Avoscene New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Journal
November 2015
Managing the elements brings success Avocentric page 44
Inside this issue: Bid to host WAC 2019 raises international visibility of industry New Zealand Promotions: Everyone's talking about avocados Health and Safety Reform Bill What you need to know Asia Fruit Logistica update Avoscene November 2015
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Experience the AVOCO advantage A new season is upon us and AVOCO is ready to export your fruit to the world. The expertise of our people and planning, coupled with our commitment to the industry and focus on the big picture, means you’re in safe hands.
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NZ Avocado Office PO Box 13267 Tauranga 3141
Contents
New Zealand Level 5, Harrington House 32 Harington Street Tauranga 3110 Ph: 07 571 6147 or 0800 AVOCADO (0800 286 2236)
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On the Orchard
Newsroom
www.nzavocado.co.nz
View from the Chair
4
Industry news
16
@NZ_Avocado
Growing the business
6
New faces
21
NZ Avocado
Going global
8
Industry matters
22
@nz_avocado
The New Zealand Market 10
Recommended reading 24
Regional roundup
Avocado news from the world
NZ Avocado
Directors
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Health and Safety Reform Bill - what you need to know 29 Pest and disease watch: Cercospora spot 30
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Bay of Plenty Ashby Whitehead NZAGA & AIC Chair Ph 07 573 6680 m. 027 283 2192 alwhitehead@xtra.co.nz Dave Flett m. 027 555 4420 dave.flett@yahoo.co.nz Far North Ian Fulton Ph 09 406 8808 ian.fulton@clear.net.nz At Large
Markets
Reports
Nourish
New Zealand promotions: Everyone's talking about avocados 31
Bid to host WAC 2019 raises international visibility of industry
Burgers ok for healthy men thanks to promising avocado research 48
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Roger Barber Ph 09 435 0785 m. 021 488 124 barbers@ihug.co.nz
World Avocado Congress an R&D perspective 35
John Cotterell Ph 07 549 3395 m. 0274 513 138 jccotterell@actrix.gen.nz
Asia Fruit Logistica update 38 High Health Scheme
Tony Ponder NZAGA Vice Chair Ph 07 552 4223 m. 0274 733 712 tony@flaxmillavocado.co.nz
Avocentric Ian Fulton
David French Ph 09 238 3359 m. 0274 375 315 famille@ps.gen.nz
Out and About
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Research & Development update 43
Rest of NZ
Recipe 49
Out and about
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Export Directors Jarrod Redwood, Andrew Darling
Cover Shot: Ian Fulton See page 44
Avoscene Advertising & Editorial
NZ Avocado Staff
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, CEO
Glenys Parton, Industry Systems Manager
Midge Munro, Communications Manager
jen.scoular@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 741 014
glenys.parton@nzavocdo.co.nz | 0274 99 70 81
midge.munro@nzavocado.co.nz | 027 306 7089
Edwina Aitchison, Executive Assistant
Brad Siebert Biosecurity & Programme Manager
Bevan Jelley, New Zealand Market
For advertising contact: Suzy King at Sun Media Ltd Phone 021 769 831 email suzy@thesun.co.nz Design and production: Kym Johnson, Sun Media Ltd email kym@thesun.co.nz For subscriptions contact: Michael Gray email michael.gray@nzavocado.co.nz
edwina.aitchison@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 977 890
brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 804 847
Jay Bent, Business Manager jay.bent@nzavocado.co.nz | 027 465 8886
Phillip West, R&D Officer phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 706 504
Michael Gray, Avocado Analyst michael.gray@nzavocado.co.nz
Danni van der Heijden, Research Associate danielle.vanderheijden@nzavocado.co.nz
bevan.jelley@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 994 097
Jodi Senior, Communications Assistant jodi.senior@nzavocado.co.nz
Cameron Wallace, Research Analyst cameron.wallace@nzavocado.co.nz
Joanne Nunn, Administration Assistant jo.nunn@nzavocado.co.nz
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View from the Chair By Ashby Whitehead, Chair, NZAGA & AIC
alwhitehead@xtra.co.nz
We come back from Peru feeling proud of our achievements and knowing we have successfully raised the visibility of the amazing New Zealand avocado industry. The value we will have collectively taken away from the congress will enhance our capability to grow and market avocados.
