Looking to the next 90 years

By Claire Seymour.

Next year, we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary.

While we weren’t around for the first National Fruit Show, my dad, Nick, has been a long-standing supporter of the event, taking an exhibition stand almost every year since 1978.

I have fond childhood memories of when it was held in a rustic marquee on Pattenden Lane under the Marden Fruit Society and have proudly watched it develop year after year into the expansive national event it is today.

Nostalgia is comforting but not always productive. Instead of looking back and discussing how far the tractors and specialist fruit and vine machinery we supply to growers have come since those days, I decided to look ahead to the future.

So here’s a brief round-up of some of the equipment deemed revolutionary now, which is likely to be commonplace by the time we celebrate the 100th National Fruit Show.

This summer, we hosted two machinery demonstration days. As the supermarkets continue to pay more for red, shiny, uniformed apples, it was unsurprising that many growers were keen to see Fruit Tec’s pneumatic orchard defoliator, the REDpulse Duo, in action.

Studies have proven defoliation to be exceptionally beneficial in reducing disease pressure and increasing the percentage of Class 1 fruit. While only two of these machines are currently operating in the UK, we suspect more will invest as they see the proven benefits these growers are obtaining.

Not on demonstration but also on display at our summer event, which was held at Amsbury Farm by the kind permission of Clive Baxter, was Munckhof’s PlukO-Trak picking platform. This machine is designed to help keep harvest costs down and reduce damage to fruit and is equipped with “M Connect”.

The M-Connect harvest registration system automatically records key harvest data allowing growers to track and trace fruit from the tree to the cold store.

Using an RFDI tag or barcode on each bin, the M-Connect collects information on the GPS position of the full bins, the time it took to fill each bin, and when the pickers clocked in and out. When fitted with an optional camera system, it can also record the number of fruits, their size, colouration and quality/class.

Continuing on the subject of harvest, we are seeing increased interest from UK vineyards for mechanical grape harvesters. Ever since Sam Barnes imported his first, Pellenc trailed Grapes’Line 80, more and more vineyards are happily embracing these machines over hand harvesting.

While they won’t be for everyone, there is no doubt that mechanical grape harvesters are a more economical option when it comes to bringing in the final crop, costing around £90 per tonne for an average yield of around 10t/ha.

Finally, all this high tec machinery has to be operated by a tractor, and for us, nothing beats a Fendt. The latest Gen3 range has been designed to help operators work for longer with its completely flat floor, and the FendtONE system puts everything at your fingertips and can even be connected to the farm office, saving time on paperwork such as spray records.

As always, we are very much looking forward to the show and would love to see you on our stand to discuss all things fruit and machinery related.