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Right from the beginning Rockit™ Management Services was able to operate with solid health food credentials, Plant & Food Research having identified higher levels of potassium, energy and fibre than in traditional apples
Production ramps up at Rockit™ central The launch of Rockit™ apples in Gisborne went off with a bang and they say they have no plans to stop now. KRISTINE WALSH reports.
Hawke’s Bay's Rockit™ Management Services (RMS) waited until spring of last year to plant trees for its snacksized apples on an investor-owned orchard in Gisborne because they wanted to get the timing just right. And while they are celebrating their developments north of home base, there was one area in which the timing was a little bit off. In Gisborne, it rained. And it rained. And it kept on raining. “There were three big events and a total of around 900ml of rain since we planted, so that definitely challenged the establishment of that block,” says RMS general manager Chris Hurrey. “But that volume of rain is definitely something of an abnormality, so we are looking forward to getting back to what would be perceived as normal.” Chris says the abnormal weather reminded RMS of exactly why it decided to expand into Gisborne in the first place. 20
The ORCHARDIST : JUNE 2022
“In New Zealand we are prone to adverse weather events and environmental factors so we knew it was important to diversify our crop and spread our risk across several sites. “That's why we have robust systems to cope with an everchanging climate where these extremes are only going to be more frequent.” Owned by MyFarm investor group Te Arai Orchard Limited Partnership, and operated on their behalf by RMS, the 21-hectare, 53,500tree Manutuke development was not the first Rockit™ planting in Gisborne. The first planting was four hectares established in 2020 by an independent grower at Bushmere, a few kilometres closer to Gisborne city. It was joined in 2021 by a further 44-ha of plantings by six more local independent growers – including Wi Pere Trust – that will supply Rockit™ Global's operation, with around 40 more hectares to be planted this year.