It was lovely to return to the green of New Zealand after
a week in Lima, Peru for the 8 World Avocado Congress. A big thank you to the New Zealand growers, exporters and researchers who attended. It was great to have a large contingent attending, and we certainly raised the visibility of our industry and significantly increased our engagement and our knowledge. th
A big thanks to the NZ Avocado team, who put an incredible amount of time into the planning and delivery at the congress. The New Zealand stand looked terrific, right in the middle of the trade show. The collateral showed off our industry really well, with lots of photos of our growers and stakeholders, of our scenery and of our beautiful avocados. It was a great collaboration with Plant & Food Research and Compac Sorting Equipment on the stand and at the New Zealand reception where we hosted our international avocado industry friends. The selfie competition sponsored by Air New Zealand was a real hit and brought lots of
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attention to the stand, and the mini rugby balls that had been branded with our congress bid logo were an excellent attention grabbing giveaway. We really punched above our weight on presentations. To present at a world congress you have to submit your abstract to a committee who then decide if it is of value to the audience. In the presentation made on the world avocado statistics, New Zealand is about 2% of the world production, although the 9th largest avocado exporter. With six presentations from the NZ Avocado team and seven from Plant & Food Research, New Zealand presented 15% of all presentations. Audiences for all of the New Zealand presentations were very high, and I heard many compliments about the professionalism of the presentations and the presenters. Well done all. While in Peru, I was invited to an official dinner with the
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Peruvian President, along with other dignitaries from Peru and other participating countries. It was the largest table I have ever sat at, and conversation ranged from New Zealand systems, to future congresses, to avocado production and consumption. There was genuine interest in how other countries might imitate the New Zealand system in their country. The New Zealand cocktail party held on the 12th floor of the Radisson Hotel with views (through the humidity haze, which could easily have been mistaken for smog) of the ocean, was an excellent event. It was very well planned and a great way to network with our global avocado contacts. A huge thanks to Midge for managing and organising this event for 120 people in Lima, through some pretty tough challenges, from Tauranga. The field day demonstrated further diversity in our global industry. We visited two avocado orchards, the first where trees were so covered in dust that they needed to be washed twice a year so the leaves could keep breathing. Bees were not welcome as they disrupted the pollination in the seedless citrus next door, so flies were used instead and those flies came happily from the seven million chooks producing 300T of chicken manure a day in the chicken farm on the same property. The second orchard had a very impressive fertigation system, utilising the water available from an underground aquifer to create a green oasis in an otherwise completely barren landscape. Cacti don’t even grow. We asked about growth in that unirrigated landscape but with soil having a natural salinity at 40, it must be
brought down to one for any plant to survive. It puts into perspective some of our challenges. The team put together a terrific campaign to bid to host the next World Avocado Congress in New Zealand in 2019. With 700 of the 1,000 delegates from South America, our campaign against Colombia was much tougher than we expected. We have come back to the export and New Zealand market season well underway. It is disappointing to hear the crop estimate is reducing, once again highlighting that growers are not estimating fruit volume as well as they need to. I ask you all – did you take the time to be involved in the crop estimate for your orchard? In my experience, picking my own fruit gives me an advantage in estimating my crop but I also recommend that you as the orchardist get out with your packer and jointly estimate the upcoming crop. It makes it very hard for the Board to approve a budget based on an incorrect crop estimate – let alone how difficult it makes it for exporters to agree on volumes with their importers. Gaining access to China remains a key priority the Board. We keep up communications with the relevant government officials and the Board discussed at its October meeting the development of a strategy for introducing New Zealand avocados into China. It certainly isn’t progressing at the rate I would like to see but I am told that small steps are being made.
Edouard Pierre and Nick Gould of Plant & Food Research with AshbyWhitehead at the New Zealand stand at the World Avocado Congress in September.
