applications for market access to key markets such as New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam • Developing export protocols into Japan • Funding our Industry Development Officer • Funding our Executive Director and support staff • C ommunication and engagement with members – industry journal, e-news, website, conference • P romoting positive industry stories and addressing negative media • P roviding our contribution to Hort Innovation under the Collective Industry Fund which is matched with equal funding used for various industry projects as determined by the Blueberry Strategic Industry Advisory Panel

How much levy do I have to pay?

For this year standard levies are $0.07/kg fruit sold.

This will cover both R&D and Marketing investments.

When do I pay the voluntary levy?

Levies are payable once every financial quarter:

1. Prepare a statement with the following information • Grower Name • Quarter + Dates (e.g. Q2 1st Oct - 31st Dec 2019) • Number of kg fruit sold in that quarter • Amount of levy being paid • Indicate if your agent deducts your levies (if so, include agent name) 2. Email the statement to the Membership Officer Email statement to: admin@berries.net.au The Membership Officer will send you an Invoice for payment 3. Pay your levy to the ABGA account Account name: Bank: BSB: Account: Reference:

Australian Blueberry Growers’ Association Westpac 033 10 7 181 4 71 GROWER NAME + Financial Quarter (e.g. “Joe Bloggs Q2 levy”)

y agent deducts levies — M what do I need to do?

Send the Membership Officer a statement as per Step 1 above. She will then check that the agent has paid the levy.

Email the statement to admin@berries.net.au

Period Covered

Payable by

What about confidentiality of the information provided?

Q1

1 July – 30 September

31 October

Any information provided will be kept confidential.

Q2

1 October – 31 December

31 January

Q3

I need help, who do I contact?

1 January – 31 March

30 April

Q4

1 April – 30 June

31 July

Quarter

Wendy Morris Email: admin@berries.net.au | Phone: 0491 751 123

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• Premium greenhouse and netting structures • Australian engineered designed and certified • Professional skilled workforce GreenLife Structures (GLS) is a leading Australian manufacturer of greenhouse, netting and shade structures for commercial growers. GLS produces certified engineering structures that are locally designed, manufactured and installed across Australia. GLS works with growers to design and install protected cropping structures that deliver improved yields and reduced loss across nurseries and horticulture. w: greenlifestructures.com.au e: sales@greenlifestructures.com.au

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Our company brings the latest global technology to our Australian customers. w: polygro.com.au e: sales@polygro.com.au

B L U E B E R R I E S

Expanding crop protection options for controlling blueberry rust – project update Melinda Simpson, Berry Industry Development Officer, Blueberries & NSW NSW Department of Primary Industries

NSW Department of Primary Industries is currently performing a field trial to evaluate a range of organic crop protectants to control blueberry rust disease (caused by Thekopsora minima). The products were chosen through a review of published studies and reports on all organic crop protection options for rust diseases. They were then narrowed down through trials conducted under controlled environmental conditions by Staphyt Ltd in Queensland.

Trials will be assessed on the efficacy of disease control by recording disease symptom development at regular intervals. As all control options are protectants, the disease severity will be assessed on leaves in the upper (new growth) part of the canopy every 14 days.

Severity assessments will be made using a diagrammatic scale based on the percentage of leaf area affected by rust pustules. Assessments will be made on 20 leaves from three plants between the two buffer plants in each treatment.

The key project output will be a minor use permit for the product that demonstrates effective control of rust in blueberries and is safe to the crop.

This will provide growers with additional options to reduce biosecurity risk and maintain crop productivity and market access.

This project is funded via the Tasmanian Government through the Agricultural Innovation Fund and is being led by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture.

Field trial in progress. Photo credit: Melinda Simpson

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Table 1. The treatments and rates being used in the trial The field trial is being conducted on a commercial blueberry operation on the NSW north coast with the 11-11 variety.

The trial will involve fortnightly sprays for 3 months. Disease assessments and rankings will then be performed under conditions of natural infection. The treatments to be included in the trial are listed in Table 1.

Active ingredient

Trade name

FRAC Code

Formulation

Rate of application (g/100L)

Mancozeb

Mancozeb DF 750

M3

Water dispersable granule

200 g/100 L

Copper present as hydroxide

Blue Shield® DF 500g/kg

M2

Water dispersable granule

105 g/100L

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain QST 713

Serenade® Opti

BM02

Wettable powder

250g/100L

NUL3446

Yet to be released

—

Water dispersable granule

40g/100L

Powder

400g/100L

Liquid

250ml/100L

Liquid

1L/100L

Liquid

250ml/100L

Potassium bicarbonate & potassium silicate

Emulsifiable Botanical Oil

Crustacean & wild fish wastes fortfied with trace minerals & vitamins

Ecocarb™ Plus 945 SP +

M2

Synertrol® Horti Oil 850EC

Aminogro + Synertrol® Horti Oil 850EC ™

NA

Emulsifiable Botanical Oil

Electrolyzed oxidised water

Anolyte

NA

Liquid

20L/100L

Emulsifiable Botanical Oils

Eco-oil® 850 SL

NA

Liquid

250ml or 500ml/100L

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Figure 2 and 3. The field layout and key for the trial The experimental area will consist of 5 contiguous bush plots within a row. The middle three bushes will be monitored while the outer bushes act as buffers so that plots will have a 2-bush internal buffer. Plots will be located in alternate rows to create a one-row buffer between them. The experimental area will be 5 rows each containing 8 plots to minimise the average distance between plots (Figure 2 and Figure 3).

Figure 2. Field trial plants. Photo credit: Melinda Simpson

Figure 3. Field layout & key for the trial.

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B L U E B E R R I E S

Why pollinator identity impacts blueberry productivity Which insect species visit a blueberry crop can significantly impact pollination effectiveness and fruit set, according to the findings of a groundbreaking Australian research project.

The project, Securing Pollination for more Productive Agriculture: Guidelines for effective pollinator management and stakeholder adoption, delivered as part of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Rural R&D for Profit program, has just wrapped up after a four year project from June 2016 to February 2021.

“The remaining 1% of recorded visitors included three types of native bees – reed bees (Exoneura), furrow bees (Lasioglossum) and carpenter bees (Xylocopa) – and hoverflies, (Austrosyrphus and Simosyrphus).

“In Tasmania, honey bees accounted for 76% of blueberry visitors, while bumblebees accounted for 19% of visitation.

Reed bees were the third most common, accounting for 4% of visitors, with the remaining 1% made up of various other infrequent visitors,” Dr. Kendall said.

It saw Australia’s most knowledgeable bee and pollination researchers collaborate with Costa Group, a major Australian blueberry grower, to assess the contribution of pollinators to a range of pollinationdependent crops including blueberries.

“In Walkamin, Queensland, managed honey bees contributed 95% of visits to southern highbush blueberry flowers cultivated under polytunnels.

Hoverflies (Syrphidae) represented by two morphospecies, accounted for 3% of flower visits.

Native stingless bees (T. carbonaria), butterflies (Lepidoptera) and muscid flies (Diptera) accounted for the remaining 2% of visits.” Mr. Jones said.

The project’s recommendations are aimed at strengthening pollination security and resilience, and optimising yield by identifying the insects that contribute to crop pollination and the way they relate to the landscape.

Both between and within each cultivar of blueberry, dominant pollinator species differed considerably in their abundance.

What’s visiting your crop?

At blueberry orchards around Coffs Harbour in NSW, Walkamin in Queensland, and in Tasmania, researchers identified what insect species visited and pollinated blueberry and their abundances.

“In northern highbush, we observed 59% more honey bees than bumblebees,” Dr. Kendall said.

“In rabbiteye, abundances of honey bees and stingless bees were similar (18% difference) but in southern highbush, we observed 42% more honey bees than stingless bees.

They also assessed the pollination efficiency of the most abundant insect groups that visited the crop flower.

Dr. Rader said across all sites, bees were the most frequently observed group of visitors.

“The abundances of both honey bees and stingless bees were higher (76% and 83%, respectively) in rabbiteye than southern highbush. Honey bee abundance was similar between southern highbush and northern highbush.”

“In New South Wales, honey bees and wild stingless bees (Tetragonula carbonaria) comprised 99% of all recorded floral visitors to blueberry flowers,” Dr. Rader said.

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Crop pollination effectiveness

See the full journal article published at http://bit.ly/BB-pol

The suitability of pollen depends on the crop species, and in blueberry, some species set fruit with pollen from the same variety, and others require cross pollination with pollen from a different variety to achieve fruit set.

This project is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water Resources and the Environment as part of its Rural R&D for Profit program.

Researchers found the pollination effectiveness of the dominant pollinator species differed considerably between blueberry types, and insect identity was important to fruit set.

Project partners include Horticulture Innovation Australia, University of Sydney, University of Adelaide, University of New England, Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board, Almond Board of Australia, Apple and Pear Growers Association (SA), Australian Mango Industry Association, Australian Melon Association, Australian National University, Costa Group, Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources SA, Greening Australia, Lucerne Australia, Native Vegetation Council Natural Resources Northern and Yorke, O’Connor NRM, Primary Industries and Resources SA, Raspberries and Blackberries Australia, South Australian Apiarist Association, Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network Eco-informatics Trees For Life.

In rabbiteye, neither honey bees nor stingless bees improved the probability of fruit set with a single visit relative to un‐pollinated flowers.

And in southern highbush, honey bees and stingless bees increased the probability of fruit set by 59% and 41% relative to un‐pollinated flowers.

Dr Rader said the effectiveness of pollinators is different across different cultivars of the same crop.

“Two evergreen blueberry varieties only required five visits to achieve 100% fruit set, however the third rabbit eye variety, required more than 15 to achieve 65% fruit set,” Dr. Rader said.

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Australian Strawberry Breeding Program Update: Temperate end of season report, subtropical & Mediterranean trial update Katie O’Connor, Jodi Neal & Australian Strawberry Breeding Program Team, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries BS17000: National Strawberry Varietal Improvement Program (2017-2022) We have now also completed our 2020/21 trials for the temperate production region over the summer season, and the new subtropical and Mediterranean trials have recently been planted. This article covers our breeding activities for each region over the last six months, including an update on our breeding trials and progress in developing new varieties.

The Australian Strawberry Breeding Program (ASBP) is conducted across Australia’s three major production climates: temperate, subtropical, and Mediterranean. The aim of the ASBP is to breed strawberry varieties that are specially adapted to each of the three regions, and to commercially release selections to industry that are highly profitable for growers and have superior quality to meet consumer preferences.

For those not familiar with our breeding pipeline, our program comprises of four trial stages: seedlings, early-stage clones, advanced-stage clones, and on-farm trials. Every year we carefully select parents to crosspollinate and create thousands of genetically unique seedlings. These seedlings are assessed in their targeted production region in field trials for one season.

Four selections are in the process of being commercially released as new varieties and should be available in small numbers from plant propagators next season.

These include two new temperate varieties (Figure 1), one subtropical variety, and a specialty pale pink variety.

More information will be made available about these in the near future.

