Avoscene July 2014 by New Zealand Avocado

Avoscene New Zealand Avocado Growersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Journal

July 2014

Inside this Issue PGP Go Global underway New Zealand category story: Avocados Amazing Anytime Frosty business - how to prevent frost damage Exporters ready themselves for Australia Avoscene July 2014

Avoscene July 2014

Contents NZ Avocado Office PO Box 13267 Tauranga 3141 New Zealand

Comment

Newsroom

Markets

Level 5, Harrington House 32 Harington Street Tauranga 3110 Ph: 07 571 6147 or 0800 AVOCADO (0800 286 2236) www.nzavocado.co.nz

NZ Avocado

From the Chair

Growing the Business

On Board

Outside the Box

The NZ Market

Certifiably Organic

Regional Roundup

Various News

Bay of Plenty Ashby Whitehead NZAGA & AIC Chair Ph 07 573 6680 m. 027 283 2192 alwhitehead@xtra.co.nz

Facebook winner

Appetite for learning

South Korea showcase

Avocado avalanche

On the Orchard

@NZ_Avocado

Directors

NZ Avocados Amazing Anytime

Control fruit rot

Frost Protection

Growers Letter & Reply 17

Far North Ian Fulton Ph 09 406 8808 ian.fulton@clear.net.nz Mid North Sue Culham m. 021 771 686 sculham@xtra.co.nz At Large Roger Barber Ph 09 435 0785 m. 021 488 124 barbers@ihug.co.nz John Cotterell Ph 07 549 3395 m. 0274 513 138 jccotterell@actrix.gen.nz

Reports

Nourish

Out and About

Avocentric - McLarnonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 44

Nutrition News

Research and Development update

Recipe

Faces in the Industry Dr Jonathon Dixon

Out and About

John Schnackenberg Ph 07 549 0717 m. 021 731 437 jschnack@ihug.co.nz Tony Ponder NZAGA Vice Chair Ph 07 552 4223 m. 0274 733 712 tony@flaxmillavocado.co.nz Rest of NZ David French Ph 09 238 3359 m. 0274 375 315 famille@ps.gen.nz Export Directors Alistair Young, Andrew Darling

NZ Avocado StaďŹ&#x20AC;

Avoscene Advertising & Editorial

Jen Scoular, CEO

Midge Munro, Communications Manager

Michael Gray, Avocado Analyst

For editorial contact: Natasha Mitchell, Sun Media Ltd No.1 The Strand, Tauranga Ph: 07 578 0030 Fax: 07 571 1116 email natasha@thesun.co.nz

jen.scoular@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 741 014

midge.munro@nzavocado.co.nz | 027 306 7089

michael.gray@nzavocado.co.nz

Edwina Aitchison, Executive Assistant

For advertising contact: Suzy King at Sun Media Ltd email suzy@thesun.co.nz Design and production: Kym Johnson, Sun Media Ltd email kym@thesun.co.nz

Dr Alvaro Vidiella, R&D Manager

Joanne Nunn, Administration Assistant

edwina.aitchison@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 977 890

alvaro.vidiella@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 025 20412

jo.nunn@nzavocado.co.nz

Nici Kennerley, Business Manager

Phillip West, Grower Liaison

nici.kennerley@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 164 6875

phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 706 504

Glenys Parton, Industry Systems Manager

Bevan Jelley, New Zealand Market

glenys.parton@nzavocdo.co.nz | 0274 99 70 81

bevan.jelley@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 994 097

Cover Shot: NZ Avocado ambassador, Nadia Lim at PMA ANZ and HortNZ Conference.

Avoscene July 2014

MARKETING THE BEST

AVOCADOS IN NEW ZEALAND AND AROUND THE WORLD

JARROD REDWOOD Avocado Program Manager P +64 9 573 8581 M +64 27 200 0295 E jredwood@freshmax.co.nz

KIM FRASER Domestic Manager P +64 9 917 1485 M +64 21 629 816 E kfraser@freshmax.co.nz

RODGER BAYLY Export Marketing P +64 7 985 6802 M +64 21 622 577 E rbayly@freshmax.co.nz

DAvE ALDERTON Technical Services M +64 21 505 814 E dalderton@freshmax.co.nz

Avoscene July 2014

By Ashby Whitehead, Chair, NZAGA & AIC

Comment

View from the Chair alwhitehead@xtra.co.nz

With the PGP Go Global contract signed, it’s time to walk the walk to make our vision a reality. Record values for 2013-14 season

On 9 June, we announced our record industry returns totalling $136m for the 2013-14 season. This included $102.9m from exported fruit and $33m from fruit sold in New Zealand. This was an excellent result, and we can all give ourselves a pat on the back. This news coincided with the official signing of the PGP contract in partnership with the Crown. With PGP now underway, it’s time for the real work to begin in earnest and time for us all to walk the walk. We will need all the industry participants, from exporters, packers, growers and processors, to make the Go Global vision a reality and to reach our 2023 targets of 12 tonne to the hectare and $280m FOB returns. We will need everyone pulling in the same direction make this vision a reality New season fruit In contrast to the record results news, it was disappointing to hear that windfall fruit was being sold in the market in early May. This fruit had not been clipped, indicating it was windfall fruit. Dry matters would not have been close to 24 per cent. Growers need to take a long term, strategic view of growing the market; repeat purchases of good quality avocados is the aim rather than being put off by immature fruit. The Board feels very strongly about this issue, and at our June Board meeting a new initiative was proposed and supported for industry funds to support independent maturity tests with AgFirst until 20 July 2014. AIC will pay for tests that pass.

Sue Culham, Tony Ponder and John Schnackenberg for their re-election to the Board. No election was necessary as no other growers put themselves forward to stand against the incumbent directors. Sue, Tony and John are passionate about our industry and will continue their great work to date. I would like to encourage growers who have something to offer the industry to put their names forward in the future as new ideas and strong governance is important for our industry. Strengths and weaknesses The Board is always looking for continuous improvement, and as part of this we have carried out an evaluation process with the Institute of Directors to see where our strengths and weaknesses are. The survey highlighted some areas that need attention, and as a next step in the process we will have a facilitated session on 13 August following the Board meeting, to review the outcomes and put in place some remedial action.

“Growers need to take a long term strategic view of growing the market”

Board strategy session The Board wants to ensure our five-year plan is aligned with our Go Global vision and that it will achieve our goals. As such, we will be reviewing the plan during a strategy session on 14 August. We don’t want to re-invent the wheel as our current five-year plan is in place – but it may need a little tweaking. If growers have any thoughts on the strategic direction of our industry then please contact your local representative. The Board is open to input.

Board elections

I hope that the storm on 10 and 11 June didn’t damage too much of your crop.

I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate

I look forward to another good season.

Avoscene July 2014

Comment

Growing the Business By Jen Scoular, CEO, New Zealand Avocado

jen.scoular@nzavocado.co.nz

With a record result for 2013-14, the PGP Go Global contract officially signe and an industry-wide compliment from the PM, it feels like we are making important steps forward.

“$33m in the New Zealand market… the focus has certainly been beneficial to us all

On 9 June 2014 I watched the hands and pens of

two directors as they signed the PGP contract. Wow, even since the great news that the business case had been approved it’s been a haul to actually get this over the line. But we have, jointly, collectively and impressively, signed up to an $8.6m partnership with the government. The Right Hon John Key was

Avoscene July 2014

in Tauranga on 10 June and, as a change from the audience asking hard questions, I threw a bouquet: “Thank you PM,” I said, “the avocado industry appreciates greatly the investment that has been made in our industry.” He accepted the compliment and complimented us in return for the record result of $136m for the 2013-14 season. It does feel like we’re

Comment

making those important steps forward. It’s interesting that 18 months ago we used to talk industry statistics without including the New Zealand market. PGP conversations changed that, and the focus on the New Zealand market has certainly been beneficial to us all. The chart below shows the industry value during the past six seasons, with the very positive $136m in 2013-14, being $102.9m in export markets and $33m in the New Zealand market. Well done to all those involved. This is a great record to move forward from.

following his return to New Zealand after four years with the Californian industry. He compliments New Zealand on the industry systems and the focus on quality and dry matter. Read more from Jonathan on page 50. Positive news too from Martin Munro, Chair of the Organic Avocado Group, which he says is well set up to deliver and steer a good path for the future.

Glenn Dunseath talks about the challenges we face in the season ahead in his article on the New Zealand market. I like his last line: “This season will be a significant test in the development of the local market… we need to be proactive and quality focused”. We asked Jonathan Dixon to share with us his views

FOB value in NZ $ m

The New Zealand Avocado team is expanding – Bevan and his wife Nic welcomed Tom into the world in June and Alvaro and Irene welcomed Alvarito. Bevan’s message was that Tom weighed in at a kilo lighter than It was a positive move when the Board approved a tray of Hass avocados! Midge returned from her the costs of maturity clearances that pass for New wonderful first trip to Europe just as we published Zealand market fruit until 20 July. This was the this magazine and we’ve enjoyed hearing her exciting result of information shared at both the AVEC and stories. New Zealand marketer meetings, after which the Comparative Industry Volume and Value information was verified with the parties involved, You’ll start hearing more about the Grower Forum 2011-12 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2012-13 and an issue identified. August in Paihia and the Grower Volume NZ and AGM on 201,158,117 1,334,190 1,034,090 1,774,375 1,191,204 Volume processed 144,273 337,837 693,781 159,838 Forum in Tauranga on 28 August. We would280,549 love to 1,399,270 2,280,276 1,721,698 3,713,122 1,217,184 The cost of independent clearances including Volume exportsee lots of you there. If there3,952,303 are specific things you’d 6,181,278 Total volume 2,701,660 3,036,337 2,568,226 the collection of fruit and the lab test were seen NZ FOB 18,058 18,960 22,383 28,782 like to hear about, please give me a call – the forum is 19,199 Export FOB 31,938 65,184 45,522 62,861 31,667 as too expensive to impose on growers, yet that for you, and we want to deliver the information you Total volume 49,996 84,144 67,905 82,060 60,449 independence was crucial. The Board recognised that want to hear. Save 8,489 the date! 14,400 Volume Tonnes 11,012 24,238 7,574 the potential impact to the industry was too high not Value per kilo $ 3.36 $ 3.87 $ 4.07 $ 2.41 $ 4.28 $ Value $ 2.84 $ 2.58 $ 3.94 $ 1.97 $ 4.39 $ to find a solution. Before the decision was made, weNZ market Value export $ 4.15 $ 5.20 $ 4.81 $ 3.08 $ 4.73 $ consulted with relevant industry parties to ensure the NZ Avocado Industry Value solution was the right one, implemented the solution 8.0 140.0 Right hand axis: and have received positive feedback since it was 7.0 Volume in 5.5kg 120.0 implemented. trays, mil

2013-14 1,280,625 479,234 3,136,968 4,896,827 33,000 102,900 135,900 19,889 5.05 4.69 5.96

6.0

100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0

5.0

Export FOB

4.0

NZ FOB

3.0

Volume export

2.0

20.0

1.0

Volume NZ Total volume

0.0

0.0 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Avoscene July 2014

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Avoscene July 2014

By Alistair Young, Export Director, AIC & Chair, AVEC

Comment

Going Global alistair@southernproduce.co.nz

Crop ﬂow management, ensuring all-market access fruit and an outward focus will be the recipe for success this season. It’s time to think and see global.