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Growing the business By Jen Scoular, CEO, New Zealand Avocado
jen.scoular@nzavocado.co.nz
The positive exposure the New Zealand avocado industry received at the congress, paired with the amazing exposure we continue to receive in New Zealand, it's safe to say as an industry we are capably punching above our weight.
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t the time of writing this, I have just spent a wonderful day supporting activity to profile the amazing avocado. We have again connected with KM Media to promote avocados from New Zealand in a new series being made for AsiaTV and D-Life in Japan - Best of New Zealand with Nick Honeyman. Midge and I met with Maxine and her very capable film crew at Trinity Wharf in Tauranga to film champion whitewater kayaker Luuka Jones and chef Nick Honeyman. Luuka is supported in her Rio 2016 Olympic campaign by Just Avocados and the company was happy to allow her to share her passion for avocado. Nick, an up and coming celebrity chef, asked - how do you, as a world champion athlete, ensure you are getting the necessary nutrition to support world class performance? Luuka said avocados feature highly in her eating regime, a comment I also heard from All Black loose forward Jerome Kaino when he was our Avocado Ambassador a couple of years ago in Tokyo. We are succeeding in sharing our story with New Zealanders keen to talk avocados with their social media networks. We are connecting well. We keep track of the media mentions of avocados or of our industry, and we certainly punch above our weight. Avocados were mentioned recently in question time in parliament by Nathan Guy, after a very well launched question from our local MP and avocado advocate Todd Muller. At the Primary Growth Partnership AGM we got far more mentions than is fitting for the size of our programme versus others - again punching above our weight. In Lima in September New Zealand presented 15% of the congress sessions, well above our global production of less than 2%. But we are the ninth largest exporter of avocados, and after the activity we undertook at the congress, I can rightly suggest that not one of the 1,000 attending delegates hasn’t now thought of themselves as one of New Zealand’s global avocado friends. The delegation attending and the passion that went into that week-long celebration of avocados (and
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of New Zealand) is worth a separate report, which you will find on page 33. We compliment exporters on the continuation of the excellent fortnightly exporter calls; these are constructive, informative and sometimes demanding, in that each challenge the other on best practice in market. Many other sectors are looking at the success in avocados and we can’t ever under estimate the value we all gain from the collaboration of our exporters and New Zealand marketers in driving industry value. We endeavour to support that collaboration and market development with the best use of your grower levy and are hearing reports of the contestable fund activities in New Zealand, Korea, Japan and Thailand. Bevan reports on his recent trip to Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong on page 35. Bevan and Jodi headed up to Auckland earlier in October for the New Zealand marketer meeting. We have recently reprinted the recipe book for the New Zealand market, a few additions and changes, but the ripeness tests and the nutritional analysis are still very important parts of that great little booklet. Credit to all those working in the New Zealand market in avocados – the large volume last year not only sold at value, but created an almost unprecedented demand, that with lower volumes this year we are frankly not able to supply. Long may that last – while we collectively work to increase productivity.
joined by two MPI members -Tim Knox, Director of Market Access and Helen Sillars, PGP Investment manager. There is good reporting of our PGP programme and other PGP programmes on the MPI website www.mpi.govt.nz I attended a session on Food Protection in Auckland earlier in October, very strongly advocating the need for food safety culture through our industries and recognising the need to learn from our mistakes. We had global leaders in food safety talk about their experiences, and had a great opportunity to network with other New Zealand sectors to find better and more effective ways to promote and implement a food safety culture. We are certainly short of volume this year. The success we have all achieved in driving demand has meant the lower volume is being felt keenly in all our markets. This does push up prices, but success would be even better if we had more volume. Do check out what’s new on our website. Do question your on-orchard practices to maximise your productivity and please do engage and connect with your neighbours, the growers in your packer pool or exporter to share and improve on your own orchard practices. Connectivity works. Connect well, learn and listen, and be part of the whole industry improving capability and value.