The most promising seedlings are identified as those with desirable fruit and plant architecture characteristics, and these are clonally propagated via runners and planted into replicated ‘early-stage’ clonal trials. Plants in the early-stage trials are evaluated every week for many traits, including yield, average fruit size, flavour, and bruise resistance, and the best performing plants are selected for a second year of evaluation in ‘advanced-stage’ trials.

Detailed assessments are again conducted weekly, and the best material is again selected and distributed to fruit growers for ‘on-farm’ trials. Input and comments from the growers at this stage are extremely valuable and helps us identify selections that may be suitable for commercialisation.

These four stages of trials are conducted in each production region each year. Following is a summary of our recent progress in each production region.

Figure 1. Plants of one of the two new temperate ASBP varieties to be named and commercially released soon. © State of Queensland, through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Photo credit: Karen Spencer.

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Temperate breeding trials

We will also be evaluating 163 early-stage and 32 advanced-stage selections at Nambour (Table 1). Ten elite selections will be assessed in five on-farm trials across south-east Queensland and Bundaberg, from which results will be used to make decisions regarding commercialisation.

The temperate breeding trials were evaluated from October 2020 to February 2021 in Wandin, Vic. The trial at Applethorpe, Qld was unfortunately unable to be conducted in 2020/21 due to drought, but after some recent rains it will be going ahead again in the 2021/22 season.

Mediterranean breeding trials

We’re especially pleased with the overall performance of the temperate selections this season, with strong yields, more consistent fruit sizes, and good flavour.

In this past season, over 14,000 seedlings were assessed at Wandin, and 71 of these were selected to progress to clonally-replicated early-stage trials in the coming season (Table 1). Out of the 110 early-stage selections assessed last season, 38 have been selected for further evaluation in 2021/22, as well as eight of the 29 advanced-stage clones.

The Australian Mediterranean strawberry production region is centred around Perth, WA. In 2020, the trial was planted at Nambour due to COVID-19 interstate travel restrictions which meant we couldn’t travel to assess the plants. This year we’re pleased to have been able to move our trials back to Bullsbrook, WA (Figure 3B).

The Mediterranean trials this season contain around 1,800 seedlings, 41 early-stage clonal selections, and 2 advanced-stage selections (Table 1). In previous years, the transport of elite seedling selections from WA to Nambour for clonal propagation was not successful, and many of the plants died following transit. Instead, this year each seedling has been clonally duplicated and individually labelled (Figure 3A), and a copy has been kept in the tissue culture laboratory at Nambour for subsequent propagation of selected individuals.

Nine elite selections were also assessed on nine growers’ farms across the temperate regions of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, and Queensland to determine their performance on-farm. Two new temperate varieties have been chosen for commercial release (Figure 1), and detailed information on these will be published in a future issue. (See Table 1).

Disease resistance trials

Subtropical breeding trials

In addition to our annual breeding trials across the country, we also conduct routine disease resistance experiments for advanced selections from all production regions. These trials guide which varieties are best for commercial release and help to increase disease resistance levels in our breeding population by informing cross-pollinations for production of subsequent generations.

The ASBP subtropical trials are conducted at Maroochy (Nambour) and Bundaberg Research Facilities, Qld. This year’s subtropical clonal and seedling trials were planted at Nambour in mid-March, and the seedling trial at Bundaberg in early April. This season, we are evaluating around 8,100 seedlings at Nambour (Figure 2A) and 5,800 at Bundaberg (Figure 2B).

Table 1. For each production region in 2021/22: the number of seedling genotypes being assessed, and the number of clones tested in early, advanced, and on-farm trials.

Region

Seedlings

Early clones

Advanced clones

On-farm clones

Temperate

~15,000*

71

38

8

Subtropical

14,091

163

32

10

Mediterranean

1,787

41

2

2

* At the time of writing the temperate seedling trial at Wandin was in the process of being planted and final numbers were not available.

55

2A.

3A.

2B.

Figure 2. 2021 Subtropical breeding trials: (A) seedling trial at Maroochy Research Facility, Nambour; (B) planting the seedling trial at Bundaberg Research Facility. © State of Queensland, through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Photo credit: (A) Katie O’Connor; (B) Dale McKenna.

3B.

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Figure 3. 2021 Mediterranean trials: (A) Clonally duplicated Mediterranean seedlings being planted out from tissue culture and individually labelled. A clonal copy of each seedling is maintained in the laboratory at Nambour. (B) Mediterranean seedlings and clones planted out at Bullsbrook, WA. © State of Queensland, through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Photo credit: Figure 3A – Katie O'Connor, Figure 3B – Dale McKenna.

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Figure 4. Plant pathologist Apollo Gomez assessing the Macrophomina phaseolina (charcoal rot) resistance screening experiment at MRF. © State of Queensland, through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Photo credit: Katie O’Connor.

Acknowledgements

Currently, we’re screening 15 advanced selections for resistance to Macrophomina phaseolina (charcoal rot).

Over the coming months we will also screen around 30 selections for resistance to each of Colletotrichum and Fusarium. In these trials we artificially inoculate multiple potted plants of each selection with the disease and monitor them for up to six months for severity of symptoms and plant death (Figure 4).

The Australian Strawberry Breeding Program has been funded by Hort Innovation using the strawberry research and development levy, with co-contributions from the Queensland Government through its Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and funds from the Australian Government.

We thank the contributions by the Temperate and Subtropical Reference Groups and Mediterranean industry members who have helped guide the program, the Industry Development Officers, and all other industry members who provide feedback, advice, and support.

We also routinely screen for resistance to powdery mildew. This trial is conducted at Nambour on substrate (tabletops), where powdery mildew is allowed to naturally spread and infect the trial plants. We then assess both leaves and fruit for severity of symptoms multiple times across the season.

We are also extremely grateful to all the fruit producers in all states who have trialled, collected data on, and given feedback on our onfarm selections. This has helped us make more informed and better commercial judgments.

The Australian Strawberry Breeding Program team members include Jodi Neal (project lead), Maddy Betts (laboratory technical assistant), Clinton Buck (Nambour field assistant), Janine Conway (laboratory technical officer), Apollo Gomez (pathology), Sue Hibbit (Wandin field assistant), Lien Ko (virus indexing and pathology), Dale McKenna (Nambour field technical officer and hydroponics), Allan McWaters (Applethorpe technical officer), Alan Noon (Wandin field assistant), Katie O’Connor (breeding and genomics), Michelle Paynter (virus indexing, tissue culture, and pathology), Karen Spencer (Wandin operations manager), Matthew Webb (genomics), and Louella Woolcock (Nambour field and glasshouse operations manager).

This year our powdery mildew the trial comprises 264 seedlings, and 13 commercial and advancedstage clones from all three major production regions.

A summary of findings from our previous powdery mildew experiments was published in the Autumn 2021 Australian Berry Journal.

One of the guiding principles of our breeding work is to foster the exchange of ideas, so please contact Jodi Neal if you would like more information.

Email: jodi.neal@daf.qld.gov.au | Phone: 07 5381 1352 We value your thoughts and appreciate your feedback for the project team.

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® Bacstim is a registered trademark of Omnia Specialities (Australia) Pty Ltd TM Rhizovator is a trademark of Omnia Specialities (Australia) Pty Ltd AB0121

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Emerging technology with potential to replace chemical fungicides Helen Newman, WA Berry Industry Development Officer, Agricultural Produce Commission Robert Walker, Outback Robotics Pty Ltd

The development of fungicide resistance along with the rapidly growing organic market sector has seen a push for alternatives to traditional chemical fungicides. One such alternative is the use of ultraviolet light, specifically the UV-C band of ultraviolet light.

It has been well known for several years now that ultraviolet light will kill fungal pathogens, but the problem has been that the effective dose also had the potential to damage the plant. Recent breakthrough research from the USDA and Cornell University has shown that if a plant is treated with ultraviolet light at the UV-C wavelength for short periods, then left in total darkness for 2 to 4 hours, fungal pathogens die, and no damage is caused to the plant.

Researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service found that they could achieve results as good as weekly fungicide sprays by exposing strawberry plants to 60 seconds of UV-C at night twice per week. They also found that they were able to successfully manage two-spotted spider mite, greenhouse whitefly, and spotted wing drosophila with UV-C treatment.

In their most recent trials, USDA researchers have identified better lighting systems (using 222 nanometre lamps and better reflective surfaces) that allow for much shorter exposure times, meaning that robots can travel faster and cover more ground at night while applying UV-C.

The dark period following UV-C irradiation stops the activation of a DNA repair mechanism in the pathogen, which needs sunlight to become active. Without the ability to repair the damaged DNA, the pathogen cannot replicate itself and eventually dies.

Now all you need to do is wave your magic ultraviolet wand around and all your fungi problems are solved right? No. For one thing, UV-C light can cause sunburn on human skin and it’s best not to look at the light for prolonged lengths of time. In addition, the best way to apply the UV-C light to plants is at night in total darkness.

Studies using low-dose UV-C on strawberries have confirmed no damage to the plant and good control of fungi such as grey mould (Botrytis), black spot, and powdery mildew.

“In more than three years of trials, UV light applications worked as well as or better than available fungicides, killing 95 percent of powdery mildew in field strawberries. We’ve seen similar results in field and greenhouse trials of basil, roses, grapes, strawberries, rosemary and cucumbers,” David Gadoury, Senior Research Associate in the Section of Plant Pathology and Plant Microbe-Biology, Cornell University.

Teams around the world are conducting research and development into autonomous robots that can deliver UV-C for the control of pests and diseases.

The USDA are collaborating with TRIC Robotics to develop a system for in-ground growers (Figure 1).

Here in Western Australia, Outback Robotics is working on a system for tabletop strawberries (Figure 2).

59

Figure 1. The USDA machine is still under development as testing of different UV-C wavelengths and array configurations continues.

The prototype pictured is currently being used in a two-spotted spider mite research trial on Albion at a certified-organic farm. The field is being treated at night with 254 nanometre wavelength UV-C lamps. The robot is programmed to irradiate each plant for 30 seconds every 3 days. As of late April, mature mite counts in conventionally managed sections of the field (where predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis was released) were exceeding 20 per leaflet. In the UV-C treated sections, mite numbers were around 5 per leaflet. A video of this robot applying UV-C treatments in the field can be accessed on YouTube by searching “TRIC Autonomous UV-C Treatment”.

Photo credit: Fumiomi Takeda, Research Horticulturist, USDA-ARS Kearneysville

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Figure 2. Testing of the Outback Robotics prototype is currently underway in Western Australia. The prototype is the size of a person and can move up and down rows of tabletop strawberries with ease. The system is adaptable to different tabletop configurations. Photo credit: Robert Walker, Outback Robotics

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Trials looking at the effectiveness of the Outback Robotics system are currently underway in Perth.

The aim is to deliver small, low-cost machines that can be leased to growers and quickly swapped out on-farm if there are breakdowns.

References Janisiewicz, W., Takeda, F., Glenn, M., Camp, M., & Jurick, W. (2016). Dark Period Following UV-C Treatment Enhances Killing of Botrytis cinerea Conidia and Controls Gray Mold of Strawberries. Plant Disease, 106(4), 386-394. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-09-15-0240-R Janisiewicz, W., Takeda, F., Nichols, B., & Glenn, M. (2016).