No room for complacency continues to be my motto as we head into the 2014-15 avocado season. We’re about to have our abilities and our strength as an industry really tested. Our large crop means that the potential for the season ahead is substantial. But to really make it a success, our planning, discipline and commitment as an industry needs to be greater than ever. Any distraction could have serious consequences. Three factors are at the heart of our recipe for success: excellent crop flow management; clever orchard management to ensure all-market access fruit; and an outward focus as we’re compelled to look beyond Australia for markets hungry for our product. It’s time to think and see global. Replicating the strong crop flow management of last season so that fruit quality is at its peak upon delivery will require commitment from us all. This, along with exporters’ ability to tantalise markets beyond Australia to consume our volumes will be the only way we can maintain and build on values. Hopefully you’ve all been following technical advice to ensure your orchards are producing all-market access fruit. We need this to be at the heart of everything you do throughout the season, so that fruit is available for the farthest flung places, all of the time. I’ve just returned from Australia, where the Western Australian avocados are large in quantity and large in size. With their August to February season directly in the path of our New Zealand export opportunities, we need to understand that any peaks in supply from New Zealand will be met with resistance and would put our market value at risk. Our relationship with Australia and delivering our fruit there in a timely and controlled manner will require special attention if we’re to maintain value in the market.

It’s critical that growers work with exporters and question how their flow plan is going. We rely on you as growers to communicate with us about this. It’s also vital that exporters monitor the flow plan of fruit leaving the country on a weekly basis. Our relationships with export markets of the USA and Japan will be more important than ever due to the limitations of the Australian scene. Again, attention to good crop flow will be vital to ensure fruit age is controlled. Opportunities in the US market look good, however the exchange rate continues to cause frustration. There are early indications of increased demand in Japan, however they prefer a smaller fruit size. Such pressures will be managed by relationships that the exporters have built with these markets over time.

“Our planning, discipline and commitment as an industry needs to be greater

There are safety valves in place, which are needed as a precaution during such a challenging season. Exporters and growers alike need to know that AVEC will be monitoring flow plans closely throughout the season.

than ever”

Exporters will need to think careful about their shipping decisions – we all have to work through the same gateways, so the more harmony and spirit of collaboration we can share and portray, the better. Building on the $136 million value from the record 2013-14 season is the aim and with your help, collaboration, passion and focus we can do this. We also have the very encouraging support for long-term global growth afforded by the recent granting of a Primary Growth Partnership. It’s a vote of confidence of which the industry should feel proud. The journey starts here and now.

Avoscene July 2014

We know Avocados... We know you will be busy nurturing your avocados ready for the season ahead... Just so you are aware, our 2014/15 season Grower Proposals & Contracts are now available so if you haven’t received your yet, contact us for a copy. We’ve made a few changes to how we do things you might well be interested in. Meantime, we’ll keep busy preparing the markets and customers for what looks to be a record crop! Ofﬁce 549-3027 | Greg O’Carroll (027)268-0374 | Mike Schwed (027) 839-7883 10 l(07) Avoscene July 2014

By Daniel Birnie, NZAPF Executive member

Comment

Outside the Box daniel@trevelyan.co.nz

Meet Alan and Amanda Dream, the perfect avocado growers…

I would like to introduce you to Alan and Amanda Dream. They are a couple of avocado growers in Te Puke. They planted their orchard 12 years ago. It is 10 hectares of avocados in prime land in Te Puke. From the beginning they have been working with an avocado consultant. Their production history during the past three seasons has been 18 tonne/ha, 20 tonne/ha, and 22 tonne/ha. This coming season our crop estimate is for 24 tonne/ha. Their average OGR during the past five years is $85,000 per ha. The Dreams subscribe fiercely to the AvoGreen philosophy and spray only in response to pest finds. Their pack-outs are around 95 percent export every year. Their spray diary is updated the night after spraying so the packhouse can check it. They are very conscious of withholding periods and make sure their fruit has all market access. They look forward to their annual NZGAP audit with relish and usually bake a carrot cake (with cream cheese icing) for when the auditor turns up. They use a contractor to pick their fruit, who is also lucky enough to enjoy the benefits of Alan Dream’s cooking (Alan does most of the cooking – they are quite a ‘new age’ couple). Whenever they pick, they notify the packhouse the morning of picking to let them know. They then text in at 6pm how many bins they have harvested during the day. When we are packing their fruit, we call them to let them know, and they enjoy coming into the packhouse to watch, and offer staff insights into how they run their orchard. They prune their orchard every year, and have a variety of different methods and trials taking place. They work closely with the AIC and Plant and Food Research when doing these trials.

Alan Dream is very supportive of the industry and enjoys attending field days and industry meetings. He has been involved in the industry by being an AGA rep. Amanda is on the local council board promoting horticultural interests. Alan and Amanda enjoy holidaying overseas but invariably the sojourns are to countries such as Australia, Japan and South East Asia where they often investigate how the avocados are both grown and marketed. They share their findings with the exporter, packhouse and other growers. Obviously Alan and Amanda are very conscientious growers who enjoy the industry. Amanda also enjoys trout fishing at Lake Rotoiti, and often brings in a nice smoked brown trout for the team in the packhouse to indulge for morning tea. However, their best asset is their launch moored at Tauranga Bridge Marina, which they take the avocado manager out for a day’s fishing twice a year! If you hadn’t guessed, Alan and Amanda are entirely fictitious. But every post harvest operation would enjoy having these guys as growers, I am sure. And not only that, the entire supply chain would benefit – most of all growers themselves.

Avoscene July 2014

Comment

New Zealand Market Glen Dunseath, Business & Marketing Manager, Zeafruit

glen@zeafruit.co.nz

The local market category value reached $33 million but the season ahead is a big one and a reminder that we need to stay focused.

With the 2013-14 season at a close and the start of the 2014-15 season underway, there is never much time to reflect, but I’d like to take the opportunity to do so in this report. The work being done locally between growers, marketers, industry groups, retailers and consumers is showing positive results. The New Zealand market category value has risen significantly and this season topped $33 million overall value. I have listed volumes and values below for you to view. 2010-11: $21.78 million - highest category value on record at the time (1.034 million trays) 2011-12: $19.03 million (1.774 million trays) 2012-13: $28.72 million (1.191 million trays) 2013-14: $33.0 million (1.28 million trays) “We know the New Zealand market can generate value; we need to be proactive and quality focused”

Avoscene July 2014

These are great results and something to be satisfied with. The category value under the Primary Growth Partnership plan is for a local market pushing $70 million. Growth numbers such as these are important steps to achieving that goal. Whilst positive about the results above, the 2014-15 season will be a significant test in the development of the New Zealand market. The forecast volume of 1.8 million trays (similar to 2010-11 volumes) will test the industry’s ability to maintain similar or increased value in the category, whilst moving fruit through the system to meet incoming supply.

The challenge for the season is a big one and it is important that we do not allow the season to drift - we need to stay focused on key local market activities. Promotional activity, ripening, crop flow planning and pricing will be important areas to address this year. We need to be proactive and quality focused. Some of the points above are a hard sell to growers and customers, however an open and direct discussion is required to make the calls that will benefit the wider industry. Likewise, regular local market communication around forecasting will be vital to ensure we see what is ahead of us and can plan accordingly. Ongoing industry discussions regarding what sizes we should pack will be looked at once export packing starts. Initial comment has raised concerns about asking growers to limit the harvest of 32 to 36ct sized fruit; however we will need to see what position the local market is in and how decisions such as this will impact growers and marketers. Our target is simple: we know the New Zealand market can generate value; the challenge is to take the volume forecast for this season and turn it into value that exceeds what we have achieved in the 2013-14 season. This season will be a significant test in the development of the New Zealand market… we need to be proactive and quality focused.

Martin Munro, Chairman, NZOAG Inc.

Comment

Certifiably Organic martin.jane.munro@gmail.com

Organics growers agree NZOAG is delivering and steering a good path for the future.

There was a strong turnout for the New Zealand Organic Avocado Growers Inc. AGM and field day at Pottsbury Farm.

Our recent New Zealand Organic Avocado Growers Inc. annual general meeting and combined field day saw a large turnout of attendees, including society members and interested conventional growers looking for a better way of growing avocados. The weather gods shone and the Pottsbury Farm venue created a background of serenity for the 3 May 2014 event. NZOAG thanks its existing members for their continued support and extends a warm welcome to

the new people who joined us on the day. It was agreed unanimously that the NZOAG Inc is delivering and is steering a good path for the future. Home here at Pear Tree Cottage, I have been addressing my latest soil and leaf test, applying Dolomite and Reactive Rock. Some of my trees have continued to flower and set fruit through the mild winter months with great vigour.

To book advertising space in the next issue of Avoscene please contact Suzy King at SunMedia Ltd. Booking deadline for the next issue is August 15, 2014. Contact Suzy on 07 578 0030 or 021 769 831 email suzy@thesun.co.nz

Avoscene July 2014

News and views from your NZAGA Regional Representatives

Comment

Regional Roundup Tony Ponder - At Large 15.06.14

Many of us dodged a bullet with Cyclone Lusi earlier in the year only to get nailed in the recent storms. Nature’s such a great leveller!

Ultimately, we collectively need to take responsibility and lead by example, encouraging and educating others on best practice.

For all the “good” talk about diligence on the orchard there are just some things we can’t control.

On the subject of value and demand, I was staggered to read recently that New Zealand is now the fourth most obese nation in the OECD with nearly two thirds of our adult population overweight or obese.

Signing the Go Global contract with the Crown last week signalled the start of another chapter in our industry. Much has been spoken of the significance of this initiative and the credits acknowledged, however the true measure of the value to this industry will be defined by how we bring it home with real tangible outcomes and benefits for growers and the wider industry stakeholders. Much work is still to be done and I encourage all to support the industry team; I know they are committed and up for the challenges ahead. After so many positive outcomes on the New Zealand market during the past 12 months it’s disappointing that we continue to hear stories of windfalls and immature fruit entering the supply chain. It’s really quite simple: if we want value at the gate, we have to offer value; good consumer experiences drive the frequency of repeat purchases. And let’s not forget the role and impact of social media bad experiences enter the public domain quickly and the damage to reputation can be far reaching.

The New Zealand Medical Association this week recommended a suite of measures to be considered as part of an approach to tackling our obesity epidemic. The warnings are clear: obesity and its related complications are potentially the greatest public health threat we face over the next decade. With five plus fresh fruit and vegetables a day recommended our industry, as fruit producers, is part of the solution. Our challenge is to develop strategies that counter the persuasive and pervasive food marketing messages of the big budget multinationals channelling cheap, palatable, energy dense food into the minds and mouths of our population.

“We collectively need to take responsibility and lead by example on best practice”

Education as they say unlocks the potential of the young; let’s start a process of change. I for one support nutritional education as part of the mandatory curriculum within schools.

Sue Culham - Mid North 10.06.14

Since writing my last article all growers involved in the Industry Pruning Trials had a final meeting in Tauranga on 4 June and were presented with the Pruning Trial Report.

I would like to thank all the growers who gave up trees (including production) for the three years during the trials.

We discussed the reasoning behind why they were to cease. Alvaro and Phillip covered all aspects and with no scientific outcomes, it really was time to look at other opportunities.

For myself and my orchard, I found these trials to be a good insight into why we prune and also how we prune. It’s the holistic approach to trees. Every orchard that was part of these trials certainly all had different outcomes.

With MBIE and PGP now starting to progress, it is timely that pruning can be carried through, and in time, outcomes achieved.

I look forward to seeing pruning carry on through the MBIE and PGP programmes. I hope that the Mid North region growers who attended these pruning trial days

continued...

Avoscene July 2014

Comment

Regional Roundup came away with data that you also could apply to your own orchards.