Danni has been in Whangarei installing more equipment in orchards and taking measurements in the trial orchards. The team will update you on what they have been up to and Phillip will share with you some of his highlights from the World Avocado Congress in September on page 38. We are very happy to welcome Bob Major as the independent chair of the Primary Growth Partnership Steering Group. Bob brings excellent governance and commercial experience to our team. He will increase our capability and I’m sure he will challenge our strategy and activity across the programme. The steering group provides governance to ensure we are meeting PGP milestones, and are reporting well to our industry as well as to the public, who are investing in our industry second-hand through the Primary Growth Partnership. The other steering groups members are: Ashby as the grower representative, Tony Ponder as the exporter representative, Andrew Darling as the packer representative, myself as the NZ Avocado representative, Brad Siebert as the Programme Manager, also
On orchard filming "The Best of New Zealand with Nick Honeyman".
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Going global By Jarrod Redwood, Avocado Program Manager, Freshmax
jarrodredwood@freshmax.co.nz
Innovative promotions and strong customer engagement is being implemented by exporters in this low volume season to continue the development of offshore markets.
Ben Lay from Freshmax at one of their instore sampling sessions at Makro in Thailand.
Exporters have taken a strong approach to market
development this season, showing customers a commitment to developing markets even in a low volume season. The 2015-16 crop estimate of 2.9 million trays is 60% of last season’s record volume. This decline has prompted a shift from traditional volume and price point promotions to a focus on customer engagement and education and some real investment into building relationships, good will and developing the New Zealand avocado story. In store taste testing, leaflet drops, increasing receiver capability and best practices for fruit handling, cool chain awareness and ripening practices are all tactics being utilised to continue to raise awareness of New Zealand avocados in offshore markets. Japan is showing to be a stable market with positive feedback from customers and strong promotions underway by AVANZA who have reinstated their New Zealand avocado smoothie wagon to drive the streets of Tokyo. The industry is taking the opportunity presented by a low volume season to take a high level view of the market and learn more about the Japanese avocado consumer. Outcomes from innovative social listening research currently underway will help exporters target their promotions in future higher volume seasons. South Korea has a strong market demand for New Zealand
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avocados and retailer support is in place in this market to introduce consumers and retailers to the taste and uses of avocado. NZ Avocado’s public relations activity and engagement with Korean celebrity chef HongShin-Ae is helping to add value to the New Zealand avocado story and is also developing a base of resources (recipes, articles, imagery, replicable events) that can be utilised for seasons to come. Thailand is also showing strong market value and has had an injection of effective market support across retailers with a strong uptake of point of sale material provided in the NZ Avocado category story style. Engagement with customers for long-term benefit has been strong in this market with exporters implementing a number of tactics to show their commitment; JP Exports is running in-store tastings with a Thai supermarket covering 45 stores with two days of promotion each, Freshmax is implementing similar activity and have also hosted their Thai customers in New Zealand in July this year. The customers were shown how avocados are grown, what happens in the packhouse and they were educated on ripening practices. Through this increased retail support and visibility among consumers, exporters aim to create a good value proposition that can be maintained heading into future larger volume seasons.
HARDER ON PSA. KINDER ON THE ENVIRONMENT. DuPont™ Kocide® Opti™ fungicide/bactericide is now fully registered for season long use to protect Kiwifruit vines from Psa. Not only does Kocide® Opti ™ help to control Psa, it also uses a fraction of the copper having a smaller environmental impact. So whether you’re looking after Kiwifruit or . dozens of other crops, choose Kocide® Opti ™ www.cropprotection.dupont.co.nz ALWAYS RE AD AND FOLLOW L ABEL DIRECTIONS. Copyright© 2015 DuPont. All rights reserved. DuPont,TM Kocide ® and OptiTM are trademarks or registered trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates. DuPont (New Zealand) Limited. Level 1, 14 Ormiston Road, East Tamaki, Auckland 2016. H&T KOP0001 Avoscene November 2015
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The New Zealand Market Glen Dunseath, Managing Director, Zeafruit glen@zeafruit.co.nz
Christmas has come early to the domestic avocado market this year, however based on forecasts it may be a reasonably long holiday period. Strong local market pricing, limited export packing and high export pack-outs have left the local market supply chain looking very light.
All marketers report limited fruit numbers and the weekly
forecasting is well in line with packed tray numbers.