Use of low-dose UV-C irradiation to control powdery mildew caused by Podosphaera aphanis on strawberry plants.

Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology, 38(4), 430-439. doi:10.1080/07060661.2016.1263807

Takeda, F., Janisiewicz, W., Leskey, T., & Stager, A. (2020, November/December). Ultraviolet-C Light and Robotics for Autonomous Control of Strawberry Diseases, Insects and Mites. Progressive Crop Consultant, pp. 10-15.

Takeda, F., Janisiewicz, W., Smith, B., & Nichols, B. (2019).

A new approach for strawberry disease control.

European Journal of Horticultural Science, 84(1), 3-13.

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.17660/eJHS.2019/84.1.

If you are interested in participating in WA trials of this technology, contact Outback Robotics P: +61 (0)8 9316 9499 E: brimsm@ofda.com

Onofre, R., Gadoury, D., Stensvand, A., Bierma, A., Rea, M., & Peres, N. (2021, February 22). Use of Ultraviolet Light to Suppress Powdery Mildew in Strawberry Fruit Production Fields. Plant Disease.

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-20-0781-RE Short, B., Janisiewicz, W., Takeda, F., & Leskey, T. (2018).

UV-C irradiation as a management tool for Tetranychus urticae on strawberries. Pest Management Science(74), 2419-2423. doi:10.1002/ps.5045

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WA Heavenly Strawberries Guaranteed Sweet Damon Watling, Director, Quality Produce International

With its fourteenth season in sight, and around 450,000 punnets sold each year, Perth grown Heavenly Guaranteed Sweet Strawberries aren’t far away from hitting local retailer shelves for the upcoming 2021 season.

Your fruit is Brix tested — what does this involve?

We take a look at what makes these strawberries uniquely different and talk to Quality Produce International (QPI) in Western Australia, who founded the Heavenly brand over a decade ago.

“A sample of the fruit is crushed and it’s the juice that’s applied to the surface of our scientific testing equipment (Brix refractometer) which gives us a sugar reading. We do this to meet the Heavenly brand standard and I don’t think there is anyone else out there sugar testing their berries like this.”

Scott Williams QPI’s Berry Category Manager tells us why Heavenly Strawberries are a WA local success story, and why it’s not just the flavour, presentation or aroma that make it one of WA’s most anticipated locally grown premium fruits. It’s also the careful handling and science the grower uses to ensure its guaranteed sweet taste.

“To get the Brix levels right and the best fruit for Heavenly, it’s the riper fruit we want. To achieve this, farm management becomes very important, it can be a fine line between achieving what we consider the perfect fruit or becoming over ripe and losing large volumes of fruit no longer suitable for marketing.”

Tell us about the variety used for the Heavenly brand “The strawberry selected for the Heavenly brand is Albion, it has a classic conical shape, deep red glassy appearance and a lovely strawberry aroma; you can really smell the fruit and most importantly the flavour is awesome!”

What role has your grower and your marketing played in the success of the brand?

Our growers Chi and Anthony Lieu, supported by the Lieu family, already had the expertise to grow this particular variety, and we identified their fruit was something special. Their respect of the brand and the consistency of high-quality fruit has as much to do with the success of the brand as the marketing of the brand itself.

Your fruit goes through a rigorous selection process, tell us about that “Our berries are handpicked and hand packed but careful attention to detail is critical. Firstly, they must visually meet the Heavenly standard, full colour, size and shape. Secondly a sample of fruit is selected for sugar testing (Brix test). After this process, any fruit that has not met the Heavenly guaranteed sweet standard is packed under another brand. In most cases this fruit is usually lighter in colour and could have size or shape variations but is still a very good strawberry.”

Chi and Anthony recognise the importance of postharvest refrigeration and the need for well trained staff to make the Heavenly brand successful, all care is taken not to damage or bruise fruit through the selection and packing process.

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Heavenly Strawberries. Photo credit: Annabelle Watling Photography

Harvest 2020, Carabooda, WA. Photo credit: Annabelle Watling Photography

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Hand selection of Heavenly Strawberries. Photo credit: Annabelle Watling Photography Heavenly’s are now really recognisable, supported by an online social media profile, and people come to recognise and trust the brand and know it for the quality product it is.

It’s exciting and rewarding to see consumers prepared to pay a premium for a high-quality product, for the sensory and eating experience Heavenly strawberries deliver. Customers see them as value for money.

To maintain the reputation of the brand and the confidence of our customers, there is a cost!

Attention to detail, hard work and dedication is required to uphold the brand.

We are looking forward to the season ahead, reuniting with our customers and continuing to strengthen our place in the market.

Albion Variety, Heavenly Strawberries.

Photo credit: Annabelle Watling Photography

For more information, please contact: Damon Watling, Director — Quality Produce International P: +61 8 9455 2777 | E: mail@qualityproduce.com.au | www.qpi.net.au

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Microwaving Goodbye to Charcoal Rot Dr Scott Mattner1, Cora Zon1, Dr Dylan McFarlane1, Sandra Shaw1, Liam Hescock2, and Associate Professor Graham Brodie³. ¹VSICA Research, ²GroWave Pty Ltd, 3The University of Melbourne

• World-leading research in the Australian strawberry industry has shown that terminating old strawberry crops using a prototype microwave unit kills up to 97% of disease-causing fungi (Macrophomina and Fusarium) in the crowns.

• This is a significant finding because pathogenic fungi surviving in infested crowns from old crops are the primary source of infection for new strawberry plants.

• Researchers hypothesise that the ability of microwave to kill these fungi in old plants will dramatically reduce the amount of disease in subsequent crops and form an important component of integrated management systems in the future.

Recent Advances in Charcoal Rot Management

For example, 15% of strawberry plants in Victoria were lost to the disease in 2020. Therefore, industry urgently needs additional measures to control the disease that complement and/or offset the current reliance on fumigants.

Charcoal rot is a devastating disease caused by a fungus (Macrophomina phaseolina) that lives in the soil and kills strawberry plants. The disease has increased in importance in Australia and around the world since the withdrawal of the soil fumigant methyl bromide.

A recently completed national project conducted by researchers from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and VSICA has developed new management strategies for charcoal rot, including totally impermeable films (Figure 1), improved fumigants such as Tri-Form® 80 and EDN Fumigas™, and farm biosecurity practices. A collaborative effort between researchers, the fumigant industry and the Berries Australia team has communicated these practices to strawberry growers across Australia, which resulted in high levels of adoption.

Results from a recent disease survey showed that the adoption of these practices by growers was associated with a 25% reduction in charcoal rot from 2017 to 2020.

Despite these advances, charcoal rot remains a significant problem for the strawberry industry.

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Figure 1. The use of totally impermeable films (TIFs) with soil fumigants (left row) can dramatically improve the control of charcoal rot compared with traditional films made from low-density polyethylene (right row).

TIFs work by trapping fumigants for longer in soil and improving their ability to control Macrophomina and charcoal rot.

Photo credit: VSICA Research

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New Concept for Improving Charcoal Rot Management using Crop Termination with Microwave

Although effective over time, this practice can be expensive and create a considerable amount of waste that must be removed from the property.

Crop termination is the practice of killing old strawberry plants and cultivating them into soil, before preparing beds and planting a new crop. Traditionally, growers in Australia have used herbicides for crop termination, but this practice does not kill M. phaseolina in the crowns of old plants and in some circumstances may increase it. Any of the fungus surviving in old, buried crowns is difficult to kill with current fumigants, because they do not penetrate woody tissue very easily. Research in the recently completed national project proved that M. phaseolina survives for more than 12 months inside old crowns and can re-infect new plants. Therefore, experts recommend removing sick and old plants from strawberry fields and destroying them off-site.

We trialed a new approach using microwave to terminate the old strawberry crop and kill disease-causing fungi inside their crowns, so they do not infect new crops when they are cultivated back into the soil. In the trial, old strawberry plants were first slashed and then treated with microwave for 10 or 15 seconds using a 5 kW prototype rig designed by the company GroWave Pty Ltd (Figure 2).

Currently, the field prototype is PTO powered and is towed behind a tractor, but future designs may include the option for autonomous operation. Other treatments included herbicides (Basta® immediately followed by Garlon®600) applied at label rates, and an untreated control. Individual plots were 20m long and we replicated each treatment eight times.

Figure 2. Prototype 5 kW microwave unit used for crop termination. Inset: Antenna targeting microwave energy to old strawberry plants.

The unit is designed by the company GroWave Pty Ltd (www.growave.ag). Photo credit: VSICA Research

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Figure 3. Strawberry crop terminated with microwave (left) compared with the untreated crop (right) at two weeks after treatment in a trial at Silvan, Victoria. Photo credit: VSICA Research

Results of Crop Termination with Microwave

Future Opportunities & Moving Forward with Charcoal Rot Management

The microwave unit heated strawberry crowns to between 81-96°C. The temperature inside the crown took several hours to cool to ambient temperature.

Microwave killed old strawberry plants (Figure 3) much faster than the herbicide treatment and did not affect the integrity of the plastic mulch (i.e., the film could still be removed using normal practices).

The results with microwave are encouraging and the experiments are a world-first. However, the technology still needs further evaluation to optimise its efficiency and practicality.

Additional benefits of the microwave treatment were that high exposure times killed weeds (e.g. groundsel) in the planting holes more effectively than herbicides (Figure 4), and reduced DNA concentrations of Pythium spp. (causes stunt in strawberry) and M. phaseolina in soil at shallow depths by 80% and 95%, respectively.

For example, we anticipate that the exposure times to microwave needed to treat strawberry for crop termination commercially will be shorter than those in the current experiment. With further research and development, microwave also has the prospect of treating soil as a supplement or alternative to fumigation without the need to remove plastic mulch, with a plant-back period of just a few hours.

Prior to the experiment we placed old crowns infected with M. phaseolina into the treatment plots.

We also marked plants in the plots showing symptoms of charcoal rot. We recovered these crowns after the treatments, took them back to the laboratory and grew the fungi inside them on an agar media in Petri dishes.

The National Charcoal Rot project ended in last year, but there are greater opportunities to improve charcoal rot control in Australia and the use of microwave is just one example. If you want more research on charcoal rot, like the use of microwave, it is vital that you let your representatives at Hort Innovation know.

We found that microwave had killed 97% of M. phaseolina and Fusarium oxysporum (the cause of the disease Fusarium wilt) in the crowns (Figure 5). By comparison, herbicides had no effect in reducing these pathogenic fungi. We aim to collect data over the coming season to quantify the effect of crop termination with microwave on disease in the subsequent crop.

If you are interested in trialling the prototype microwave rig on your farm or talking about its prospects, please contact Liam Hescock at GroWave Pty Ltd | 0428 634 908

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GROUNDSEL, SENECIO VULGARIS (2 WEEKS AFTER TREATMENT) 8

GROUNDSEL (PLANTS/HOLE)

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 UNTREATED

HERBICIDES

MICROWAVE (10 SEC)

MICROWAVE (15 SEC)

Figure 4. Weeds (groundsel) emerging in planting holes two weeks after treatment with microwave or herbicides in a trial in the strawberry industry at Silvan, Victoria.