“Let’s make sure we get our fruit estimates accurate”

With the Maturity Monitoring Programme well underway for the new season (this information is available on the Industry website) maturity is down on this time last year for the Mid North Region. I can’t emphasise this enough – do not sell your fruit if it is green! We do not want consumers having a bad eating experience; make certain your fruit is at maturity so that we ALL have a great eating experience. The Mid North Region has a good set this coming season and industry is certainly set up with flow plans but we need to ensure that we, as growers, understand the importance of estimating the correct amount of fruit we have on our trees. Be certain your packhouse and exporter have been advised of what your estimates are and when you to plan to harvest. If you do not have that

communication with your marketer, they will be unable to flow your fruit. It’s a big season for the industry, so let’s make sure we get these estimates accurate. Trees with a heavy load will be stressed, so take time to look around your orchard to make sure they are receiving the correct nutrients they require. We held our Discussion Group on Monday 9 June at Glendora Orchards, hosted by Lloyd Thomas. It was a bit soggy underfoot but we managed to get a look in on a couple of blocks and Lloyd discussed what plans they had in place for getting the correct tree spacings and how they were going to achieve this. We had good discussions on industry topics such as GIA, Pruning Trials and general avocado growing. Thanks to the growers who attend; it’s always nice to catch up for a cuppa. If you would like to be part of the discussion groups, please email me sculham@xtra.co.nz

Ashby Whitehead - Bay of Plenty 13.06.14

Weather impact

Copper programme

The Bay of Plenty region has suffered from overwatering this week, with 300mm of rain in the Te Puke region and similar levels for other parts of the region on 11 and 12 June.

I urge growers to keep up their copper programme as winter moisture is a good conveyor of anthracnose. With potentially one million trays for export to the US, our fruit needs all the protection it can get. Growers need to be mindful of the withholding periods for spraying – if in doubt, please refer to your exporter or packer.

The heavy rain was accompanied by strong easterly winds. I’ve received some reports of tree damage and fruit loss as a result of the storm. “Keep up your copper programme as winter moisture is a great conveyor of anthracnose”

Avoscene July 2014

Prior to the heavy rain and wind, some growers were affected by -2 degree Celsius frosts in the region during early May, which also accounted for some fruit loss. Check out the article on frost protection with Lindsay Heard on page 34 for clarity on what you can do to manage frost protection.

Fruit maturity

I encourage growers to keep an eye on their maturity levels as exporters will want to get fruit away as soon as possible. The first shipment is anticipated to arrive in Japan during the first week of September. In talking to exporters, shipping times to the US haven’t got any shorter in duration, and you may be asked to pick around shipping schedules. The industry’s flow planning will be critical. Stay ahead of the game and if in doubt, ask!

Dear Editor,

of Nadia Lim as an ado industry’s use

Comment

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ambassador will pro

ubting that the avoc There can be no do stralia. rkets other than Au our lumes of fruit to ma ns… right here on we move greater vo skills in new directio ’s dia Na e us to e tim r whether it is now growers to conside I would like my fellow . growers to see if we ‘own patch’, Aotearoa ators, teachers and uc ed h alt he le, op al pe some of our medic her to sit down with Perhaps it is time for important ways. a few new and very ing on TV. We for healthy eating in on ssi pa r he lise uti ado Smoothie featur can t have Nadia’s Avoc no do we , res gu ﬁ g obesity that, with our shockin New Zealanders? It dumbfounds me dia to tell this to all , so why not get Na gs vin cra er ng hu r tisfy ou know avocados sa ter. rs, respond to my let er] Please fellow growe r? Sid Turnbull [Grow NCE. Can we delive OR and the AUDIE AD SS BA AM the UCT, ti. We have the PROD Tanners Point, Katika

Dear Sid Thank you for your letter. Isn’t Nadia great! She is certainly passionate abou t avocados and their health benefits – and comb ined with her experience as a dietitian and celebrated chef and author, she is a great fit as ambassador for our industry. In an inter view with Marcus Lush on RadioLive last month Nadia told listeners she was “obsessed with avocados” and that she hopes she can stay in the Avocado Amb assador role “forever!” As you suggest, we would certainly like to conti nue the relationship we have with Nadia in our future promotions, both here and overseas. Nadia is on our radar to be involved in the New Zealand category story campaign we’re launching for the New Zealand market. New Zealand Avocados – Amazing Anytime will build on the health, nutrition and versatility of avocados. New Zealand Avocados – Amazing Anytime refers to the amazing nutritional qualities and health bene fits of avocados, alongside their versatility, specifically the uniqu e ability of avocados to naturally fit in at any meal time - breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner and dessert. This theme will underpin our avocado promotion s campaigns in the New Zealand market durin g the next two to four years and will be the core essence of any messaging developed for New Zealand consumers . This activity has been enabled by Primary Growth Partnership funding. Whether this campaign will include television adver tising is yet to be decided. We have a story about the New Zealand Avocados – Amazing Anytime campaign on page 38 of this issue. NZ Avocado was fortunate to have Nadia reinf orce the health, nutritional and versatility mess ages at the PMA Fresh Connections Conference (and give away samp les of her tasty Avocado Smoothie and other yumm y dishes), and she will potentially do so in other NZ Avocado prom otions and major food events for us. We feature new health research out about Hass avocado on page 52. I endorse your suggestion for other growers to also share their views on our products, our Amb assador and our audience. Kind regards, Jen Scoular NZ Avocado

Avoscene July 2014

Newsroom

New Zealand avocados achieve record sales for 2013-14 season

“Collaboration across the industry has allowed us to start addressing and resolving issues that had previously held us back”

New Zealand’s avocado industry announced on 9 June that it has more than doubled its sales from last season to $136m, setting new records in both export and New Zealand markets. This stunning return eclipses the previous sales record of $84.1m set in 2009-10 and is far in excess of the $60.4m worth of avocados sold last year. Jen Scoular, chief executive of NZ Avocado, says this season’s success is due to a number of reasons including initiatives which are transforming the industry into a more cohesive and competitive sector. The Australian and New Zealand markets have performed very well, and discipline by the market players to match supply and demand has played a big part in that. “Our focus during the last 12 months has been to promote far more collaboration across the avocado industry – with growers, packers, New Zealand marketers, exporters and those supporting our industry. This has allowed us to start addressing and resolving issues that have previously held us back,” Jen says. The season has seen the successful amalgamation of

Avoscene July 2014

the two largest exporters into one exporting group to Australia, New Zealand’s largest market, and the continued collaboration of three exporters under one brand into Asia. In April, the Avocado Industry Council secured a Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme with the Ministry for Primary Industries to significantly increase productivity and capability, to increase sales to $280m by 2023. The five-year programme, New Zealand Avocados Go Global, will leverage the growing demand in New Zealand and in Asia for premium, safe and healthy produce. “There’s a world-wide trend towards eating fresh, healthy food and the nutritional benefits of eating avocados are now widely recognised and understood by consumers. This presents us with a fantastic opportunity to capitalise on this season’s sales growth going forward.” Jen says irregular bearing remains a major challenge to being able to guarantee a consistent supply of avocados from year-to-year.

This season’s $135.9m return comprises 4.9m 5.5kg trays of avocados; $102.9m worth were exported, while $33m worth were sold in New Zealand. Last year a total of 2.6 million trays were produced, totalling $31.7m worth of exports, and $28.7m of local sales. Jen says this season’s record results also reflect the increased promotional and market development activities to raise visibilities for the amazing attributes of avocados, and to drive consumption. “Nadia Lim, the New Zealand Avocado ambassador, has

Newsroom

This is being addressed with research being undertaken collaboratively between NZ Avocado, Plant & Food Research, industry experts and growers.

been a great asset in raising the profile of avocados both here at home and overseas.” Ashby Whitehead, chair of New Zealand Avocado Growers Association and AIC Ltd, says continued collaboration across all sectors of the New Zealand avocado industry, plus discussions and partnerships with Government, scientists and experts from other horticultural fields will help push industry growth going forward. “The industry has never been in a better position. We are identifying opportunities, prioritising markets and addressing obstacles on a path to becoming a high value, sustainable horticulture industry delivering real returns to New Zealand,” says Ashby.

Industry Matters AGM Reminder A reminder that the NZAGA and AIC Annual General Meeting will be held on 20 August 2014 at the Copthorne Hotel in Paihia. An AGM pack, remit information and annual report will be posted to NZAGA members the week of 14 July 2014. The pack will also include a call for items of general business for the AGM. Executive Committee and Board Members to return unopposed Three nominations were received for the three vacancies on the NZAGA Executive Committee and the AIC Board. As a result, there will be no ballot and Sue Calham (Mid North), Tony Ponder (At Large) and John Schneckenberg (At Large) will return unopposed at the 2014 AGM. Nominations closed on 30 May 2014. Horticulture Needs More Trained Workers A ‘People Powered’ report released by the Ministry for Primary Industries in June showed that by 2025 the horticulture industry will need: • A net increase of 7,800 workers • 14,900 more workers with qualifications • 7,100 fewer workers with no qualifications • An additional 26,300 trained workers to cover natural attrition. HortNZ says it will continue to work with other horticulture industry groups, education and training providers and Government to meet the demand for trained workers.

NZAGA and AIC Board meetings 13 August 2014, 9 October 2014 27 November 2014

Avoscene July 2014

Newsroom China Trade Mark for Avocados

Newsroom

New Zealand Avocado has received trade mark registration for its Assured and AvoGreen branded avocados in China. New Zealand Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular said the trade mark was an important first step in the process of gaining access

into the important future market for the industry. New Zealand avocados are top of New Zealand’s list of horticulture products for access to China but it could be two to three years for China to grant New Zealand avocados phytosanitary access.

PGP – it’s official

Pictured, from left, New Zealand Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular,Tony Ponder, AshbyWhitehead and New Zealand Avocado industry systems manager Glenys Parton.

There were smiles all around on 11 June when AIC chair Ashby Whitehead and board member Tony Ponder signed the contract for the avocado industry’s Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) with the Ministry for Primary Industries. The five-year Go Global programme will increase the productivity and capability within the avocado industry to deliver significant additional returns for New Zealand.

Have you completed your Export Registration? Export registrations for 2014-15 are open. You must be registered for export prior to your fruit being harvested.

For the 2015-16 season, growers will be required

The Export Registration fee for 2014 is $150 +

To help make this easier, NZ Avocado will have

GST for registrations before 15 August 2014. Registrations received after 15 August 2014 will be $350 + GST. You can register on the NZ Avocado industry website. If you are a new grower who is interested in exporting, please contact your packhouse or NZ Avocado for more information about export registration.

Avoscene July 2014

Export Registration.

instructional videos on how to install Google Earth and how to GPS map your orchard at no cost. We will let you know when these are available on the industry website. If you already have a GPS map of your orchard then please email it to info@nzavocado.co.nz (preferably in KML format). We’ll be running a competition for

Export registration information is used to estimate

growers who submit their GPS maps to us – look

the size of the crop for the coming season. Accurate

out for more information in future AvoConnect

crop estimates enable good marketing, which leads to

e-newsletters.

increased grower returns.

to submit a GPS map of their orchard(s) with their

BOP Young Fruit Grower of the Year

Newsroom

Congratulations to kiwifruit and avocado grower Patrick Malley from Whangarei, who is the 2014 BOP Young Fruit Grower of the Year. He will go on to compete for the Young Grower of the Year Competition in Christchurch in August. Patrick is pictured completing the New Zealand Avocado tree planting component of the competition. Thanks to Anthol Campbell from Riversun Nursery and AIC Board member John Schnackenberg for judging the NZ Avocado part of the competition. Special thanks also to Opihi Nursery, Lynwood Avocado Orchard, The Pallet Company and Daltons for their support.

Recommended Reading

Grower Forums

Do you have phytopthora or are your trees just suffocating?

Register now for next month’s Grower Forums, featuring guest speakers and workshops on topics from across the supply chain. The grower forums are free for NZAGA and AIC members. Attendance costs $65 for non-members. To register, call 0800 AVOCADO or email jnunn@nzavocado.co.nz

Tree decline is a problem for avocado growers the world over but phytopthora isn’t the only cause. Roots need air to remain healthy and unhealthy roots invariably lead to an unhealthy tree. Excessive amounts of water in the soil through either excessive rain, over irrigation or insufficient drainage, can exclude air from the soil that the roots need. Root asphyxia and Irrigation Management in Avocado Orchards by Ferreya et al (2010) looks at how soil types and irrigation strategies influence soil air capacity and the impacts this has on trees. While it has plenty of technical detail to keep the train spotters happy, it also has useful photos of some of the symptoms of root asphyxiation to look out for. The paper also has suggestions about how irrigation strategies can be altered to manage soil aeration. To read the report, either do a google search of the article title, “Root Asphyxia and Irrigation Management in Avocado Orchards” or email phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz and he’ll send you the link.