Some may have the opinion that this is no great loss – the domestic market doesn’t achieve the values export offers – however, in simple reality the domestic market is the second largest market for the sale of New Zealand avocados and the ongoing development around consumption and usage is a major factor in the better returns noted in recent seasons from the domestic market.
The second significant factor driving consumption is wholesale values; current prices (mid October) note sell prices at $2.00 for 20ct and $1.70 for 24ct sizes. Some people may wonder why values haven’t spiked further given such a limited supply volume. The answer is simple: it is all about managing pricing thresholds and the limit a consumer will be prepared to pay whilst not slowing demand. Based on the above wholesale values, we see retail values holding mainly around the $2.99 each mark. This seems to be the acceptable level whereby consumers will purchase and the demand supply balance remains equitable. Retail values above this level, driven by higher retailer margins or higher wholesale values, see overall demand drop away significantly.
As we continue into the main part of the export season, we will see some lift in available numbers and this extra stock will be targeted at promotional activity. These promotional periods continue to keep the overall market stable but allow for increased consumption and usage, which is the key to
At present this balancing act is a daily challenge for all marketers – communication between all industry stakeholders is the only way to maintain the balance. To date, it is working well this season and fingers crossed it continues for all involved.
While the high returns are great for those growers with crop to market, there is a down side to such a high value season. This year is an anomaly – domestically it does little to develop consumption, provides limited scope for promotional opportunities, and limits the exposure of avocados within the domestic market.
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achieving the forecasted growth the industry is targeting as part of the Primary Growth Partnership.
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Regional Roundup News and views from your NZAGA Regional Representatives
Tony Ponder - At Large
tony@southernproduce.co.nz
New Zealand avocado growers must be on the field to play the game! Although it has its detractors, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) has real gains for New Zealand, saving the country $2.7 billion a year by the time it’s fully rolled out. Over time, this will lead to economic growth and more jobs, which we all benefit from. TPPA is a trade package that benefits some export sectors more than others, with the avocado industry doing fairly well, so let’s look at how tariffs help us play the game internationally. The TPPA currently includes 11 other countries; Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, United States and Vietnam. These countries are financial powerhouses – the US alone accounts for one quarter of all New Zealand trade. Collectively, these countries contribute to about 40 per cent of the global economy and last year, New Zealand exported $28 billion worth of goods and services to these member countries. • Across the whole horticulture sector, it’s believed New Zealand will save an estimated $26 million in fruit and vegetable tariffs when the TPPA is fully implemented by 2030. So what does the TPPA mean for the wider New Zealand avocado industry? And in which markets do we still face tariffs? • New Zealand’s avocado industry tariffs prior to the agreement, based on 2014 FOB values, were assessed at $464,818 a year, significantly more with last year’s larger crop and the shipments to the USA. • The two most significant benefits to growers are the removal of the 11.2c/kg tariff imposed on all New Zealand avocados entering the US and elimination of the 3% tariff in Japan. • In dollar terms, the existing tariff of 11.2c/kg would have attracted a cost of more than US$317,000 in the 2014/15 year. This tariff will be eliminated under the TPPA agreement although the schedule is yet to be defined. • Imports to the US also pay a levy administered by the Hass Avocado Board via a federal order. This levy will not be abolished under the TPPA.