Prior to the experiment we placed old crowns infected with M. phaseolina into the treatment plots. We also marked plants in the plots showing symptoms of charcoal rot. We recovered these crowns after the treatments, took them back to the laboratory and grew the fungi inside them on an agar media in Petri dishes. We found that microwave had killed 97% of M. phaseolina and Fusarium oxysporum (the cause of the disease Fusarium wilt) in the crowns (Figure 5). By comparison, herbicides had no effect in reducing these pathogenic fungi. We aim to collect data over the coming season to quantify the effect of crop termination with microwave on disease in the subsequent crop.

PATHOGENS IN INFECTED STRAWBERRY CROWNS

RECOVERY FROM STRAWBERRY CROWNS (%)

120 Macrophomina phaseolina 100 Fusarium oxysporum 80

60

40

20

0 UNTREATED

HERBICIDES

MICROWAVE (10 SEC)

MICROWAVE (15 SEC)

Figure 5. Recovery of disease-causing fungi (Macrophomina phaseolina and Fusarium oxysporum) from strawberry crowns following crop termination with microwave or herbicides in a trial at Silvan, Victoria.

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Pick & Pack for the chance to play to win this winter Jane Richter, Marketing Manager, Queensland Strawberry Growers’ Association

Desperate times call for desperate measures. That is exactly where the Queensland Strawberry industry has found itself in 2021, approaching a winter harvest season where it’s usual labour supply – Working Holiday Makers – have all but disappeared. At 31/3/19, there were 149,000 subclass 462 & 417 Visa holders in Australia – by 31/3/21 this has plummeted to below 40,000 with up to 1,000 individuals leaving each week to return to their country of origin.

149,143 So, the industry has taken a very bold step; to use a tool more commonly seen in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry.

119,266

The industry launched its recruitment promotion “Pick & Pack for your chance to play to win” on 9 April and is offering 10 individuals who work on participating strawberry farms the chance to play a game to win a $100,000 jackpot.

38,630

2019

2020

That’s 10 games – each with a 1 in 100 chance to take away the top prize of $100,000.

2021

Data sourced from the dataset ‘Temporary Entrants visa holders‘ at 31st March 2019, 2020, 2021 from the Department of Home Affairs (updated 29/04/2021) The industry estimates that it requires an influx of up to 7,000 peak demand temporary workers at the busiest point of the season across August and September.

Some of those workers can be made up from returning regular locals, and some vacancies can be filled by individuals coming into the country under either the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) or the Seasonal Worker Program (SWP).

All of these alternate labour sources are still only likely to contribute about 25% of the workforce needed to harvest and pack winter strawberries this year.

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The promotional creative is designed to convey a simple message and cut through on social media

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How is this type of activity funded?

Can this promotion be rorted?

QSGA are using what is commonly known as an ‘insured prize promotion’ mechanism. It allows a business with a relatively small marketing budget to run a promotion that offers an exciting, potentially life changing prize by insuring the competition against a large prize payout.

There is an extensive list of safeguards built into the operation of the promotion through the 6 pages of terms and conditions.

Any individual that is successfully selected at the end of the promotional period will then have to pass a forensic investigation of the validity of their entries.

The game has fixed odds with a 1 in 100 chance that the contestant will win the prize. The game provides numbered envelopes from 1 to 100. One envelope contains the jackpot prize, and all remaining 99 envelopes contain the consolation prize which in this instance is $1,000.

The games will be overseen by a scrutineer on behalf of the insurance company, and no one knows which envelope in each game contains the jackpot prize – not even the scrutineer.

How does the promotion work?

Is the promotion attracting workers?

Potential workers apply to the 31 participating farms via a dedicated application portal. Using this application portal also registers the individual to take part in the promotion. Individual workers who go on to work on any of the participating farms earn 100 entry points for each full week that they work.

Absolutely – in the first seven weeks of the activity there are over 2,500 individuals registered plus a further 1,000 direct contacts to participating farms.

Two-thirds of the people registered are Australian or New Zealand citizens, with a large number being attracted to horticulture work for the first time – exactly what the activity was designed to do.

Bonus entry points are available for workers who stay with a single farm for multiple weeks across the 18 weeks of the promotional period to encourage loyalty and reduce the likelihood of workers switching back and forth between farms.

The communication includes a series of videos featuring growers and workers, as well a large range of static image posts across social media channels.

The promotional period ends on 4/10/21, with the draw taking place on 14/10/21 and the games being hosted on 21/10/21.

Farms report each period on whether an individual has worked for them each week and workers are awarded entry points accordingly. No information about pay rates or amounts earned is required – simply did the worker carry out a full ‘average working week’ at a particular farm in the period being reported.

At the end of the promotional period, all of the entry points and bonus points are converted to draw entries.

A computer randomiser will select 10 individuals from the database of draw entries and these people will go on to play the game for the chance to win up to $100,000 providing they can verify their identity and produce valid pay slips for all of the work they claim to have completed.

All existing employees with the exception of the owners of the business are eligible to take part providing a great incentive reward for all staff.

2012 winner in a similar promotion operated for Steve Jones.

Photo credit: Jane Richter

Find out more: www.qldstrawberries.com.au Facebook/Qldstrawberries | youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxdJDUcqe6YohCVwadxfl8yxAE3oMWeBx

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It’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it Helen Newman, WA Berry Industry Development Officer, Agricultural Produce Commission

Postharvest temperature management is the single most important factor influencing strawberry shelf life and fruit quality. Bruising, caused by rough handling during picking and packing, follows closely behind.

Hygiene

• Strawberries are highly perishable

and need careful handling to maintain optimal fruit quality.

Good field hygiene impacts product quality both in the field and at the packing shed.

Diseased or damaged fruit should not be left anywhere on the property as it acts as a source of inoculum, enabling the spread of disease onto your plants and fruit.

• With optimal postharvest care and the appropriate cultivar, strawberries can have a shelf life of 7 to 10 days.

Overripe fruit left in the field will also encourage insects such as fruit fly to breed.

• To realise this potential, attention must be given to all aspects of product handling, packaging, postharvest temperature and relative humidity management.

To help prevent the spread of disease from infected or rotting fruits to healthy fruit, pickers should use a separate container to hold diseased fruit. Ideally, workers removing damaged and diseased fruit should be different from those picking fruit for sale.

• It is important to realise that poor postharvest handling at any stage will reduce quality and shelf life.

You cannot undo bad practice.

Agronomic practices Rain events are associated with a higher level of fruit damage from fungal infection and/or snail and slug damage. Many growers are moving to high tunnels for this reason. If you are growing under low cloches, make sure the hoops are away from the edges of the raised beds so that when the covers are raised and lowered, water doesn’t drip on the outside rows.

Over-irrigation and over-fertilising can also adversely impact fruit quality. Trials in Western Australia showed that applications of more than 450kg/ha of nitrogen on sandy soils lead to poor fruit quality.

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Figure 1. Ideally, diseased or damaged fruit should be picked by someone that is not handling fruit picked for sale. Photo credit: DPIRD

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Harvesting

Packing sheds should be designed for a smooth and rapid flow of fruit from the field to the grading and packing area, into the forced-air cooler and then to the cool room at 0 to 1°C.

Bruising caused by rough handling during picking and packing is a major cause of poor fruit quality in the market.

Sheds can be insulated and cooled. Evaporative cooling is useful, particularly when ambient humidity is low.

Packing and grading areas may be air-conditioned or even refrigerated to about 15°C. (Figure 3)

Warm fruit bruises more easily than cool fruit, so strawberries should be harvested in the coolest part of the day. Fruit should also be dry to touch, as wet fruit is prone to postharvest fungal problems.

Cooling and refrigeration

Strawberries intended for export should not be picked when the pulp temperature exceeds 25°C. As a rule of thumb, pulp temperature is normally a few degrees less than ambient air temperature.

Fruit with a high pulp temperature also requires more energy and cooling capacity to remove field heat after picking. (Figure 2)

For maximum shelf life, field heat must be removed rapidly after picking, and berries must be stored at between 0 and 1°C along the supply chain.

Begin cooling within one hour of harvest to avoid loss of quality and reduction in the amount of marketable fruit.

Transfer to the shed

The incidence and severity of decay, mainly caused by Botrytis and Rhizopus, can be reduced by around 25% if the fruit is properly pre-cooled.

Harvested fruit should not be exposed to the sun or wind.

Transfer fruit from the field to the packing shed or cool room as quickly as possible. It’s a good idea to set time limits on the period that picked fruit is left in the field.

BRUISING CAUSED BY CAREFUL HANDLING VS COMMERCIAL HANDLING 12 Careful Handling 10 % FRUIT DAMAGE

Commerical Handling 8 6 4 2 0 DAY 1

DAY 7

DAY 14

STORAGE PERIOD Figure 2. Comparison of commercially handled and carefully handled strawberries - the impact of bruising sustained during harvesting and packing is magnified by storage time (Bhat and Reid, 2010)

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Figure 3. This covered wagon protects harvested fruit from the sun, wind, and rain as it is transported from the field to the shed. Photo credit: Anthony Yewers Any break in the cold chain (0 to 1°C) will significantly decrease shelf life.

Cooling extends shelf life by reducing: • respiration rates

Cartons should be removed from the cool room and loaded into a pre-cooled refrigerated truck (close to 0°C) without breaking the cold chain.

Ideally, strawberries should be transported to the market destination the same day they are picked.

• water loss* • ethylene production • sensitivity to ethylene • microbial development (spoilage) Fruit that is not cooled after harvest deteriorates rapidly and may only have a shelf life of 1-3 days. A delay of 4 hours before refrigeration will result in one third of fruit becoming unmarketable after seven days (Figure 4).

Imperfect cool chains While cooling to 0 to 1°C on-farm and maintaining this throughout the supply chain is ideal, it is not always possible. If you have an imperfect cool chain, the most important factors to maintaining quality are (1) removing field heat from the fruit within an hour of harvest and (2) maintaining an environment where fruit is continually cooling, as any temperature rises will produce condensation and decay.

Forced air cooling Rapid cooling after harvest is essential. It is never a good practice to place packaged strawberries inside a cool room to cool gradually. Berries in the middle of the pallet would not be adequately cooled and would begin to decay.

Further reading

The most widely used commercial method to pre-cool berries is forced-air cooling. Cold air is forced to move rapidly through the containers (versus around the containers as in room cooling), allowing the cold air to directly contact the warm berries.

Postharvest Management of Vegetables: Resources for Australian Supply Chains www.postharvest.net.au/postharvest-fundamentals/ cooling-and-storage/cool-rooms North Carolina Cooperative Extension — Postharvest Cooling and Handling of Strawberries content.ces.ncsu.edu/postharvest-coolingand-handling-of-strawberries

Forced-air cooling is typically 10 times faster at cooling than room cooling. (Figure 5)

North Carolina Cooperative Extension — Postharvest Technology series: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/catalog/series/153

Transport

• Forced-Air Cooling

Once fruit is cooled it should be kept cool, because cycles of warming and cooling produce condensation on the fruit leading to Botrytis and other storage diseases.

