THE FUTURE OF ASPARAGUS Words by Karen Orr : HortNZ business manager
Seed potatoes being grown aeroponically for virus management
More than half of the asparagus industry came together for the New Zealand Asparagus Council (NZAC) 2021 Annual General Meeting in Hawke’s Bay in early July. With increasing labour costs and the difficulty of securing skilled staff for the asparagus season, the industry is working to adopt more automation in the picking and packing of asparagus, so the first stop on the AGM field trip was a visit Rockit’s new headquarters in Hastings. The growers had a tour of the apple packhouse, seeing their use of automation and technology in action. The team at Rockit shared their innovation and sustainability roadmap which aims to minimise inputs and waste whilst maximising productivity, yields and sustainable operations across their business. Seeing Rockit’s use of automation and learning about their growth and sustainability goals provided great inspiration to the asparagus industry. 50 NZGROWER : AUGUST 2021
By placing their strong understanding of the single apple variety and their market at the centre of their business, Rockit has been able to double their volume year on year and sell out of fruit.
The team at Rockit shared their innovation and sustainability roadmap which aims to minimise inputs and waste whilst maximising productivity, yields and sustainable operations across their business Next stop on the field trip was to Plant & Food Research near Havelock North. The group was shown some of the “future of growing” research that the team there are involved with, including the use of hydroponics and aeroponics in growing vegetables.