• The removal of Japan’s 3% tariff equates to a saving for New Zealand avocado growers of $74,438 a year, based on the 2014 industry export value. In reality, this is quite modest compared to the $15 million annual savings generated by removing Japan’s 6% tariff currently imposed on New Zealand’s kiwifruit growers in the same year. • The TPP member countries of Australia, Singapore and Malaysia, already have a zero tariff. • Korea’s Free Trade Agreement announced in April will see a gradual reduction on the 30% tariff. The tariff will drop 3% a year to reach zero in 2025. Both the Korean and New Zealand governments are expected to ratify the agreement this year. • Taiwan is another potential developing market outside the TPPA which will see tariffs ease. In December 2013, an Economic Cooperation Agreement was signed between Taiwan and New Zealand which addressed an 11.3% tariff on avocados. This rate will gradually reduce to 7.5% in 2015, 3.8% in 2016 and will be zero in 2017. • With the TPPA eliminating tariffs imposed on the exports to the US and Japan, the only significant tariff confronting New Zealand avocado growers is in India, where a 30% tariff is imposed. Both the Key and Modi governments have previously expressed a commitment to addressing this, although no timeline has emerged. This is important for New Zealand as we are targeting the Indian market to sell large sized fruit at premium values. • While not TPPA members, New Caledonia, Fiji and French Polynesia currently have small tariffs on New Zealand avocados which accounted for $13,406 in the 2014. Tariff reduction allows us to compete more fairly on the international stage and keep our focus on the real game – those important value-added strategies that give us a sustainable competitive advantage. All the talk of tariffs aside, let’s not forget though that first we need to get on the field, if we are not there to play you can’t win (as the All Blacks know only too well after 2007) so let’s maintain the focus and investment on achieving China market access so we too get a crack at the whole field and realise the nil tariff advantage of the existing FTA.
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Regional Roundup
David French - Rest of New Zealand We have bees in the orchard and although they seem to be “working”, conditions are not terribly favourable for fruit set at the moment as it has been cool and windy. This is quite a contrast from the conditions we witnessed in Peru in September at the World Avocado Congress. I, along with New Zealand growers all the way from Waikanae to the Far North, went on the pre-congress tour. The Peruvian avocado trees were in full flower and it was warm and sunny. This was the highlight of my trip, and I will describe one of the orchards we visited. Agricola Cerro Prieto is a large privately held farming company about an hour’s drive south of Chiclayo, which is about 800km North of Lima. The first thing you notice when you arrive is the scale. This is a 4500 ha operation growing asparagus, table grapes, cotton and avocados. They were also doing a small trial of blueberries of about 45 ha. They have about 2800 ha producing the previously mentioned crops and have plans to develop the remaining 1700 ha into quinoa and chia, mangos and/or citrus. This property is completely sand and has virtually no rainfall, so has its own canal about 30km long connecting to one of the Government built canals which brings water down from the Andes Mountains to the desert. Their canal carries about 7000 litres per second or 25200m3 per hour that is about 1.5 times as much as my orchard uses in a year. They also have four massive storage ponds which hold about 750000m3 - this is about eight days of irrigating for them. Their fertigation and irrigation systems are state of the art and
famille@ps.gen.nz
need to be as they are irrigating each station up to six times a day and fertigating for three of these cycles. Leaf testing of avocados is done about nine times a year and fertigation mixes are constantly changed as required. Most trees are planted at 6x3m giving about 540-600 trees per hectare. Their aim is to maintain this density by annual pruning after harvest. Their oldest trees were only five years old and were producing 30-32 tonnes per hectare. We visited their new 15000m2 packhouse with a Compac eight lane grader. Cleanliness and attention to Health and Safety was of a very high standard. They had coolstore capacity for 120 containers and could pack about 40 tonnes of fruit per hour. The land had been purchased very cheaply ten years ago but the addition of water has made it productive and valuable. My impression was that the Peruvian avocado industry is one that is growing very quickly and embracing technology, they have a favourable climate, cheap land, cheap water and cheap labour. There are thousands of hectares available once water is added, and as one of my fellow Californian growers said, “Man, this is the future!”. The good news for us is that they harvest from March to July/August and so rather than being a competitor with us, maybe there are opportunities for collaboration with them into possible new markets such as China.
Spotted anything unusual? Early reporting of unusual insect pests or plant symptoms helps to protect the avocado industry. Calls to MPI’s pest and disease hotline 0800 80 99 66 are confidential and ensure industry pests are discovered early before they spread.