• Proper Postharvest Cooling and Handling Methods

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• D esign of Room Cooling Facilities: Structural & Energy Requirements • Cool and Ship: A Low-Cost, Portable Forced-Air Cooling Unit

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EFFECT OF COOLING DELAY AFTER HARVEST ON THE MARKETABILITY OF STRAWBERRIES 100

% MARKETABLE FRUIT

80

60

40

20

0 2

4

6

HOURS OF COOLING DELAY Figure 4. Effect on cooling delay after harvest on the marketability of strawberries (Mitcham et al., 1996). * Strawberries lose water rapidly after harvest. To prevent fruit shrivelling and wilting or dehydration of the green calyx it is important to maintain a relative humidity of between 90 to 98%.

Figure 5. Simple Forced-Air Cooling System. Photo credit: Polter’s Berry Farm, Ohio

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Red leaf disorder 2020 farm survey update Michelle Paynter, Joanna Kristoffersen, Madeline Betts and Clinton Buck Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries

• Less RLD observed in the 2020 season, than seen in the 2019 season • RLD affects yield and size of fruit (average weight & yield decreased as RLD increased) • Purpling in leaves was noted throughout the season • There was a peak in RLD occurrence in August 2020 • Parisienne Kiss was worst affected cultivar in the 2020 season of surveyed fruit farms RLD field survey — South East Queensland

Red leaf Disorder (RLD) of strawberry plants, the cause of which is currently unknown, is characterised by a reddish/maroon discolouration of the mature leaves.

Eight strawberry fruiting farms in the South East Queensland (SEQ) region were selected to collect data on RLD incidence and severity, and we checked for RLD every 4 weeks from May to September.

Cultivars sampled included: Red Rhapsody, Scarlet Rose, Rubygem, Parisienne Kiss, Aussiegem, Florida Radiance (Fortuna) and Florida Festival. A substrate production farm was included in the survey, to compare the incidence of RLD on Red Rhapsody plants from both bare-root and plug style plants.

Plants exhibiting RLD are usually undersized with reduced vigour and reduction in yield. To better understand the threat RLD poses for the strawberry industry, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) undertook a survey of plants showing RLD during the 2020 fruiting season, as part of a DAF-funded project investigating the disorder.

We surveyed 15% of plants in a field per cultivar across 14 farms, with over 220,000 plants viewed over the course of the season. We looked at a diverse range of farm types, cultivars, and planting material to compare with the 2019 DAF RLD survey and hope to continue surveying into the 2021 season.

From the eight farms surveyed, cultivars Parisienne Kiss, Sundrench and Festival displayed the highest incidence of RLD with maximum percentages of 17.2%, 10.0% and 8.0% respectively.

Counter used in field to count plant numbers affected

by RLD. Photo credit: Madeline Betts

Red Leaf Disorder symptoms on strawberry leaf.

Photo credit: Joanna Kristoffersen

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RLD yield trial

Cultivars Aussiegem (3.8%) and Scarlet Rose (2.3%) had fewer RLD incidence, while Red Rhapsody (1.6%) and Fortuna (0.9%) had very little RLD incidence (Figure 1). All farms surveyed had RLD present on their properties, with observations of RLD in plants received both as runners and plug plants. A limited number of Red Rhapsody plants in substrate showed RLD, and were identified only on water stressed plants and, later disappearing when water supply issues were corrected. Overall, in the SEQ region, there was a lower incidence of RLD in the 2020 fruiting season compared to 2019. There was also a delay in RLD symptoms appearing on plant leaves, with a low level of symptoms observed in May, peaking in August and then a decline in September. This delay in visual symptoms could possibly be due to the late plantings of 2020. There was, however, a higher occurrence of other reddening and purpling leaf issues observed (not RLD). These were attributed to nutritional and/or other factors. (Figure 1)

In 2020 we also undertook a field survey from a RLD affected field in Nambour, rating 46 Red Rhapsody plants for RLD and root observations. The plant leaves were scored on a symptom severity scale from 1-6, where rating 1 = healthy plant with no RLD symptoms, ratings 2 to 5 = progressively increasing of reddening and on more leaves and, rating 6 = plant death (Figure 2).

We also measured fresh fruit weights, leaf length, and fruit gradings. Measurements of leaf length, root health and length were sampled between two groups, a control group (no RLD), and the treatment group (showing RLD).

Root ratings were determined on a scale from 1-5, where 1 = unhealthy, shorter roots, progressively increasing to a rating of 6 = maximum root health and length.

In this trial, we noticed RLD rating (severity) increased progressively over the subsequent weeks (Figure 2), however towards the end of the season some plants recovered to some extent. This coincided with what we observed on the eight farms from SEQ region. All plants showed some degree of reddening, with six mortalities.

This data is currently being statistically analysed; however, we can report that there was an obvious progressive decline in yield and fruit quality as reddening developed. (Figure 3)

RLD field survey – Bundaberg We also looked at six farms in Bundaberg as a single time measurement. The cultivars sampled included: Scarlet Rose, Red Rhapsody, Petaluma, and Rubygem.

RLD was apparent in all the farms we visited, and occurrence varied between cultivars. For example, Scarlet Rose ranged from 0.2% to 1.8% incidence of RLD, Red Rhapsody 0.4% to 1.4%, Petaluma 3.6% to 6.8%, and Rubygem the highest at 14%. This was our first survey of Bundaberg and we hope to return in the 2021 season.

Again, there was a high occurrence of other reddening and purpling leaf issues that were not RLD.

Figure 3 shows the average weight per fruit for each RLD rating, illustrating how the average size of fruit decreases as RLD rating (RLD severity) increases. Differences in root length and browning was also apparent between the treatment groups (Figures 4a and 4b).

RLD% PER CULTIVAR SEQ 2020 Sundrench Scarlet Rose Red Rhapsody Parisienne Kiss Fortuna Festival Aussiegem 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Figure 1. Mean and max % for cultivars surveyed in SEQ region 2020

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Figure 2. RLD ratings for plants of the cv. Red Rhapsody over the 2020 fruiting season.

1= healthy plant (bright green), 3 = plant with several leaves with RLD, 6 = dead plant (bright red).

N=65

AVERAGE WEIGHT PER FRUIT

60 N=143 N=129

N=20

40 N=141

20

0 1

2

3

4

5

RATING Figure 3. Average fruit weight per RLD rating, where 1= no RLD and 6= plant dead.

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6

A.

B. 100 N=6

N=3 N=13

N=45

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30 80 GL LENGTH

ROOT BROWNING (%)

ROOT RATING

5

C.

N=45

N=6

60

40

20

10

1 Control

Treatment

Control

TYPE

Treatment

Control

TYPE

Treatment TYPE

Figure 4. A) Root rating (1-5, where 1 = unhealthy, short roots, 6 = maximum root health & length), B) root browning % and C) green leaf (GL) length, for control group (plants without RLD) & treatment group (plants with RLD).

N=114

WEIGHT OF 1ST GRADE FRUIT

200

N=198

N=180

150

N=168

100

50 N=70

N=57

5

6

0 1

2

3

4

RATING Figure 5. RLD Yield trial of total weight of 1st grade fruit per plant vs rating of RLD, where 1= healthy, 6 = plant dead.

We identified more variation in the treatment group (with RLD) for root length, more root browning, and shorter roots. Plants from the control group had longer roots and less browning. Figure 4(c) shows the differences between the length of green leaves on plants with and without red leaf. The control group plants (no RLD) had longer and more uniform length leaves, all over 30 cm, compared to those of the treatment group which ranged from 18–28 cm. The number, weight and quality of 1st grade fruit progressively deceased as RLD severity increased. Figure 5 shows the yield weight per plant of the 1st grade fruit for each rating. (Figure 5)

however most cultivars sampled have shown RLD at some stage. We hope to continue investigating this disorder and its cause. Any information growers can provide regarding the occurrence of RLD in other region of Queensland or Australia will be appreciated.

Please email Joanna: joanna.kristoffersen@daf.qld.gov. au or or Michelle: michelle.paynter@daf.qld.gov.au Acknowledgements: A special thank you to the Queensland strawberry production growers that allowed extensive data collection on their properties throughout the season as well as the Queensland Strawberry Growers Association for ongoing support. All funding support for this work is from the Queensland Government’s: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Overall, there was less RLD observed in 2020 than in 2019. It will be interesting to observe how the RLD trend develops over the 2021 strawberry season will.

Cultivars exhibiting RLD have differed each year,

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S T R A W B E R R I E S

Farm biosecurity to improve the management of soil-borne diseases of strawberry in Australia & China Dr Dylan McFarlane1, Dr Scott Mattner1 & Yilin He2, 1VSICA Research, 2 YunNan LuFeng QuinPan Agri-Dev. Co.

• R esults from a recent disease survey in Australia showed a strong association between the number of farm biosecurity practices adopted by strawberry growers and decreasing charcoal rot incidence in crops and M. phaseolina in soil.

• T his result reinforces the importance of farm biosecurity practices for the management of soil-borne diseases of strawberry.

• T here is great interest in the adoption of farm biosecurity practices to manage soil-borne diseases in China’s strawberry industry, the largest strawberry industry in the world.

• R esearchers and growers from both countries are working together to improve farm biosecurity for strawberry and increase opportunities for trade.

Importance of soil borne diseases in strawberry

Farm biosecurity Farm biosecurity practices are a set of measures designed to protect a property from the entry and spread of pathogens, pests and weeds. Farm biosecurity is the responsibility of the grower and every person visiting or working on their property.

Soil-borne pathogens cause diseases that stunt and/or kill strawberry plants. They are widespread across the globe and cause severe economic losses each year.

The pathogens that cause soil-borne diseases of strawberry survive in infested soil and plant debris.

Therefore, growers can use farm biosecurity practices that reduce the movement of infested soil and plant debris within and between farms as one component of their management systems for these diseases.

In Australia, charcoal rot, Fusarium wilt and Phytophthora crown rot are some of the most devastating soil-borne diseases of strawberry and have increased in importance since the phase-out of the fumigant methyl bromide.

Based on a survey of the Victorian strawberry industry in 2020, charcoal rot killed 15% of plants and cost the industry $15 million.

Strawberry growers can adopt the following farm biosecurity practices to reduce the risk of spreading soil-borne diseases within and between properties:

The Chinese strawberry industry is now the largest in the world and is heavily impacted by soil-borne diseases. The most common disease is anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp., though recent evidence suggests that Fusarium wilt may also be present.

• P lant Certified strawberry runners: Certified runners give strawberry plants the healthiest start possible because they are inspected for pests and diseases before they arrive at your property.

Unlike Australia, Chinese strawberry growers rely solely on ‘good’ cultural practices and healthy runners to reduce disease risk, since chemical fumigants are not commercially available. In 2020, surveys estimated that the average incidence of soil-borne diseases in strawberry in China was >30% on individual farms.