Grower Forum Northland

20 August 2014 11am to 4:15pm Waitahi Room, Copthorne Hotel Paihia Grower Forum Bay of Plenty

28 August 2014* Club Mount Maunganui, 45 Kawaka Street, Mount Maunganui *Please note change of date Tree Decline and Monitoring Protocols Workshop

21 July 2014 Far North, venue TBC Grower Field Day: Timing and Severity of Pruning

29 September 2014 Don Grayling’s Orchard, 247 Matahui Road, RD4, Katikati

Avoscene July 2014

Avocado news from the world Australia

Chance of avocado glut, as bumper crop forecast

Newsroom

Australia will produce its largest avocado crop this year, with a forecast 65,000 tonnes to be harvested. Avocados Australia chief executive officer John Tyas says the local industry has been growing steadily for a number of years. “Western Australia, in particular, is a fairly new part of the industry that’s really come online this year, and combined with most regions that have a good crop, that’s what’s resulted in that number,” he said. But New Zealand is also expecting a bumper crop this year, with its fruit likely to arrive in the market here late

July to early August. Mr Tyas says that could lead to a glut of the fruit. “These days there’s some good market information out there,” he said. “I think the industry generally has got an understanding of what’s coming into the market and when and hopefully they can plan to their supplies to make sure that we minimise those big gluts. “Gluts aren’t good for prices, but they’re also not good for quality when you’ve got old fruit building up in the chain.” Source: www.abc.net.au

Progress with market access to Thailand An Avocados Australia Limited delegation met with the Thailand Department of Agriculture (DOA) in Bangkok to progress the request for a revised (workable) protocol for Australian avocados to Thailand. A new protocol was introduced in July last year by the DOA, but is not commercially feasible. AAL has been working with the Australian Government to negotiate an alternative protocol with the preference being for recognition that avocados are a conditional non-host of fruit fly. The delegation, led by AAL CEO John Tyas, included AAL director Daryl Boardman,

representatives from the Australian government and key industry exporters. The meeting was very successful with potential alternative protocols discussed in detail. AAL is now working with the Australian Government to ensure prompt follow up to provide additional information to the Thailand DOA. The meeting has certainly helped to progress our application but further negotiation will be required before we have agreement on a final protocol that will enable trade to recommence. Source: www.avocado.org.au

New era for Global Fresh Global Fresh has appointed experienced produce executive Ben Bartlett to lead its recently established Australian company Global Fresh Australia Pty Ltd. Ben joins Global Fresh from Countdown Supermarkets where he was National Category Manager Fruit. Prior to that, he had 16-year career with MG Marketing in various roles.

Avoscene July 2014

Global Fresh Managing Director Andrew Darling said Ben, who is based in Melbourne, will oversee the development of the new Australian business operations, marketing initiatives and provide in-market account management for retail programmes.

Mexican exporters hoping to finalise tariff- ee agreement

President of Mexico’s National Agriculture Council, Benjamin Grayeb, said the growing Chinese market with a population of more than 1.3bn was appealing to

Mexican producers. “If every person in China eats just one avocado a year, they could consume practically our entire annual harvest,” he said. Along with focusing on expanding avocado production, Grayeb said there is a focus on promotional campaigns in China to inform consumers on ways to prepare and eat the Mexican fruit in an effort to grow its appeal.

Source: www.fruitnet.com

New GAP module helps growers evaluate food safety practices California avocado growers are being encouraged to provide proof of responsible practices and getting food safety certified as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). FSMA was put into place because of outbreaks of foodborne illness caused by other produce crops. Although FSMA has not yet been finalised, retailers are already increasing food safety certification requirements from producers because of consumers’ growing interest in food traceability and safety initiatives. Because of this increasing pressure from consumers and retailers, and in anticipation of FSMA’s more stringent food-safety mandates, producers will soon need to verify and document the safety of every facet of produce

Newsroom

Negotiations by the Mexican government and local producers to abolish the 30 per cent tariff on Mexican avocado shipments entering China should be finalised by the end of this year.

Mexico

USA

supply chain operations and the food they produce. While GAP and GHP certification are currently voluntary, the Commission is committed to providing California avocado growers with the tools and information they need to minimize food safety risks and become certified in advance of FSMA mandates. To that end, the Commission has launched a GAP Food Safety e-learning module that provides California avocado growers with an introduction to food safety practices and assists growers in evaluating food safety practices in order to facilitate compliance with GAP audits and standards. Source: www.californiaavocadogrowers.com

Double digit, chart topping growth Latest reports from HAB show avocados are achieving record breaking sales in the US . The popularity of avocados in the US continues to rise with record breaking sales growth during the past year. Latest reports from the Hass Avocado Board (HAB) show that avocado category growth has continued to accelerate above the three-year average for the 52 weeks ending 23 March 2014, and growth continues to exceed long term trends by nearly 20 percent. Avocado have also moved up the ranks, coming in at

number two with a 19 percent growth increase for the 13 weeks ending 23 March 2014. The superfruit outpaced tangerines, berries and melons, and total fruit. Pineapple took the number one spot with 24 percent growth rate for the same period Avocados rank sixth in total dollars and continue to show strong growth. NZ Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular said the growth in the US highlights the potential opportunities for New Zealand avocados.

Source: www.hassavocadoboard.com/retail

Avoscene July 2014

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Avoscene July 2014

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N U T R I O L O G Y *

*the science of growing

Tools to control fruit rot

coming back to bite

By K.R. Everett, The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited

Fruit rot can start as an invisible problem but have the potential to cause serious marketplace issues. Research shows there are several tools growers can use to control fruit rot.

On the Orchard

Avocado fruit rots start life as an invisible problem. When fruit are harvested, they look perfect, apart from a few external injuries such as leaf roller damage or wind rub that are easily graded out. After fruit are graded at the packhouse, they look even more perfect. New Zealand avocados freshly packed into boxes ready for export are exceptionally fine looking fruit. However, it is a different story if you are a receiver, a retailer or a consumer. Fruit quality in the Australian marketplace was surveyed in the 1990s by Scott Ledger (Ledger et al. 1993; Ledger & Barker 1995). The hypothesis was that New Zealand avocados were of inferior quality to Australian avocados. This hypothesis was disproven, and it was shown that the quality of New Zealand and Australian avocados in the marketplace was the same. However, the results of the survey were sobering. The average Australian consumer bought three avocados if they wanted to ensure that the quality of one was good enough for a dinner party. Half of avocado purchasers were not repeat purchasers because of the poor quality they experienced. The first statistic was good news for avocado growers, the second was not. New Zealand avocados had very severe problems with

fruit rots in the marketplace during the late 1990s, in both the USA and Australia. This problem was so serious that the US marketers told the New Zealand industry: three â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;strikesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and you are out. In other words, if the New Zealand industry did not fix the quality issues that had been severe for two seasons, the market would be closed to any future exports. The good news was that these problems in the marketplace were fixed. But how was it done? Research on postharvest fruit rots was galvanised by the industry. This resulted in a three-year interactive orchard rot survey which, over the three years, resulted in the improvement of the quality of the fruit of the participating growers from an average of 48% (that means for every 100 fruit tested, 48 had fruit rots) to 27%. This was a reduction in rots of almost 50%. The survey showed that to achieve this improvement, growers needed to spray copper fungicides at least eight times during the season, maintain a fruit calcium/ magnesium+potassium ratio of 0.65 or higher, and that canopy management and irrigation were also important (Everett et al. 2007). These survey results were later confirmed in replicated trials on grower orchards

Continued

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(Everett et al. 2005; Everett et al. 2008a; Everett et al. 2008b; Everett et al. 2011). A chapter on how to manage nutrition well was written for the Avocado Growers’ Manual (Anonymous 2000a), as well as a revised chapter on how to understand and control fruit rots (Everett & Pak 2001).

On the Orchard

At the “Quest for Quality” New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Association annual conference held in Rydges Hotel, Rotorua, 14-16 September 2000 , workshops were organised with specialists who instructed growers on how to apply nutrients to their trees (Sher 2000; Waites 2000), supported by a scientific talk proving that this were necessary to control rots (Everett 2000). At this time 95% of the 413 orchards that had submitted samples for nutrient analysis to Phosyn were deficient in calcium (Waites 2000). During that time, the avocado industry examined the logistics of delivering fruit to the marketplace. It was well known that there were problems. The fruit could take three days to be harvested and a further three days to be packed followed by a 3-5 day wait for a ship, a 5-day sailing to Australia, and a three day wait at the port. By the time of arrival at the supermarket from the wholesaler, the fruit could have been up to 35 days or even longer, after harvest. At the same time, postharvest experiments in New Zealand showed that the maximum storage life of New Zealand avocados was 28 days. Improvements to the logistics were written into the avocado export management strategy and as a USA Best Practice Manual (Anonymous 2000b). So the problem was resolved and growers tended to forget what a serious issue rots could be in the marketplace, and focused on other serious problems, the most serious being alternate bearing. It is difficult to maintain an income when trees do not produce any fruit. Reduction in income necessitated a reduction in costs for the orchard to remain viable, and inputs on the orchard such as copper fungicides

Avoscene July 2014

and nutrients declined. As part of developing an avocado rot prediction tool, fruit from 31 orchards were tested for rots during the 2012/13 season (Everett et al. 2013). Using the same methodology that was used for the orchard rot surveys, it was disappointing to find that 49% of the fruit tested were affected by rots. That showed that the quality of New Zealand avocados had reverted to that which had caused such severe problems in the marketplace in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The results of these latest trials showed that of 14 participating growers in the Bay of Plenty, two were applying no fungicides at all, a further four growers were applying one to three fungicides per season, and another two growers were applying five to six fungicides. Of the 14 Bay of Plenty growers, only six growers were applying the recommended number of fungicides. Half the eight participating Far North growers were applying the correct number of fungicides, but only one out of seven Whangarei growers was applying enough copper fungicides. The results of several experiments have demonstrated that if fewer than eight fungicides are applied per season, the incidence of rots in fruit is higher than if there are no fungicide applications at all. This is probably because too few applications of copper may kill copper-sensitive microorganisms that compete with the rot fungi on fruit surfaces, but not affect the rot fungi themselves. The take-home message is that worrying trends in fruit quality were identified during the 2012/13 season. Growers have either forgotten how important it is to apply coppers, are opposed to applying copper fungicides on their orchards because of environmental concerns, or cannot afford to apply copper fungicides to their fruit. This has resulted in a decline in fruit quality that has the potential to cause serious marketplace issues.

How to fix avocado fruit rots Research on avocado fruit rots during the past few decades has delivered several tools that growers can use to control rots. The first two tools are the most effective. 1. Use fungicides The first and most important tool is to apply at least eight copper fungicides per season.

by strengthening the plant cell walls so that they are harder for the fungi to penetrate. There is a threshold beyond which applying more calcium does not further improve fruit quality. It is important that the amounts of potassium and magnesium are also correct, as these compounds compete with calcium for transport into the cells. Details of how to apply nutrients are in the Avocado Growersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Manual. On the Orchard

Figure 1.The relationship between the mean number of spray applications per season (14 months from November to January) and mean incidence of avocado body rots and stem-end rots (n=100 fruit per orchard). Means are derived from the same eight New Zealand orchards sampled in January each year for 3 years.

Please note that the application of six or seven fungicides resulted in more body rots than when no fungicides at all were applied (Figure 1). Further details of how to apply sprays effectively are in the Avocado Growersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Manual. 2. Apply calcium to your trees There is strong evidence that the correct amount of calcium protects the fruit from rots (Figure 2), probably

Figure 2. Relationship between calcium+ magnesium/potassium (Ca+Mg/K) and mean severity of body rots for the 21 New Zealand avocado orchards sampled in 2000.The dotted line indicates an arbitrary quantity of calcium above which there is no further decrease in mean severity of body rots.

