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Helen Scott, orchard manager for the Māori Investments Ltd owned Whiritoa orchard, and Kaumātua Rex Anderson, who oversaw the development of the organic orchard
Whiritoa orchard innovating and growing with cover crops Carrots, brassica, radish, chicory, clover, sunflowers and cosmos are not usually found growing beneath kiwifruit vines, but these and ten other plants are flourishing on the Whiritoa organic gold kiwifruit orchard in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. ELAINE FISHER reports.
“Growing this cover crop under 12 rows is a trial for us, to see what impacts these plants have on soil health and soil biology,” says Helen Scott, orchard manager for the Māori Investments Ltd (MIL) owned orchard near Te Teko.
Kaumātua Rex Anderson, who oversaw the development of the Whiritoa organic orchard and works closely with Helen and her team, also takes a keen interest in the cover crop.
The 5.3-hectare organic orchard and its neighbouring 6.87-ha conventional gold kiwifruit orchard, both owned by MIL, are entrants in the 2022 Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
“Instead of mowing all the time, many organic growers roll their cover crop to control it. We tried that and it works well,” Rex says. “We have also mowed it three times, including before picking, and it came back with vengeance.”
New to organic horticulture, the company’s board supports Helen and her orchard team in trying new initiatives. “We took soil samples before planting the cover crop, and will repeat them again to find out if it has made a difference,” says Helen. 32
The ORCHARDIST : JULY 2022
Rex and Helen know that many of the plants won’t thrive once the four-year-old gold vines reach full canopy, but the aim of the trial is to see what will endure and if the biodiversity brings benefits.