• E rect biosecurity signs: Biosecurity signs indicate to the public and staff that growers are serious about maintaining high standards of hygiene. Be sure to include a phone number on these signs so that visitors can contact you before they enter your property.

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• M inimised property entry: Minimising entry points onto a strawberry property gives growers greater control over who is coming onto their property.

Limit the number of access points to your property (e.g. lock unused gates and construct fences).

• P addock zoning: Conduct your farm operations (e.g. spraying, picking, etc.) from paddocks with low disease towards paddocks with high disease.

This minimises the risk of workers and farm vehicles carrying infested soil to areas of low disease. You can determine which paddocks have high or low disease from your farm records or by getting the soil analysed for pathogens that cause disease. Paddock zoning will enable you to reduce the spread of disease across your property.

• U se designated car parks: Limiting vehicles to designated areas on your property helps to contain any infested soil they may carry. Car parks can also help to control the movement of visitors and staff on your property.

• R emove old and/or dead planting material: Infected strawberry crowns in soil (dead plants from the previous season) can harbour pathogens.

Therefore, if feasible, you should remove dead and/ or old strawberry plants from your production sites and destroy them elsewhere.

• W ashdown your vehicles: All vehicles should be cleaned before they enter your property. It is important to routinely washdown your work vehicles (e.g. tractors) between paddocks especially when they move from a paddock with high disease into a paddock with low disease. Pay attention to car tyres, grills and wheel rims when cleaning vehicles.

• C lean your equipment: Farm equipment (e.g. picking trays) may collect and spread infested soil and plant debris. All farm equipment should be cleaned regularly, especially those moving between paddocks.

• S taff and visitor hygiene: Provide appropriate hand and shoe washing facilities for employees and visitors to use while they are on your farm to remove soil.

• T rain your staff: Induct your staff and visitors in farm biosecurity. Give clear directions regarding the biosecurity practices you require them to perform on your property.

• Z one your property: Dividing your farm into production, packing and visitor areas will allow you to define where individuals may or may not go.

Figure 1. Staff from the Victorian Strawberry Industry Certification Authority (VSICA) inspecting strawberry runners for pests and diseases. Photo credit: VSICA

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Figure 2. Growers cleaning a tractor with high pressure water to remove soil, in a designated washdown location.

Photo credit: VSICA

Do farm biosecurity practices really help manage disease?

In 2020/21, we surveyed 77 strawberry growers in Victoria about their adoption of the farm biosecurity practices listed above, and then measured the incidence of charcoal rot disease and the amount of the fungus (Macrophomina phaseolina) that causes the disease on their properties.

Results showed there was a strong association between the number of farm biosecurity practices adopted by growers and charcoal rot in their crops (Figure 3). Growers who adopted more farm biosecurity practices had less Macrophomina and charcoal rot on their properties.

Figure 3. Association between the number biosecurity practices (out of eleven) adopted by strawberry growers on their farms in Victoria in 2020/21 and the incidence of charcoal rot in their crop. Note: no growers had adopted fewer than five of the eleven farm biosecurity practices.

Furthermore, the incidence of charcoal rot across Victorian strawberry farms had decreased by 20% in 2020/21, compared with 2017, due to the industry’s adoption of improved farm practices, including farm biosecurity. The continued adoption of these farm biosecurity practices by Australian strawberry growers is expected to reduce the spread of diseases, pests and weeds across the industry.

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Farm biosecurity in China The Chinese strawberry industry accounts for 40% of the world’s production at 3.72 million tonnes/ year (Figure 4). The strawberry varieties: Benihoppe, Sweet Charlie and Akihime accounted for 70% of the production in China in 2018. The largest strawberry cultivation provinces in China are Shandong, Liaoning, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hebei, Henan, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Hunan, Shanxi and Shanghai.

Earlier this year, YunNan LuFeng QuinPan Agri-Dev. Co., a strawberry runner producer in China, surveyed strawberry plants on fruit farms in the south of the country for soil-borne diseases. The survey showed that some unidentified Fusarium species were present inside sick strawberry plants, though anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. had also been recorded in the area. Based on these results, YunNan LuFeng QuinPan Agri-Dev. Co. has adopted several of the farm biosecurity practices listed above to help manage disease on their properties and the farms that purchase their runners.

Moreover, YunNan LuFeng QuinPan Agri-Dev. Co. is currently working with VSICA Research to have these farm biosecurity practices translated into Mandarin to disseminate the information as a manual to strawberry growers in China. This work is considered an important step in building future opportunities for trade of strawberry from Australia to China.

If you would like to learn more about these projects, please contact: Dr Dylan McFarlane | 0408 374 233 Acknowledgements We acknowledge funds from the Australian Government, VSICA Research Pty Ltd and YunNan LuFeng QuinPan Agri-Dev. Co. Ltd to support collaborations between Australian and Chinese businesses.

We thank the strawberry fruit growers in Australia and China for providing plant and/or soil samples, and their time.

Figure 4. A typical strawberry farm in north-eastern Yunnan, China. Growers cover the laneways (inter-rows) with plastic to prevent the movement of soil.

Photo credit: YunNan LuFeng QuinPan Agri-Dev. Co

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S T R A W B E R R I E S

Warmer temperatures, smaller fruit and possibly lower returns for strawberry producers in southern Queensland Christopher Menzel, Principal Horticulturist, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries

Introduction

The profitability of strawberry growing depends on the yields of the plants, the costs of production and the prices received for the fruit.

Australia produces about 94,000 tonnes of strawberries each year worth $445 million. There was about 2270 ha under production in 2017/18.

A survey of the Brisbane Market from 2010 to 2020 indicated that average prices decreased from May to September, and only partially recovered in October.

Average prices were close to the costs of production in August ($1.39 per 250 g punnet) and below the costs of production in September ($1.17).

Most of the production comes from Queensland (42%), Victoria (36%), Western Australia (11%) and South Australia (7%). There are smaller industries in Tasmania and New South Wales. Production increased by 35% from 2012/13 to 2017/18, while the value of the crop increased by 24%.

Strawberries are the second most important fruit after banana in Australia and are the most important of the berry crops. A range in geography, climates, cultivars, and production systems allows for cropping across the whole year.

Global warming is likely to reduce the size of the fruit at the end of the growing season in southern Queensland. Small fruit usually fetch lower prices than large fruit.

This may contribute to lower returns for commercial producers.

Producers in south-east Queensland supply fruit from May to October (winter crop), while producers in southern Queensland (Granite Belt) and southern Australia supply fruit from October to May (spring, summer and autumn crops). There are about 260 commercial growers across the different production areas.

The profitability of strawberry growing depends on the yields of the plants, the costs of production and the prices received for the fruit. We were interested in determining whether there have been changes in the prices for strawberries in the wholesale market.

Information was collected on the throughput and prices for strawberries during the main season in Queensland at the Brisbane Market. Strawberries encounter significant competition during this period from other popular berries, including blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.

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The results of the analysis showed that average prices were close to the costs of production in August and below the costs of production in September. Higher temperatures under global warming are likely to reduce the size of the fruit in Queensland. Small fruit usually fetch lower prices than large fruit. These changes in fruit size will put more pressure on profitability of the industry at the end of the growing season.

Across all years and months, there was a strong relationship between the average price and the volume of sales (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.53, N = 66). For instance, a consignment of 250 tonnes per month was associated with a price of $4.25, whereas a consignment of 1000 tonnes per month was associated with a price of $1.00.

This price versus supply curve is common across many agricultural commodities.

What we did

There was no clear pattern in the relationship between average price and the volume of sales across different years from May to September (linear decrease in price as supply increased).

Information was collected on the throughput and prices for strawberries consigned to the Brisbane Markets from 2010 to 2020 during the main season in Queensland from May to October. There are small shipments of fruit in May and October from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

The price received for the fruit decreased by $0.15 to $1.28 for each 100 tonnes increase in supply every month. The average price reduction was $0.37 ± 0.09 and the median price reduction was $0.32.

The data were supplied from Market Information Services (www.marketinfo.com.au). Limited information is available on prices in the Sydney and Melbourne markets, but these markets do not include data on the volume of sales each week.

Implications for commercial strawberry production There were variations in the throughput and prices for strawberries in Brisbane across different years and months. The local market was sensitive to changes in the supply of fruit. The volume of fruit supplied to the market was relatively stable over the study period, with only a lower volume in 2020.

The data were analysed to determine the average throughput and price across different years (2010 to 2020) and different months (May to October). The relationships between price and throughput were examined over the different time periods.

In contrast, prices were above the long-term average from 2010 to 2016 and below from 2017 to 2020.

What we found

Throughput increased over the season from May to August and then decreased in September and October.

The average price decreased as the volume increased from May to August/September, and only partially recovered in October. Average prices were close to the costs of production in August ($1.39 per 250-g punnet) and below the costs of production in September ($1.17).

There were variations in the throughput and prices for strawberries in the Brisbane Market across the different years and months.

About 5000 to 6000 tonnes of fruit were sold from May to October each year from 2010 to 2019, with a lower volume in 2020 (Figure 1). Throughput increased from May to August and then decreased in September and October. There was no clear trend in volume across years over the study period from 2010 to 2020.

Strawberries encounter significant competition during this period from other popular berries, including blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.

Further research is required to determine better ways to market the crop in August and September.

Average prices from May to October ranged from $1.68 to $2.23 per 250-g punnet (Figure 2). Prices were above the long-term average ($1.97) from 2010 to 2016 and below from 2017 to 2020. The average price decreased as the volume increased from May to August/September, and only partially recovered with a lower volume in October. Average prices were close to the costs of production in August and below the costs of production in September.

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Global warming is expected to decrease fruit quality towards the end of the season in Queensland. Small fruit fetch lower prices than large fruit. This may put more pressure on the profitability of the local industry.

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Figure 1. Variations in the supply of strawberries to the Brisbane Markets from 2010 to 2020 during the main season in Queensland from May to October. There are small consignments of fruit in May and October from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Data are from Market Information Services (www.marketinfo.com.au).

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Figure 2. Variations in the average price of strawberries in the Brisbane Markets from 2010 to 2020 during the main season in Queensland from May to October. There are small consignments of fruit in May and October from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Data are from Market Information Services (www.marketinfo.com.au).

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Conclusions About 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes of strawberries were sold in Brisbane each year from May to October from 2010 to 2019, with a lower volume in 2020. Throughput increased from May to August and then decreased in September and October. Average prices across the years ranged from $1.68 to $2.23 per 250g punnet. Prices were above the long-term average ($1.97) from 2010 to 2016 and below from 2017 to 2020. The average price decreased as the volume increased from May to August/September, and only partially recovered in October. Average prices were close to the costs of production in August ($1.39) and below the costs of production in September ($1.17).

Research is required to determine better ways to market the crop in August and September, especially with global warming likely to reduce fruit size, marketing potential and prices later in the season. Efforts also need to be made to develop heat-tolerant cultivars and other strategies to mitigate against global warming.

AIS Greenworks provide Priva control system sales, service and spare parts.