3. Cultural control The other tools that have been shown to reduce rots are more labour intensive, require more capital expenditure, and the evidence that they are effective is not as strong. The orchard rot survey identified three factors that

Continued

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On the Orchard

Figure 3. Relationship between avocado body rots, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K) content (expressed as log10Ca+Mg/K), number of months in which sprays were applied, and a canopy index.

influenced body rot incidence: canopy management, fungicide applications, and nutrition (Figure 3). In addition, the average rainfall for 20 days before sampling was related to calcium content of the fruit, as was temperature (Figure 4). It was hypothesised that when it was sunny, the temperatures were warmer, and when warm temperatures were combined with an abundance of water, more calcium was drawn up through the roots and into the fruit than when there was less water and cooler temperatures. Stem-end rots were more common on fruit from trees that were infected by Phytophthora root rot (Figure 5), and

Figure 4. Relationships between avocado body rots and calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K) content (expressed as (Ca+Mg)/K), rainfall and temperature.

Figure 5. Effect of infection of avocado trees with Phytophthora root rot on incidence of stemend rots and total rots in fruit. Horizontal lines are mean values; vertical lines are standard errors of the mean.

Avoscene July 2014

thus if root rot is controlled, fruit quality should be improved. A replicated trial was set up to combine these factors to test if there was an improvement of fruit quality (Everett et al. 2008b). In this trial, trees were irrigated and injected with phosphorous acid to maintain root health, dead branches were removed from the canopy and the skirt was raised (Figure 6), and calcium was

applied under trees. The experiment was conducted on two sites, one on an established orchard with older trees (c. 10 years old) in Whangarei, and the other on a new orchard with younger trees (c. 5 years old) in the Bay of Plenty.

Table 1. Effect of various on-orchard treatments on avocado rots showing results of multifactorial regression analysis.

Orchard and year Factors Nutrition

Whangarei 2008 Whangarei 2009 Bay of Plenty 2009 0.002

n.s.

Root health

0.03

<0.0001

n.s.

Canopy

n.s.

0.03

On the Orchard

0.051.

n.s. = not significant 1. Probability (P) that these factors had an effect on reducing avocado rots. A P-value â&#x2030;¤0.05 is considered statistically significant.

A conscientious orchardist should be implementing good nutrition as a matter of course, but these studies have provided evidence that irrigating trees and improving root health, as well as good canopy management, can also improve fruit quality. Avocado Rot Prediction Research conducted since these studies were completed has focused on delivering a tool that can be used to determine the rot risk of fruit from an individual orchard by using a DNA leaf analysis.

Figure 6.The avocado tree at the top has not been treated; the tree above has had the skirt removed to a height of approximately 1m and dead branches trimmed inside the canopy.

The results of this experiment confirmed that by combining these measures, fruit quality was improved (Table 1). However, canopy management was effective only on the younger trees, probably because it was easier to remove all the dead wood from these trees. The effects of nutrition and root health were not significant on the younger trees, possibly because it was a new orchard, and calcium may not have been a limiting factor in this soil.

Some orchards have less rot potential than others, and may not need eight copper applications to maintain good fruit quality. At the moment those orchards cannot easily be identified, which means that the recommendation for all orchards to apply at least eight fungicides per season to maintain good fruit quality should be observed. The results of the 2012/13 orchard rot prediction study were presented at the 5th New Zealand and Australian Avocado Growersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Conference in Tauranga in 2013 (Everett et al. 2013). Leaves were sampled from 31 orchards from the three main avocado-growing regions: Far North, Whangarei and Bay of Plenty. From the results of DNA tests on these leaves, it was possible to predict the incidence of rots in fruit harvested from these same orchards 1-2 months later for Whangarei and the Bay of Plenty (Figure 7), but not for the Far North.

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On the Orchard

After the removal of an outlier value of rot incidence from the Whangarei data, the predicted values from the DNA leaf test explained 82% of the variation in the fruit rot data. It was found that spray diary data also needed to be considered in the analysis for the Bay of Plenty, and two outlier values of rot incidence were removed, after which that relationship also was almost 80%. Although this prediction method is not perfect it does show potential. Figure 7. Below. Actual against predicted percentage avocado fruit rots for the Bay of Plenty Region.Two outlier values were removed from the analysis. Bottom. Actual against predicted percentage avocado fruit rots for the Whangarei Region. One outlier value was removed from the analysis.

The Avocado Industry Council is providing access to the industry library tray information for the 2012/13 season so that these data can be compared with the results of the fruit testing that was conducted under strict experimental conditions as part of the avocado rot prediction study. If the two data sets are related, this will provide an opportunity for larger-scale testing of the avocado rot prediction system. A decision can then be made whether to evaluate the system further under commercial conditions, before any full roll-out is considered. Reference list Anonymous 2000a. Avocado Nutrition. In: Cutting JGM ed. New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Association Growers’ Manual.Tauranga, AgriQuality New Zealand. Pp. 1-8. Anonymous 2000b. USA Best Practice Manual.Tauranga, New Zealand Avocado Industry Council Limited. Everett KR 2000. Post Harvest Rot Control. New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Association Conference 2000 “Quest for Quality”, Rotorua. Pp. 1-4. Everett KR, Boyd LM, Pak HA, Cutting JGM 2007. Calcium, fungicide sprays and canopy density influence postharvest rots of avocado. Australasian Plant Pathology 36(1): 22-31. Everett KR, Owen SG, Cutting JGM 2005.Testing Efficacy Of Fungicides Against Postharvest Rot Pathogens Of Avocado (Persea americana cv. Hass). New Zealand Plant Protection 58: 89-95. Everett KR, Pak HA 2001. Diseases. In: Cutting JGM ed. New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Association Growers’ Manual.Tauranga, AgriQuality New Zealand. Pp. 1-8. Everett KR, Pak HA, Pushparajah IPS,Taylor JT, Astill MS, King DB, Chee AA 2011. Field evaluation of fungicides to control postharvest rots of avocados in New Zealand. New Zealand Plant Protection 64: 112-118. Everett KR, Pushparajah IPS, Rees-George J 2013.Validation of avocado rot prediction. prepared for New Zealand Avocado Industry Council. Contract No. 29475. SPTS No. 8460. Everett KR, Pushparajah IPS,Timudo-Torrevilla OE, Manning MA 2008a. Orchard treatments other than spray application of fungicides that reduce postharvest rots of avocado. New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Association Annual Research Report 8: 93-98. Everett KR,Timudo-Torrevilla OE, Hill GN, Dawson TE 2008b. Field testing alternatives to copper for controlling avocado fruit rots. New Zealand Plant Protection 61: 65-69. Ledger S, Campbell T, Banks A, Atkinson I, Kernot I, Fullelove G 1993. Internal quality of avocados in retail shops. 23 p. Ledger SN, Barker LR 1995. Black avocados- the inside story. Australian Avocado Growers’ federation Conference 95 ‘The Way Ahead’, Freemantle. Department of Agriculture,Western Australia. Pp. 71-77. Sher DJ 2000. Soil Solution Calcium: A prescription for improved fruit quality. New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Association Conference 2000 “Quest for Quality”, Rotorua. Pp. 1-3. Waites M 2000. Nutrient trends in New Zealand Avocados. New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Association Conference 2000 “Quest for Quality”, Rotorua. Pp. 1-4.

Avoscene July 2014

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Avoscene July 2014

Frosty business By Hamish Carter, Journalist, SunMedia hamish@thesun.co.nz

On the Orchard

Frost protection safeguards growers’ investment and can provide a permanent insurance system. Horticulture consultant Lindsay Heard shares his approach to preventing frost damage.

Ice melts as the temperature warms following a frost.The overhead sprinklers on this Katikati block are triggered at 2°C and continue until temperature has reached 3°C.When water from sprinklers freezes it releases latent heat in the tree, helping keep its temperature from dropping to the point where damage occurs.

As a grower, risk comes in various forms, but the trick in minimising possible losses generally comes down to assessing whether it’s worth the cost. Katikati horticulture consultant Lindsay Heard knows that like all business people, growers don’t want to spend money where it’s not going to pay off. It’s a natural instinct, but sometimes the decision to avoid tackling frost protection – because you haven’t suffered a couple of recent frost events – is a costly one.

Avoscene July 2014

“Each block has to be assessed for the best recommendations,” says Lindsay, who has drawn his own general conclusions from experience. While it’s difficult to give firm figures on how it improves productivity, he says there’s no doubt it safeguards growers’ investment by helping protect the current and next season’s crops.

“I always recommend growers look at a water system if they’ve got access to a good water source,” says Lindsay, who has seen it pay off for many, particularly in the more frost-prone area around north Katikati.

In the same way that early frosts in the Bay of Plenty in late May took many growers by surprise this year, Lindsay predicts more surprises as climate change is felt with more extreme weather.

While the cost – which he puts at $10,000 per hectare excluding water costs – may put some off, he says once setup, growers have a permanent ‘insurance’ system in place.

“Any of these extreme weather events – whether it’s high rainfall periods or very dry, low rainfall summers, low temperature events or frosts – can result in high production losses of 10 to 50 per cent. We have to manage for unexpected weather events.”

Like everyone involved in horticulture, Lindsay knows there are no promises with frost control – but is

encouraging growers to put more focus on the issue.

Lindsay, who is part of New Zealand Avocado’s technical

working group providing advice on research projects, has worked in consulting in the Katikati region for more than 20 years – originally with Fruitfed Supplies, then his own firm Brenmark Horticulture Consultants.

While Lindsay rates overhead sprinklers or wind machines as offering the best levels of protection, he says some relatively simple measures – including copper fungicide sprays applied in April-May prior to expected frosts in June and July, bare-earth weed spray bands around trees, and top tree health – can also provide a good buffer to light frosts at low cost. Talk to Lindsay for long and it’s clear the advice he’s giving growers is not just quoted from books and reports. He has also learnt a lot on the land himself – both at an avocado block in Rea Rd he previously owned and at a property he has managed for John and Mary Bowen in Prestidge Rd for the past six years. Press him for details on what he’s done and his passion for growing bubbles over.

Spraying grass and weeds around the tree dripline exposes the bare earth to warm the ground from sunlight heat during the day which is released at night and stops frost settling around the treeline.

On the Orchard

He estimates less than five per cent of Bay of Plenty growers have frost protection systems – in part because of the challenge of installing overhead irrigation in mature avocado blocks with trees reaching 6-10 metres in height.

copper treatment, weed spray bands around the tree dripline, and overhead water sprinklers.

By his observations the bare earth around trees can increase overnight temperatures by around 1°C, which can be the difference of frost damage or no frost on leaves and flowers. Lindsay admits he does strike resistance from some growers who are opposed to the use of Roundup near the avocado trees, but he says the small volume used (1/100 litre dilution) – and sprayed only in a one-metre band from the treeline – does not present any risk to tree health. He sprays Glyphosate at a dilution of 1litre/100litres with Pulse Penetrant and 75ml/100litre) for an estimated total cost of $15.38$18.38/hectare. To prepare for the frosts he applies Glyphosate weed spray outside the tree dripline in late April every year,

The circle of green grass, surrounding the new plantings of Dusa Hass clonal trees, shows how the mini overhead sprinkler protects by encapsulating in ice when early frosts struck this block south of Katikati on May 27.

“I absolutely love managing avocados, especially pruning avocados and making decisions which have increased productivity.” Frost in 2009 claimed six bins of fruit on the block, knocking back his share of export fruit to 68.8 per cent – then lower again the following year (65.9 per cent) due to the loss of fruit buds in the previous year’s frosts. Damage to his and other’s blocks, including a client who lost 40 bins of fruit, prompted Lindsay to expand his frost protection programme. These days he takes a threepronged approach to preventing frost damage – with

Avoscene July 2014

On the Orchard

while in April and May he also applies higher copper rates by spray (mainly Champ Flo Copper fungicides) to harden leaves off going into winter and kill bacteria on the leaves on which frost can nucleate. Studies of trees receiving this treatment by the University of California showed between 3.4 per cent and 12.9 per cent of fruit buds that had been treated were damaged in a frost event, compared to 46.3 per cent of buds on untreated trees. “Growers have to apply copper fungicides to control fruit rots, therefore only one or two additional copper fungicides are required to harden leaves off going into winter.”

Heavy frost on the 1.5ha Prestidge Rd block, which Lindsay manages, damaged leaves and fruit buds in June 2009 and claimed six bins of dropped fruit.

Lindsay highly recommends the use of copper sprays for mild frost protection – including for young avocados – after earlier being impressed with how treatments of Kocide 101 in the frost-prone Waihi area had helped protect citrus. He has observed Kocide and Champ Copper fungicides provide frost protection down to between -1.5°C and -2°C, when Kocide was applied at the top

recommended label rates in late May-early June, prior to the expected heavy frosts in June and July. The final prong in his frost prevention strategy is an overhead water sprayer, which is set up to automatically activate when the temperature is triggered, with the water pulsing on and off through a series of zones to limit the water draw. “It gives protection down to minus 2.0 to minus 2.5 degrees Celsius, but we’ve actually got sprinklers setup in an orchard in north Katikati and the data loggers recorded the temperature reaching -4.9 degrees Celsius.” Conditions always vary with every orchard, but he says the example of a frost-prone block south of Katikati that had been losing lots of export fruit on the ground is informative. “They had been losing a lot of fruit after heavy frosts in the past few years, so we installed an overhead irrigation frost protection system in December which encapsulated leaves and fruit when the heavy frosts hit on 27 and 28 May this year.” Two weeks later there was no sign of fruit drop or frost burnt flower buds that would damage next season’s harvest. On top of setup costs, the biggest challenge with water systems is simply having access to sufficient water: for every degree of frost you need 10,000 litres per hectare, says Lindsay. In contrast the challenge of getting resource consents for wind machines has made them difficult to install as an effective frost system. Lindsay also recommends growers ensure their trees are kept in optimum health and cold air drainage off orchards is facilitated with bare polling of shelter trees to increase air flow.

Avoscene July 2014

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Contact us Find out the date, time and topic of the next event - call reception on 07 573 0085. 310 No 1. Road, R.D.2, Te Puke, 3182 · Phone (07) 573 0085 · www.trevelyan.co.nz Avoscene July 2014 AS_TREV_halfpage.indd 1

10/02/14 3:32 pm

NZ Avocados Amazing Anytime Bevan Jelley - New Zealand Market, NZ Avocado bevan.jelley@nzavocado.co.nz

The Amazing Anytime category story will remind consumers that avocados can be used at any meal time or occasion.

In order to drive consumption and sales of avocados in the New Zealand market, NZ Avocado is launching a new category story: New Zealand Avocados – Amazing Anytime. This theme will underpin our avocado promotions campaigns in the New Zealand market during the next two to four years and will be the core essence of any messaging developed for New Zealand consumers.

Markets

The Amazing Anytime category story has been developed in collaboration with New Zealand marketers and suppliers of avocados to promote the unique attributes of avocado to better enable avocado to successfully complete against other produce for consumers’ shopping trolley spend. This activity has been enabled by Primary Growth Partnership funding. What does Amazing Anytime mean? Amazing Anytime refers to the amazing nutritional qualities and health benefits of avocados, alongside their versatility, specifically the unique ability of avocados to naturally fit in at any meal time – breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner and dessert. Avocados suit any kind of occasion from everyday dinners and informal barbecues to gourmet canapés at weddings and formal events. The Amazing Anytime category story will remind New Zealand consumers this superfruit can be used at any meal or occasion and give consumers reasons to buy more avocados every time they shop. Why has the category story been developed? The Amazing Anytime category story has been developed to provide consumers with an easy to remember core benefit of avocados, and to make avocados stand out in the produce department as a value added, premium product. Amazing Anytime promotional material will be made available to all marketer suppliers and retailers of avocados in New Zealand.

Avoscene July 2014

The promotions campaign will present creative avocado meal ideas and favourites that we know are popular with avocado lovers. Recipes will span different meal times and different occasions, reminding consumers that avocado complements any meal time. Consumers will be reached through media articles and advertising, in-store promotions and point of display information. How will it help sell more avocados? Along with NZ Avocado promotional activity, resources have been created for retailers and marketer/suppliers to co-brand, to deliver greater consistency of messaging across all avocado promotion in New Zealand, regardless of who is delivering the activity. This will enable greater visibility of consistent key messaging for consumers. The Amazing Anytime theme was launched to trade at the Australian and New Zealand Produce Marketers Association conference in Auckland in June 2014. We will keep you updated in Avoscene with consumer advertising and media outputs as the promotions campaign is implemented throughout the 2014-15 season.

Facebook competition winner Amanda Weatherley, Communications, NZ Avocado

communications@nzavocado.co.nz

Lunch with Nadia Lim “one of the best days of my life”, says winner of NZ Avocado Facebook competition

Markets

New Zealand Avocado Ambassador Nadia Lim and competition winner Yvonne Hook.

North Shore teacherYvonne Hook received star treatment for the day, including lunch with Avocado Ambassador and celebrity chef Nadia Lim, as the lucky winner of our recent New Zealand Avocado Facebook competition, run in March. The brave mother of three, who lost the sight in her left eye after a rare, life-threatening cancer last year, also received a luxurious makeover, a chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle ride from her home to the SkyCity Grand Hotel for the night. And she got to share it all with her bestie Kelly, who we flew up to Auckland for the event. Yvonne described the day and lunch with Nadia at acclaimed restaurant Masu as “one of the best days of my life”.

New Zealand Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular was thrilled to have been given the job to telephone Yvonne to let her know she had won. “Yvonne seemed literally to jump up and down at the end of the phone, she was so excited to meet Nadia, and thrilled to have entered and won.” In addition to giving away several trays of avocados and a copy of Nadia Lim’s Good Food Cook Book to lucky Facebook fans, the competition generated more than 2,500 new followers to New Zealand Avocado’s Facebook page during the four-week promotion. “Yvonne is an inspirational woman; we’re glad she enjoyed being pampered and no doubt gleaned some great cooking tips from Nadia too!”

Avoscene July 2014

Avocados stimulate appetite for learning Elaine Fisher, Journalist

elaine@thesun.co.nz

Pupils in Room One at Waihi Beach Primary School are drinking in their learning by the cupful. Smoothies made with avocado and milk, plus a few other fruits, have become a hit with the 30 nine-10 year olds since teacher Lizette Turnbull showed how to make them as part of a health project. “I was discussing my plans to teach the children about how to be healthy with my father-in-law Sid, who suggested focusing on the benefits of avocados, and promised to deliver them by the boxful to the school,” says Lizette.

Markets

Since making the promise, avocado orchardist Sid Turnbull has kept Room One supplied with avocados on a regular basis. Most mornings there’s the smell of toast in the classroom, as students make avocado and toast, and several times a week, under supervision, they also whip up smoothies in a blender using avocado, bananas, berry fruits and Fonterra milk. “The beauty of this programme is the children are finding out for themselves how good avocado taste and how they

Avoscene July 2014

Avocado smoothies are a hit with Room One students including Alex (nine), Ryan (10) Haille (10) and Mia (10).

do really help control appetite, by making you feel full. When the class was having both a smoothie and avocado on toast we all of found we weren’t hungry, even at lunch time,” says Lizette. This message is an important one at a time when obesity rates are rising, particularly among young children. The students also carried out research about avocados, including using the New Zealand Avocado website, and the cookbook by avocado ambassador Nadia Lim.

Avocados showcased to South Korean retailer Bevan Jelley - New Zealand Market, NZ Avocado bevan.jelley@nzavocado.co.nz

Following the invitation a year ago for NZ Avocado to speak to a group of South Korean business people in Tauranga, Bevan Jelley presented an overview of the industry to them. This resulted in further dialogue, and in May NZ Avocado was invited to host a delegation. In May, NZ Avocado hosted a delegation from Emart Fresh Centre, a produce distribution centre for a large South Korean retailer, Emart. The meeting provided an opportunity to showcase the unique offering of avocados from New Zealand and improve Emartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s understanding of how to manage New Zealand avocados to ensure a

premium experience for Korean consumers. A number of exporters and exporter technical representatives also attended the meeting. Discussion took place around storage and cool-chain requirements, and supplying consumers with ripe, ready to eat fruit in Korean supermarkets. The Korean visitors offered exporters some suggestions for generating interest from Korean consumers and building demand for avocados from New Zealand, including packing avocados in a gift box with other New Zealand produce or avocado products (including beauty products).

Markets

Avoscene July 2014

Avocado avalanche By Hamish Carter, Journalist, SunMedia hamish@thesun.co.nz

Markets

Closer coordination, discipline and improved planning are top of the list for exporters as they ready themselves for Australia - our major export market.

Bumper avocado crops expected on both sides of the Tasman in the coming season are shaping a challenging Australian export market but it won’t be a repeat of the disaster 2011-12 season. That’s the assessment of Just Avocados Ltd’s marketing director Stephen Trickett. He accepts the main season will be challenging but believes the combination of continuing growth in demand for the category in Australia, along with greater discipline and planning by exporters, will avoid a repeat of the “disaster” of three years ago. All exporters spoken to by Avoscene have been working hard on strategies to prepare for the high supply in the

Avoscene July 2014

major export market, promising closer coordination and improved planning to ensure avocados are available when needed, in what has long been New Zealand’s top export market. Nobody expects last season’s orchard gate returns of the mid-$20s, and while it was too early for any prediction Stephen has been warning growers not to expect anything like that. AVOCO export manager Ted Thomas summarises the challenge, saying he expects the market to be quite different to the previous two seasons, which were characterised by lower volumes, strong demand and at times very high values.

“Our largest ever New Zealand crop will encounter a big Western Australia crop in the Australian market,” says Ted, emphasising the key to maintaining sales for AVOCO comes down to strong discipline and sound planning. “With the supply of fruit we anticipate being available from both New Zealand and Australia, it will be critical to manage markets outside of Australia well.” New markets

“This will be a key strategy in allowing us to maximise opportunities outside the Tasman,” says Ted, who is hoping extensive work developing markets in Asia – particularly Japan – and the US will help achieve that target. The forecasts the 1.9 million trays exported in 2013-14 will jump to 5 million this season.

“There may be a light at the end of the tunnel, as the Australian wholesalers are telling me that some of their Queensland growers who would normally pick and supply the markets in September will be picking in the coming weeks (mid-late June),” says Lesley. “Hopefully this will be good for both New Zealand and Australian growers.” She says the key to success at the other end of the season will come down to exporters having a good insight into the Australia supply position to ensure a smooth transition from Australian to New Zealand avocados and avoid derailing the market with an oversupply.

Markets

To help AVOCO get the best results in the Australian market, it is critical for US and Asia-focussed export partnership AVANZA to have well-developed marketing plans to push considerable volumes through other regions. This season AVANZA is aiming to export up to 40 per cent of its total crops outside Australia, more than triple the 12 per cent of volume achieved last year.

is optimistic of opportunities for New Zealand growers due to plans by some Australian orchardists to pick early.

Market growth strategies JP Exports is being proactive in planning strategies with customers to help move the extra volume of crop expected – including a PR push to continue emphasising avocados’ nutritional and health qualities.