The Queensland Government funded the research through the Department Agriculture systems and Fisheries. Many thanks to the Florida GWK offers a complete service for all ofPriva Strawberry Growers’ Association (FSGA) for financial support and Gill from Market Information Services.

AIS Greenworks offer a completeLéasaservice for Priva fertigation and climate control systems - sales, service and spare parts.

Plants with small fruit are more expensive to pick than those with large fruit. Photo credit: Chris Menzel

Providing a complete Priva full service for Irrigation, fertigation & Climate control systems

Australia-wide Sales, Service & Spare Parts Ph 1300 763 141 W I N T E R 2 0 21 AUSTRALIAN www.aisgreenworks.com.au

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A D V E R T O R I A L

C O N T E N T

THE NEW GO-TO FUNGICIDE

MIRAVIS PRIME can be used in open field or protected cropping, has 1-hour rainfastness and 1-day withholding period.

In a trial in strawberries in South Australia, MIRAVIS PRIME significantly reduced the incidence of botrytis from 55% (untreated) to 13.1% (Figure 1). This resulted in increased yield and more marketable fruit, even under high disease pressure.

A similar trial in blueberries saw a reduction from 100% infection in an untreated area to 10% following use of MIRAVIS PRIME (Figure 2).

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Incidence

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ABC

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D 10 0

A Untreated

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D MIRAVIS PRIME 1L/ha

Fontelis 1.75L/ha

Figure 1. Incidence of botrytis assessed on fruit 10 days after the last application in strawberries, cv. Albion, Woodside, SA (2016). Fungicides applied at 7-8 day intervals at the recommended label rates. Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P=0.05, LSD).

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SWITCH 80 g/100 L

Teldor 1 L/ha

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Figure 2. Incidence of botrytis assessed on fruit 45 days after the last application on blueberries, Chile (2018). Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P=0.05, LSD).

“MIRAVIS PRIME offers berry growers outstanding value” said Scott, “We are really excited to be able to offer this unique solution that provides great return on investment.”

Incidence of botrytis in storage (%)

“In addition to improved disease control, built-in resistance management and excellent post-harvest quality will see MIRAVIS PRIME be the go-to product for berry growers” stated Portfolio Lead Scott Mathew.

“This has been demonstrated around the world in various berry crops, from strawberries in Canada to raspberries in Spain, and is supported by our own local trials.” (Refer to Figure 3)

Mean fruit infected with botrytis (%)

MIRAVIS PRIME combines two active ingredients (pydiflumetofen, Group 7, and fludioxonil, group 12) to provide powerful and long-lasting control, as well as delay the onset of resistance. These active ingredients attack fungi at multiple stages of development to offer optimum protection for superior fruit quality.

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Mean fruit infected with botrytis (%)

MIRAVIS PRIME is a new fungicide recently registered by the APVMA for control of botrytis in all berry crops, with additional control of powdery mildew in strawberries.

It can be applied at all stages of berry production from flowering through to harvest.

For further information, please speak with your local advisor or visit www.syngenta.com.au/miravis-prime

Figure 3. Incidence of botrytis on strawberries in storage cv. Albion, assessed 2 days after harvest, 12 days after application in the field, Bundaberg, Qld (2016).

Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P=0.05, LSD).

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MIRAVIS PRIME 1L/ha

Fontelis 1.75L/ha

R U B U S

Groundbreaking insights to help secure pollination in raspberries European honey bees are abundant pollinators of raspberries, but new research has revealed that native bees also play an important role that has been overlooked.

That’s one of the key findings for the raspberry industry from the project, Securing Pollination for more Productive Agriculture: Guidelines for effective pollinator management and stakeholder adoption, delivered as part of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Rural R&D for Profit program.

“The most common native bees detected visiting flowers and carrying pollen in Victorian Rubus berry crops were reed bees (Exoneura species) and furrow bees (Lasioglossum species),” Dr Brown said.

“We also examined how important native bees are as pollinators, and how growers can encourage visitation.

“We found that bee pollination had a big impact on the size and shape of berries, and that a visit from a native bee was just as good as a visit from a honey bee.”

The four-year project saw Australia’s most knowledgeable bee and pollination researchers assess the contribution of pollinators to a range of pollination-dependent crops including raspberries, from June 2016 to February 2021.

Top crop visitors In the Coffs Harbour region, honey bees were the main visitors to raspberry flowers, accounting for 71% of flower visitation.

Its recommendations are aimed at strengthening pollination security and resilience, and optimising yield by identifying the insects that contribute to crop pollination and the way they relate to the landscape.

Stingless bees, Tetragonula carbonaria, were also frequent visitors to raspberry flowers, providing 26% of visits.

Key findings

The ground-nesting solitary bee Homalictus urbanus, an occasional visitor, contributed the remaining 3% of observed visits to raspberry flowers.

Researchers identified crop visitors and assessed their abundances on raspberry crops in the Coffs Harbour region of NSW and in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. They also investigated the pollination efficiency on raspberries of the most abundant pollinators.

Dr. Romina Rader said both stingless bees and ground-nesting bees may be suitable species for targeted farm management practices to increase nesting habitat and nutritional resources to enhance crop pollination service delivery by wild pollinators.

The nesting resources that support stem-nesting bees that pollinate Rubus crops, both in the orchard and in nearby forest habitats were also examined.

Dr. Julian Brown said the study identified several native bee species visiting raspberry flowers.

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Who is visiting your raspberry farm?

Did you know?

Targeted farm management practices to increase nesting habitat & nutritional resources can help enhance crop pollination service delivery by wild pollinators.

Honey bees are the most common pollinator for raspberries, but many other species are just as effective.

The Securing Pollination for More Productive Agriculture: Guidelines for effective pollinator management and stakeholder adoption project studied raspberry farms to determine what insects were visiting.

Did you know?

Bee pollination had a big impact on the size & shape of berries & that a visit from a native bee was just as good as a visit from a honey bee.

3% 26%

Coffs Harbour

71% Honey bees Stingless bees Solitary bee Homalictus urbanus

This project is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water Resources and the Environment as part of its Rural R&D for Profit program.

Project partners include Horticulture Innovation Australia, University of Sydney, University of Adelaide, University of New England, Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board, Almond Board of Australia, Apple and Pear Growers Association (SA), Australian Mango Industry Association, Australian Melon Association, Australian National University, Costa Group, Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources SA, Greening Australia, Lucerne Australia, Native Vegetation Council Natural Resources Northern and Yorke, O’Connor NRM, Primary Industries and Resources SA, Raspberries and Blackberries Australia, South Australian Apiarist Association, Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network Eco-informatics, Trees For Life.

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Busy little reed bees Reed bees were the most common flower visitor in some berry orchards, and not only nest in berry crops but pollinate them too.

Reed bees are small (6-8mm long), and usually have a black head and thorax and a red-brown abdomen.

There are many species in Australia, mostly found in wetter temperate regions, and are generalists, visiting a range of crop and native plants.

They prefer canes that are upright and not too thick (stems less than 9mm diameter were preferred).

Further research is needed to find out which pruning strategy can help bee nesting, and researchers are encouraging growers to make their own observations.

The name ‘reed bee’ refers to the habit of females to dig a nest in pithy stems of plants such as tree ferns, and grass trees, although they rarely nest in reeds. They also nest in non-native plant species such as lantana, brambles and berry canes.

Areas of the orchard with more nests in canes also had more reed bee visits to flowers, confirming the bees live and work locally.

Researchers found reed bees nesting in the canes of raspberry and blackberry, meaning the rubus berry orchard environment provides them with both a home (nests) and food (flowers).

Reed bees actively forage for most of the year, although less so in winter, and as a result, require floral resources outside of crop flowering times. They forage on native plants such as Acacia and Hakea before crops were flowering, and Kunzea and Pultenaea after crops finished flowering.

Reed bees will nest in dead canes that they can enter at a damage point or an opening created by pruning.

However, because the bees do not tunnel through live tissue, they do not harm the plant.

They can forage as far afield as one kilometre from their nest, meaning your local area and bushland may provide many of these flowering resources at different times of year and support your on-farm pollination.

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R U B U S

Grower profile: Burlington Berries, Cressy, Tasmania Celeste Cook, Berry Industry Development Officer, Rubus & Tasmania, Fruit Growers Tasmania Inc

Recently I got to speak with Laurie Adams, General Manager from Burlington Berries to see how the business originally started out, and what they are doing now that would be of interest to the rest of the berry growing community.

Laurie is originally from New Zealand. He moved to Tasmania after living and working in the UK berry industry for the last 20 years, with companies such as Haygrove. Laurie and his family relocated to Tasmania 18 months ago to take up the opportunity with Burlington Berries. The industry in Australia and ideal climate in Tasmania combine to make it an exciting place to grow berries and to develop the business.

By 2018 all of their crops had transitioned to be grown in poly tunnels and coir substrate. This enables them to extend their season and have better control of the growing climate and plant health.

Climate control and canopy control has been fundamental in managing fungal disease at Burlington Berries. The team are always looking at ways to lower the rate of disease incursion, with plans to trial new Haygrove hoop designs on poly tunnels in the near future. These will reduce temperature and humidity fluctuations and improve air volume around the crop, creating a better growing environment and decreasing labour and chemical requirements. In Laurie’s view, integrated pest management (IPM) is integral to lowering chemical use and reducing cost.

Burlington Berries is located in Cressy, south of Launceston in Tasmania and is the result of a joint venture in 2012, between Kate and Stewart Sutherland with their business Upper Murray Seeds, and Jon and Marion Regan from Hugh Lowe farms, a long-standing berry grower in the UK with over 100 years of growing experience. The farm was originally located on 15 hectares in 2012, increasing over the years to their current size of 48 hectares, with plans for expansion to include another 12 hectares over the next two years. Burlington Berries now grows mainly raspberries and strawberries with some blackberries, all of which are supplied through the Driscoll’s group. In the fast-growing berry sector, Laurie sees the success of the business as relying on attracting and retaining good people and innovating to manage the crop, improve productivity and reduce waste.

The future is all about integrated farming, and that means managing climate and the plant before reaching for chemicals. We’ve have had a lot of success this year managing powdery mildew through managing these factors rather than using chemicals.

Innovation Since starting the farm, Burlington Berries has invested heavily in improving their infrastructure. Not only do they have their own pack house on site to monitor quality and provide a diversity of jobs, but they have also moved to protected cropping and the use of coir substrate to grow their crops.

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Raspberry Harvesting. Photo credit: Burlington Berries

A SWP worker picking strawberries. Photo credit: Burlington Berries

Inspecting Blackberry quality. Photo credit: Burlington Berries

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Burlington Berries is always looking to improve production efficiencies through in-house research.

Projects underway include developing their capability to produce their own long cane raspberry and blackberries.

On the issue of the border closures and access to their workforce, Laurie praised the work of local representatives and the industry who have helped them to have a successful harvest. He described the Tasmanian State Government, the local Driscoll’s growers group and Fruit Growers Tasmania as being extremely helpful and responsive to the needs of the berry industry in Tasmania. Helping growers to bring seasonal workers to Tasmania, co-ordinate production schedules, and providing representation for berry producers.