Seasonal opportunities Despite the large crops expected from New Zealand and Australia growers, Stephen is optimistic of good opportunities throughout the season, particularly early before Western Australian fruit hits the market. It’s a view shared by Seeka Fresh manager Annmarie Lee. After hearing reports that New Zealand avocados look likely to mature earlier than previous years, while Australian fruit will still be coming on, Annmarie is picking opportunities for an early export season. Brisbane-based JP Exports general manager Lesley Shield

continued...

Avoscene July 2014

However in the parochial Australian market, where buying local produce is often seen as a consumer obligation, Lesley says they will not be highlighting the fruit’s source. “We want to avoid the ‘why are we importing?’ cry from the Australian public.

Markets

Seeka Fresh manager Annmarie says the company is pushing its retail programme, with its emphasis on top quality fruit and a reliable eating experience, to build the Seeka brand’s reputation and sales.

much ‘all market access’ fruit as possible and fruit in as robust a condition as possible to withstand longer shipping requirements.

“We believe this can be achieved through a disciplined approach to flowing the fruit and aggressive marketing.

Australian market

Stephen says JAL will manage week-to-week sale volumes with the help of in-market intelligence from

Avoscene July 2014

Both Stephen and Ted say a greater emphasis has gone into working with growers to urge them to manage their orchards and sprays in a way that will deliver as

“This will allow us greater flexibility to manage market plans and hopefully avoid an over-dependence on the Australian market at critical times,” says Stephen.

Annmarie says it will be critical to control the flow of fruit across the Tasman to avoid an oversupply, and Seeka is working with other exporters to avoid flooding the market. Another focus is on limiting fruit age in the market to ensure it is sold at its optimum to help maintain sales and prices.

Grower management

Ted says while they expect about 30 per cent more fruit to be available across Australia in the SeptemberMarch period compared to last year, Avoco is aiming to push the market to higher levels of consumption.

“We are working closely with our retail customers to plan promotions and target opportunities to increase sales of New Zealand avocados. New Zealand has developed a reputation for supplying consistent good quality fruit during our supply window. Our objective is to offer consumers a quality product at competitive prices in order to drive sales at retail.”

sister company Global Fresh Australia Pty Ltd to ensure the right fruit gets to the right place at the right time.

Despite the challenges of dealing with the bumper season, all exporters spoken to believe Australia will remain a cornerstone of the industry for many years to come. Annmarie says the impressive levels of growth in Australian demand for avocados mean the Australian market’s importance was set to continue. “I see it continuing to be extremely important; it is the highest returning avocado market in the world, but we must make sure it is not oversupplied.” Annmarie says the closeness for shipping reduces costs and fruit age compared to Asia or the US, but agrees it is critical to develop other markets. This is a view shared by Lesley, who says it’s imperative that New Zealand grows its position in Australia and into other export markets, particularly within Asia.

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Avocentric -

The McLarnon’s from Alligator Pear Orchard

By Hamish Carter, Journalist, SunMedia hamish@thesun.co.nz

Far North avocado grower Jason McLarnon is always looking for ways to improve his own systems and increase productivity on the orchard his family calls the “Alligator Pear”.

The Alligator Pear family: Jacky and Jason, with sons Jay, 8, and Asher, 6, on their Houhora block (daughter Ila, 15, is taking the photo).

Reports

If you’d told Jason McLarnon he was going to be an avocado grower when he was at school in Katikati, he probably would have laughed.

“I love the lifestyle and the challenge of getting something to grow to its full potential, as well as it being a great place to bring up our kids.”

“Like most young people I wasn’t really interested,” says Jason, who grew up on a kiwifruit and avocado orchard in the area.

The orchard name was inspired after a surf trip through Central America where they learnt avocados were often called Alligator Pears for their rough skin.

“Dad was one of the early ones in avocados.”

“We remembered Alligator Pear and the name just stuck.”

Returning home after living overseas 15 years ago, Jason and partner Jacky were deciding what they were going to do when his father Ian convinced him to have a look at a 7.5 hectare bare block he’d found in Houhora in the Far North, near Ninety Mile Beach. “I’m glad we ended up doing it,” says keen surfer Jason, who likes to get in the water when he can after a day on the orchard they call the ‘Alligator Pear’.

Avoscene July 2014

Purchased as a bare block, Jason says the land needed everything done to it. “We did it all, but coming from the Bay we made a few mistakes not knowing the local conditions.” Jason is particularly referring to his failure to adequately deal with challenging drainage issues when they put in their first plantings – a decision that significantly

“I want to make sure what we are doing is working well and am always looking for improvements”

reduced the productivity of his first Hass plantings. “We made a lot of mistakes when we did not prep the ground sufficiently,” says Jason, who describes poor drainage and soil that struggles to hold nutrients as the only disadvantages in an area that is otherwise perfectly suited for avocado growing. Together with Jacky they do all the work on the property themselves. “We only get in help for the picking, when I also always take annual leave,” says Jason, who loves getting stuck in, especially when he knows the work is being done as efficiently as possible. “That’s my whole approach. Because I have less time to put into it I’m always looking for ways to get the best outcome with the least labour,” says Jason, choosing for example concentrate spraying using Duwett that gives excellent results but takes less time.

“If you don’t break that pan the water just sits there,” says Jason, who has noticed far greater growth on seedlings since planted on properly prepared land with good drainage. After an initial planting of 700 trees 13 years ago, they planted another 350 six years later. Now they have about 1400 trees – ranging in age from 13 years to seedlings just planted. A purchase of another 4.5ha bare block from a neighbour five years ago has taken their holdings to 12 hectares. Plantings of 350 Hass four years ago were followed by a similar number of seedlings in

Semi-intensive four year old 8x4m plantings of Hass are working well for Jason, with good early returns.

He has taken a semi-intensive approach to his replantings, spacing them 8x4m apart, with plans to thin them to 8x8m, and keep the height to 6.5m. “This semi-intensive approach really seems to work up here,” says Jason, who is happy with the initial signs from his first semi-intensive plantings, from which he got four trays of fruit per tree at three years.

Reports

A 15-20 foot layer of pan just under a thin layer of topsoil creates an impenetrable crust for water to drain through. Before seedlings are planted the pan needs to be broken, and the earth moulded to provide natural run-off for rain to avoid pooling water problems and wet feet for tree roots.

the last year. Jason is interspersing the seedlings with Bounty and Dusa clonals for better returns “I’ve put the Bounty in areas without good surface run-off because they are better suited.”

For the past seven years Jason has combined work in the orchard with a full-time field role with Fruitfed Supplies, where he is talking to other growers every day and advising them on spray programmes among other things. As a grower he sees it as the perfect chance to keep in touch with what’s happening in the field. “It’s really interesting. I really enjoy seeing what other people are doing and talking to them about what’s been working for them,” says Jason, who is always looking for ways to improve his own systems and tree productivity. “You pick up a few ideas from all sorts and not just from the avocado industry, like practices around the use of

Avoscene July 2014

PGRs (plant growth regulators) which Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve begun using.â&#x20AC;? Jason says he is not always an early adopter, wanting to weigh up proven results before changing, but has no hesitation in changing a traditional practice if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear it will pay off. Ppin:

Grower:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;With me working full-time I want to make sure that I 6110 The Pear Partnership doAlligator everything as efficiently and effectively as possible.â&#x20AC;?

One 3500 litre tank is loaded with Deltaspray, a highly soluble base NPK blend that includes trace elements, and additional straights and trace elements to provide fertiliser as calculated â&#x20AC;&#x201C; while the other 1000 litre tank provides calcium nitrate separately, as it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mix with other products. Only one tank operates at a time, with the volume of water and nutrients adjusted depending on the time of the year.

Data extracted from the industry data base. If you have any questions or would like an explanation of your orchard information as presented below, please come and see us at the NZ Avocado stand.

His quest to get the best return from his trees has seen Volume in Irregular Season Hectares tray equivalent t/ha Bearing Index him do things like graphing AvoGreen monitoring data 2009-10 6.0 9,859 9.0 2 IBI= Ă&#x2014; 100 2010-11 6.0 10,327 9.5 and comparing his results to the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s averages across 8 2011-12 6.0 12,016 11.0 4 2012-13 10.2 the main5.0pests. 9,232 đ?&#x2018;Śđ?&#x2018;Ś1 â&#x2C6;&#x2019;đ?&#x2018;Śđ?&#x2018;Ś2 đ?&#x2018;Śđ?&#x2018;Ś1 +đ?&#x2018;Śđ?&#x2018;Ś2

2013-14

5.0

14,282

15.7

Average

10,525 10.2 11 â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to make sure what we are doing is working well and am always looking for improvements.â&#x20AC;? 16,000

16.0 14.0 12.0

t/ha

10.0 8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0

14,000

10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0

trays t/ha

Ppin:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fertigation allows me to apply â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;a little oftenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; on the sandy soils and seems to get the younger trees off to a quicker start as well.â&#x20AC;?

12,000

It explains some of the motivation for installing his completely automated two-tank fertigation system seven years 6haago which delivers5 hamonthly set doses of nutrients for every tree, determined by annual soil and leaf analysis. Volume TE

18.0

â&#x20AC;&#x153;You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to over-water in winter,â&#x20AC;? says Jason, who jokes about it being like an outdoor hydroponic system delivering the perfect nutrient mix automatically to every tree.

Jason has also used avocado foliar spray Sunny for the past two years and has been pleased with the results. He is not about to tell other growers they should all do it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;everyone has to make their own decisions and there are a number of considerations, such as tree healthâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but is happy with the fruit weight gain he noticed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have specific numbers, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m seeing a shape and weight difference,â&#x20AC;? says Jason.

6110

Grower: The Alligator Pear Partnership

A mix of gums and pines provide good shelter, with the block generally only suffering limited fruit drop, even in the worst cyclones.

Data extracted from the industry data base. If you have any questions or would like an explanation of your orchard information as presented below, please come and see us at the NZ Avocado stand.

Irregular Bearing Index

t/ha 9.0

2010-11

6.0

10,327

9.5

2011-12

6.0

12,016

11.0

2012-13 2013-14

5.0 5.0

9,232 14,282

10.2 15.7

10,525

10.2

Average

Your Orchard

IBI=

8 4

16.0

14,000

14.0

12,000 10,000

10.0

8,000

8.0

6,000

6.0

6ha

5 ha

2,000 0

trays t/ha

Avoscene July 2014

Looking around his orchard Jason says he has a pretty simple vision: â&#x20AC;&#x153;To have consistently healthy trees that are producing well and managed as efficiently as possibleâ&#x20AC;?. It sounds like a goal all growers would share.

Ă&#x2014; 100

Jason struggles to compare seasons as trees grow or are replaced on the block, but says out of about five canopy hectares currently producing crop he roughly had 15,000 trays last season; 10,000 in 2012-13; 12,000 in 2011-12; and 10,000 in 2010-2011.

4,000

4.0

0.0

đ?&#x2018;Śđ?&#x2018;Ś1 +đ?&#x2018;Śđ?&#x2018;Ś2

16,000

2.0

đ?&#x2018;Śđ?&#x2018;Ś1 â&#x2C6;&#x2019;đ?&#x2018;Śđ?&#x2018;Ś2

18.0

12.0

t/ha

Volume TE

Reports

Volume in Season Hectares tray equivalent 2009-10 6.0 9,859

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will be good when the whole block is at full production,â&#x20AC;? says Jason, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but of course it all takes time.â&#x20AC;?

Avoscene July 2014

Research and development update By Phillip West - Grower Liaison, NZ Avocado phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz

PGP New Zealand Avocados Go Global will provide additional research and development resource.