If successful, this means advancement in manipulating the Rubus season which will support the management of the labour curve. They are also financing a new facility dedicated to running a range of scientific trials on plant physiology and crop management.

Burlington Berries has also partnered with a UK robotics company called ‘Dogtooth’ (dogtooth.tech).

Dogtooth have developed Artificial intelligence (AI) technology for picking soft fruit such as strawberries.

Burlington Berries’ role in the project has been in assisting with data collection during strawberry harvest to inform the AI database.

Environment and sustainability For the management team at Burlington Berries there is a focus on meeting environmental and sustainability objectives. They have started a number of initiatives within their own business to reduce waste and promote more sustainable practices.

These activities are informed by daily analysis of field and fruit waste which helps to drive operational and technical improvements for the business.

In the late stages of development, the technology is 3-5 years from being used on farm, where it will reduce the labour component for harvest and deliver consistent quality at picking. Laurie is enthusiastic about the project and the future of technology in farming.

To minimise waste Burlington Berries re-use or recycle all of their coir. Coir from strawberry blocks, raspberry and blackberry pots is collected and composted or solarised with farm waste to remove pest and disease, then added to arable field crops as a soil conditioner.

They are also looking to grow in recycled coir with a number of research trials being implemented on-farm.

"Data and digital farming are exciting, it’s exciting seeing all the technology and new improvements being developed."

People

Composted coir has been combined with new coir for an in-house crop trial at Burlington. In the first year of this trial there was no yield loss for raspberries when compared with growing in 100% new coir. In a separate trial, early results have also indicated keeping strawberries in the same coir for 2 years, rotating the strawberry varieties for the second year of planting as being equally productive. These trials are ongoing.

On the topic of labour, Laurie has a lot to say.

He believes the “success of the business relies on the quality of the people you have. People, whether they are seasonal workers or have a more permanent role, are fundamental to the success of the business”.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen international border closures impact on the ability of berry producers to sustain the portion of their workforce which is normally comprised of overseas workers.

Water recycling and reuse is another area being improved by the addition of water treatments and harvesting. Currently some water run-off from tunnels is reused on adjacent arable crops, with UV and hydrogen peroxide treatments used to disinfest water from local water catchments inhibiting this pathway of pathogens to the crop.

Burlington Berries have been involved in the Seasonal Workers Program (SWP) either through agencies or directly for the last 7 years, hiring employees from East Timor and Tonga to provide up to two-thirds of their workforce with locals making up the remaining one-third.

The future

Laurie has enjoyed seeing this partnership grow. Being involved in the SWP to bring workers from East Timor and Tonga has been rewarding for the workers and producers alike, but has not been without complication, in particular the pandemic associated border closures.

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“Berries are labour intensive, people intensive and creativity intensive crops. To be successful we need to be constantly challenging and re-assessing the way we do things” says Laurie Adams.

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R U B U S

New permit issued Permit ID: PER90178 Description:

Afidopyropen (Versys) / Blackberries & Raspberries (Cane Berries) / Aphids including Green Peach Aphid & Greenhouse Whitefly suppression (All States & Territories) Date Issued: 20 April 21 Expiry Date: 30 April 24

Berry growers, don’t gamble with frosts.

Permit Holder: Hort Innovation All efforts have been made to provide the most current, complete and accurate information on these permits, however we recommend that you confirm the details of these permits at the following APVMA website: portal.apvma.gov.au/permits

Extreme temperature ranges are here to stay.

That means managing frost risk to avoid devastating losses.

Users are advised that while the pesticide can be applied legally under the APVMA minor use permit, there can be a significant delay until the MRL gazetted by the APVMA is adopted in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Calculate the R.O.I. by installing a quiet, reliable and efficient FROSTBOSS C49.

Until this occurs the MRL may not be recognised and a zero tolerance may be imposed for residues of the pesticide resulting from its use according to the APVMA permit.

Please be aware that in the absence of an MRL in the Food Standards Code, the use of the pesticide according to the permit may result in the suspension of the produce in the marketplace.

bossthefrost.com.au

Please check the FSANZ website or the Australian Government ComLaw website: www.legislation.gov.au/Series/F2015L00468 to confirm if there are MRL established by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

97

FRF 1041

Ian Mason M +61 448 111 384 P 1800 797 629 E info@aussiefrostfans.com.au aussiefrostfans.com.au

R U B U S

Grower profile: Parvinder Lalli — Paving the way for the berry industry in Corindi, NSW Melinda Simpson, NSW DPI

Parvinder Lalli, is a blueberry, blackberry and raspberry grower situated at Corindi in Northern NSW. At present Parvinder has 6 acres of blueberries, 5 acres of blackberries and 2 acres of raspberries.

Turn right for Rubus In around 2014-15 when OzGroup growers were given access to Driscoll’s raspberry varieties, Parv was keen to give them a try and was one of the first OzGroup growers to grow raspberries.

At this time, both his blueberries and raspberries were doing well and in 2017 he decided to expand and put more raspberries in at the Corindi farm. Instead of packing in-field and with buckets as many raspberry growers do, Parv has created his own system for pickers which includes a packing tray with a harness attached (Figure 3), in which they transfer to a shed to pack into punnets (Figure 4). This system is on par with other systems for efficiencies, but the quality seems to be better and the environment for the pickers is much more pleasant” Parvinder said.

Figure 1. Parvinder Lalli. Photo credit: Melinda Simpson

From bananas to blueberries Like many of the early blueberry growers located in the Coffs Harbour area, Parvinder was originally a banana grower in Woolgoolga who gave blueberries a try around the mid-2000s when banana prices started to fall due to saturation of the market.

Unfortunately, when they upgraded the Pacific Highway and by-passed Woolgoolga, the bypass went through his property and left an unviable amount of land for horticulture production. Subsequently, Parvinder purchased a property in Corindi with 5 acres of macadamias on it in 2010. He decided to pull out the macadamias and re-planted with 6 acres of blueberries which he profited well from.

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Blackberries – the next corner With his blueberries and raspberries doing well and talk of OzGroup growers getting access to Driscoll’s blackberry varieties, Parvinder travelled to the United States to the Driscoll’s Headquarters to learn and see how blackberries were grown in the United States.

In 2018 he was one of the first OzGroup growers to put in blackberries. Parvinder wasn’t sure how they were going to go but managed to get a massive floricane crop and needed to bring in 50-70 workers to get it all picked.

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2.

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3.

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7.

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Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Raspberry block Picking system with harness Packing from trays into punnets Roof partially open Roof fully open Roof and sides can both be adjusted and are controlled electronically Figure 8. Drain tray Photo credit: Melinda Simpson

Within a year Parv had learnt a lot about blackberries and wanted to expand in this crop and decided to pull out some blueberries to do so.

I have seen a real advantage in pollination using this system, I have noticed that the bees can get out freely to go back to their hives and are foraging throughout the blackberries consistently.

This has resulted in more uniform pollination the whole way through the greenhouse.

“I wanted a more consistent environmental structure to grow my blackberries under and was looking at the Cravo retractable system but wasn’t sure if financially it was the right move” Parvinder said. (Figure 5 & 6) After much consideration and contemplation Parv decided to install a 12,000m2 Cravo retractable roof greenhouse in early 2020. It took 3 months to build the structure, but all up the process took around 8 to 9 months to complete and he planted blackberries into the greenhouse in September 2020. There are weather stations both inside and outside the greenhouse and at the click of a button the roof can open or close, partially (Figure 5) or fully (Figure 6) to maintain a stable internal environment.

This system allows the plants to be protected from environmental extremes such as excessive or insufficient cold, heat, rain, or wind, and by preventing disorders associated with insufficient transpiration and the resultant lack of water stress typical in conventional greenhouse environments. The ability to let a controlled amount of rain into the greenhouse also means that the grass in the inter-row can be maintained which in turn has helped to reduce mite flares in his blackberries.

Opening and closing the roof is computer controlled and can be controlled off site from a phone or tablet.

The roof takes a short amount of time to completely open or close, so the roof can be closed quickly if bad weather is forecast. The walls of the greenhouse can also be raised and lowered automatically when required (Figure 7).

However, he is already noticing other benefits of this system such as better fruit size and a better shine on the fruit. Parvinder also harvests the rainwater collected from his greenhouse roof and stores it in a large tank to use for irrigation. For every 1 mm of rain the farm receives he collects 12,000 L in storage.

Parvinder has also invested in two Priva GroScale weighing scales combined with drain sensors that connect with the Priva Moisture Balance Module.

The weighing scale combined with the drain sensor analyses the moisture levels of the substrate and this data is used by the Moisture Balance Module to control fertigation dosing and timing. The module determines the optimal irrigation start strategy, based on three important influences: the quantity of water evaporated, the desired amount of drain water and the water content of the substrate. (Figure 8) “These Priva GroScales take the manual labour out of irrigation scheduling, you can walk away for three days and know what is happening with your irrigation through your phone. It has also improved our irrigation efficiencies, and this has resulted in a more consistent crop.”

The workers also prefer working in the new Cravo greenhouse. It is warmer in winter and in summer it is cooler inside as the roof material blocks the heat and UV rays.

Instead of purchasing more land to expand his production, Parvinder has made the choice to invest in his Corindi farm to be more efficient and consistent, getting better yields and quality rather than volume from a larger scale. It is great to see that Parvinder’s son has recently come onboard to help run the farm and I look forward to seeing how the journey continues for them both into the future.

Although this system can be run automatically, for the first nine months Parvinder has been running the system manually. He feels that by running it this way he has learnt a lot about the system and how to achieve the most out of it and now feels confident that he can switch it over to automatic control.

His blackberries are only nine months old and so he hasn’t got a complete yield out of them so time will tell the advantage on yield using this system.

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BERRIES AUSTRALIA

BerryQuest International

25–28 July 2022 Sea World Resort & Conference Centre Gold Coast, Queensland

The date is set, the venue is confirmed, and planning is underway!

Following on from the success of BerryQuest International in Launceston in 2018, the next event was planned for two years later in 2020. As we know, a little pandemic called COVID-19 put a stop to that so we postponed until 2021.

After much deliberation about the ongoing border closures, lack of international travel and other flow on effects of the pandemic, Berries Australia once again decided to postpone to ensure that we had the best opportunity to run the best berry conference possible.

We are now pleased to announce that BerryQuest International 2022 will be held from 25-28 July 2022 at the stunning Sea World Resort and Conference Centre on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

We are looking forward to once again welcoming berry growers and industry associates from across the country to join us for what we are sure will be another fantastic program of speakers and networking opportunities.

And being Sea World, you can even bring the family!

Stay tuned for more information about sponsorship packages, the program, registration and much more. Details will be distributed via our website and through the Australian Berry Journal and The Burst eNewsletter so if you don’t already subscribe, please subscribe at our website so you don’t miss out!

We can’t wait to see you at the Gold Coast in 2022!

Sponsorship packages will be released in September 2021 if you have any queries before then, please get in touch Jen Rowling | Berries Australia | 0448 322 389 | jenrowling@berries.net.au berries.net.au/bqi2022

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