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he avocado industry’s successful “Go Global” Primary Growth Partnership provides additional resource for the industry but how does it impact the industry’s R&D programme? The short answer is that in developing our R&D programme we identified some of the factors limiting great performance, and with PGP, can implement a new method to research and hopefully mitigate those limiting factors. To achieve this though, we’ll need greater involvement from growers and all industry participants. “Go Global” supports work in areas across the industry, from on-orchard practices to entering and growing new markets. All of the areas being investigated will

Avoscene July 2014

require a level of research but I’ll focus on the onorchard objective of developing a more consistent and sustainable avocado supply. This objective isn’t a new one as it has been a major focus of the industry’s R&D programme since it was developed. Work is already underway investigating aspects of this issue, with NZ Avocado working in partnership with Plant and Food Research (PFR) in the “Avocados for Export” MBIE programme (see March issue). “Go Global” is an exciting new avenue to tackle this issue, with growers and rural professionals having a much greater role in the research being carried out. Research will be conducted in on-orchard methods to

increase avocado yield per hectare and reduce irregular bearing with three areas of focus: - Understanding and validating new canopy management strategies - Optimising tree decline management - Evaluating new cultivars There will be resource in later years to scale up any relevant results from the MBIE work currently underway with PFR. An exciting aspect of “Go Global” is how the research will be carried out. Working groups made up of interested growers, relevant rural professionals, scientists and NZ Avocado staff will be established around the different focus areas. Over time we hope to see working groups established across different growing regions. Growers and rural professionals have experience and expertise with various management practices, especially in the areas of canopy management and tree decline.

Establishing a working group will capitalise and share this experience and knowledge and help ensure a focus on practical outcomes for orchard management. NZ Avocado will work with the groups to identify what the key issues are in their area and discuss possible action plans that could be trialled. The working group participants will then be involved in the monitoring of any trial to see what effect the action has had. We expect most of the trials will be on a commercial orchard, trialling management techniques that the orchardists have decided, with support through the working group. Results will then be shared with growers in the area and the wider industry. One constraint we need to manage well is resource. We want to succeed and to do that we will focus initially on two or three working groups, and ensure we understand how best to get results from those working groups. NZ Avocado will facilitate the working groups but success will depend hugely on grower and rural professional input and participation.

Reports

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Avoscene July 2014

Faces in the industry Dr Jonathan Dixon A familiar name to many avocado growers, Jonathan Dixon returned to New Zealand last year to become the avocado business manager for Seeka Kiwifruit Industries, after three years working for the California Avocado Commission. Avoscene speaks to Jonathan about his time in California and his long-standing association with avocados.

Jonathan Dixon back on New Zealand soil.

What was your greatest achievement during your time as Research Programme Director at CAC?

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The biggest change we implemented was to the research system. Research funding is now based on a strategic approach to solve the most pressing industry issues. Key to this was a new research contract with the University of California which allowed researchers to demonstrate a high degree of accountability in the spending of research grants and the projects aligned with the research strategy. In addition we incorporated outreach (technology transfer) as an integral part of research projects. Research projects are now evaluated against how they would deliver results or new tools to growers to make a real difference on orchards.

Avoscene July 2014

New Zealand. There is an underlying commitment in New Zealand to quality, which is why there is a high dry matter standard for maturity and food safety is a focus. For example, avocado fruit that have touched the ground are thrown away as a food safety risk while, until recently, in California this fruit had wide acceptance as fruit which could be sold. Likewise, what could New Zealand avocado growers learn from Californian growers?

What is it about New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industry and the way we do things that California could learn from?

There is a very strong focus on marketing avocados in California and there is a strong willingness to take the growersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; passion for growing avocados to customers. The marketing programmes are very clever and data is collected to provide evidence to the retailers as to why they should pay more for California avocados or to preferentially sell California avocados over imported fruit.

The postharvest systems used by the New Zealand industry are very advanced and may be on a par with the South African postharvest management systems. In particular the acceptance of the importance of fruit age and its effects on quality are better understood in

There is a lot of openness in California in the way the CAC operates, for example all Board meetings are public, which helps to keep a high level of confidence in the Commission. It was a bit of a shock to see Commission business, including budgets, discussed

in an open forum. The system works very well and the California Avocado Commission is very highly regarded by California avocado growers. What has been the biggest advancement in the avocado industry in New Zealand? In my view, there have been two defining moments for the New Zealand avocado industry. The first was the introduction of phosphorus acid injection to control phytophthora root rot, which improved yields and tree survival rates. The second has been the implementation of robust postharvest systems based on science. These systems solved the quality crisis in the early 2000s and led to a big improvement in fruit quality, and a focus since then on industry systems to maintain that quality. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re predicting a record crop this season; what do you see as the challenges?

What is it about the avocado industry that sustains your passion? Avocados are a very technical crop where relatively little is really understood about how the trees grow and produce fruit. Add to the mix committed and passionate growers and a dedicated community world-wide of researchers, packers and exporters, it is easy to also become passionate about growing avocados and the

industry in general. Working with avocado growers and seeing their success is the best part of my job. What do you enjoy most about being back in New Zealand? Renewing old friendships and seeing my family, and being able to spend more time with avocado growers who have been following my ideas and fertiliser programmes for the past several years. What do you miss about California? The people at the CAC and the California avocado growers, who became good friends. Seeing the inner workings of a top marketing programme delivering premium values to growers was inspiring. California, for me, is a great place to live with amazing weather and has a laid back lifestyle like New Zealand.

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Having enough picking capacity to harvest the crop and the markets that will return reasonable values to growers are the most obvious. My other major concern is to avoid the inevitable very poor fruit set that is likely to occur following two good crops in a row. I have been working with growers to manage their trees so that there is a good potential for flowering and fruit set this coming spring. My message to growers is that once the flowering is finished and the crop set, their focus should be on having the trees produce flowering wood for the next spring.

In California talking about shaping newly planted trees.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your favourite avocado meal? I prefer to eat avocados mashed on toast with Vegemite or in a sandwich with tomato and chilli sauce. Often I just eat half an avocado out of the skin with tomato sauce, salt and pepper. What are your qualifications? I studied Horticultural Science at Massey University and was awarded a Masterate of Horticultural Science with First Class Honours in 1994. I received my PhD in 2000.

Avoscene July 2014

New health research: Avocado consumption effects on cholesterol

Does eating one Hass avocado every day have a beneficial effect on risk factors for cardiovascular disease compared to a similar moderate fat diet without avocados, an average American diet, and a low-fat diet? That’s one of the clinical studies the Hass Avocado Board is investigating as part of its nutrition research programme. Below is a summary of new research from Pennsylvania State University that was presented at the American Society for Nutrition Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting in April 2014. Pennsylvania State University study explores connection between diets high in monounsaturated fat with emerging cardiovascular disease risk factors Pennsylvania State University PhD Candidate Li Wang presented “Avocado consumption decreases LDL particle number and small, dense LDL cholesterol in overweight and obese subjects” at the Dietary Bioactive Components: Cardiovascular Effects of Dietary Bioactive Components session. The research was based on a clinical study that investigated whether eating one Hass avocado every day as part of a moderate fat diet (34 percent fat) had a beneficial effect on risk factors for CVD among healthy overweight and obese subjects, compared to a similar moderate fat diet without avocados, and a lower fat diet.

Nourish

The researchers, Wang and Distinguished Professor of Nutrition Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD, found that relative to baseline, although all three diets lowered LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), only the avocado diet significantly decreased low density lipoprotein particle number (LDL-P); there was no significant change in LDL-P with the moderate fat diet without avocado or the low fat diet. They also observed that the avocado diet significantly

Avoscene July 2014

lowered small, dense LDL cholesterol (a more atherogenic subclass of LDL) and oxidized LDL (atherogenic modified LDL particle). The study was supported by the Hass Avocado Board (HAB) and was also nominated as one of five finalists for the Clinical Emerging Leader Award Competition. “Our findings show that there is something unique about the avocado beyond its MUFA [monounsaturated fatty acid] content that helped to specifically decrease small, dense LDL in healthy overweight and obese adults,” said Wang. Kris-Etherton said: “As new research is published on CVD risk factors, we’re learning that it may not simply be the level of LDL cholesterol that matters, but rather the particle number, size, density and especially oxidative modification of the LDL particles. Research is beginning to show that small, dense LDL particles, in particular, may be more likely to be oxidized and form plaques in the arteries compared to large, buoyant LDL particles.” For a comprehensive collection of published nutrition and scientific literature, authoritative reports, and other articles on or related to avocados, their nutrients and eating patterns that include them, visit HAB’s new-look Avocado Nutrition Center www.avocadocentral.com

Avocado, Prawn and Mango Spring Rolls Makes 20 rolls, serves 4-6 Prep time: 35-40 minutes Cook time: 5 minutes

2 tablespoons oil (e.g. peanut, canola, soy) 400-500g raw shelled prawns or thinly sliced chicken breast (or a combination) 2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Sweet chilli and lime dipping sauce 4 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce Juice of 2 limes 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce, to taste

2. When ready to assemble rice summer rolls, place a clean damp tea towel flat on the bench. Soak 1-2 sheets of rice paper in a shallow dish of warm water at a time for 20-30 seconds. Carefully transfer to clean damp flat tea towel. Place a slice of mango, avocado, cucumber and capsicum in the centre of the rice paper. Top with 1-2 prawns, sprinkle over a few peanuts and some coriander. Be careful not to over-fill the wrappers (or they will be too hard to roll!).To roll the wrappers, flip bottom half of rice wrapper over the filling, then fold in edges and roll wrapper up. Transfer to a serving plate with the seam side down.

Nourish

To assemble 20 large sheets rice paper 1 large ripe mango, peeled and thinly sliced 2 firm ripe avocadoes, sliced Â˝ telegraph cucumber, halved lengthways, seeds removed and sliced into thin 4cm-long batons 1 red capsicum, cored and cut into thin strips Â˝ cup finely chopped roasted peanuts 1 cup chopped coriander

1. Pat prawns dry with paper towels and season with salt. Heat oil in a wok or large fry pan on high heat and cook prawns and/or chicken, lemongrass and garlic for 3-5 minutes or until prawns and /or chicken is just cooked through. Set aside to cool.

3. Combine all dipping sauce ingredients. Serve summer rolls with a bowl of dipping sauce on the side.

Recipe by Nadia Lim

Avoscene July 2014

Out and About

PMA ANZ and HortNZ Conference

Right: Nadia Lim with John Carroll from AVOCO.

Right: Bevan Jelley, NZ Avocado amd Mike Swann, Southern Produce.

Above: Jen Scoular with Pipfruit NZ chair Nadine Tunley.

Above: Nadia Lim with Ashby Whitehead, Chair NZAGA.

Right: AlistairYoung, AVEC Chair and Jennie Franceschi, Fresh Produce Alliance.

Right: John Schnackenberg and Anthol Campbell test Simon Bowker on his avocado planting knowledge.

Fruit display at PMA Conference.

Brisbane

Below: Samantha Mansell in BOP Young Fruit Grower of the Year 2014.

market visit

BOP Young Fruit Grower of the Year

Avoscene July 2014

Above: Chris Clement in BOP Young Fruit Grower of Year 2014.

Ashby Whitehead and Jen Scoular visited the Brisbane market, hosted by Gary Poole at Murray Brothers.

Avoscene July 2014

Apata full page advert

devcich&low1113

Honestly sweetheart, that other fruit means nothing to me The Avocado division at Apata don’t know much about other fruit. In fact they’re forbidden to even look at other fruit. Being caught eating one is grounds for instant dismissal. This commitment is testament to their unyeilding passion for the humble avo. There may be more glamorous and exotic fruit out there - but in the eyes of the Apata Avocado division there can be only one.

JOHN BIRD

AVOCADO MANAGER

Direct Dial: 07 55 20537, Mb: 0274 835 699, john.bird@apata.co.nz

PETER SNEDDON CLIENT MANAGER, MENDS LANE, TE PUKE

Ph 533 6212 (EXT 803), Mb: 027 205 7496, peter.sneddon@apata.co.nz

NIKO TAHAU

CLIENT MANAGER,TURNTABLE RD, KATIKATI

Direct Dial: (07) 5520528, Mb: 027 2265489, niko.tahau@apata.co.nz TO PARTNER 56 PROUD l Avoscene JulyWITH 2014

TOGETHER WE’RE BETTER