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Roger Barber - At Large
barbers@ihug.co.nz
As spring unfolds with noticeably warmer and drier conditions, avocado trees in the mid North region are showing initial signs of promising flowering, with trees in good condition. This compares favourably with the same time last season when flowering was light and patchy, leading to a low fruit set and a poor crop. All that is needed now is warm conditions, particularly through the night, to achieve a good fruit set. Meanwhile, a strong contingent of Kiwi growers recently returned from the eighth World Avocado Congress in Peru. This congress was a highly successful affair, showcasing Peru as a leading producer of avocados and showing huge potential for the future. The Peruvian avocado industry has expanded thirteen-fold during the last 10 years, from producing 18,700 tonnes in 2005 to 179,000 metric tonnes in 2015. This represents a lift in value from US$23 million to US$307 million this current season. Peru is already the second biggest exporter of avocados exporting to 58 countries, and is set to rival Mexico as the biggest exporter in the future. Currently 8,000 tonnes per year is even exported to Mexico under a Free Trade Agreement. The area now planted in avocados is 30,000 hectares, which has doubled since 2014, along with an increase in average production from 8 to 12 tonnes per hectare. The dramatic industry expansion has been made possible by large scale irrigation projects, especially three in particular; Olmos, Majes-Siguas 11 and Chavimochic 111; which have all transformed worthless desert along the Western foothills of the Andes into potentially high producing horticultural land.
These projects alone have provided some 400,000ha for further expansion. The key crops currently being planted are asparagus, avocados and blueberries. The congress itself was valuable in updating technical knowledge and renewing contact with colleagues around the world. However, the highlight for me was the pre-congress tour, which involved five days visiting avocado orchards in the Northern regions of Chiclayo and Trujillo. This allowed us to experience firsthand the scope of new orchard development in the desert. One such large scale development was Arato Grande Orchard in the Chao Valley - a joint venture between Mission Produce and a group of Peruvian business interests. Already 1100ha of irrigated land has been developed, 600ha planted in avocados and the rest in blueberries and asparagus. Mission Produce has just commissioned what is now the biggest avocado packhouse in the world on the site, trumping its own new facility in California for size. Before we start to panic in New Zealand about competition from Peruvian avocado exports, it is important to note that their season of production is from March to August, which complements our export season from September to February. Given the success of the joint venture between Mission Produce and Avanza allowing 12 months avocado supply into the Singapore market and Mission Produce’s investment in Peru, such an alliance could be a valuable opportunity for the future as we embark on large potential markets in Asia. Peru already has market access and exports avocados into China.
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Regional Roundup
Andrew Darling – Export Director
andrew@globalfresh.co.nz
Three things come to mind immediately when I reflect on the World Avocado Congress in Peru. Firstly, my visit to Trujillo north of Lima, where I was hosted by Mission Produce, was a highlight. I had the opportunity to visit their joint venture packing house and avocado grove of 605Ha. These operations were both mind-blowing on a number of fronts. The sheer scale and enormity, the excellence in layout, setup and technology was very impressive and of a scale that we can’t imagine. The foresight of the Peruvian government to invest in a national water canal system and associated infrastructure, available for all forms of agriculture and horticulture, has provided the country with the ability to grow enormous plantings in sand! The uniformity, health and general wellbeing of such a large orchard was remarkable. The future opportunity that this provides the Peruvian agriculture sector is enormous. Future planning foresight our local and central government could well learn from. Secondly, being involved in an international congress where the commodity involved is in such a great and exciting international growth phase is very energising and exciting.
Jarrod Redwood – Export Director Attending the World Avocado Congress as a marketer was a great opportunity to get a better understanding of where we sit as an industry compared with the rest of the avocado producers around the world. While in terms of scale we are a rather small player, outside of that we punch well above our weight – New Zealand is the ninth largest exporting country, has robust industry protocols, a strong food safety message, a strong and collective industry
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The international atmosphere surrounding the category is fantastic and New Zealand is very much a part of the opportunity. One particular presentation that helps highlight this is the work that the Hass Avocado Board in California is doing around validating the enormous health claims that surrounds avocados. Significant credit for the category’s growth is in fact that avocados are very healthy. Proving these specific claims so we can all market them as bonafide statements will be a very powerful marketing tool going forward for the category and HAB are right on the front foot investing significantly with dedicated resource. Lastly, to be part of the New Zealand avocado team lead by our CEO in what was an outstanding presentation to host the 2019 World Congress was very satisfying. The CEO, accompanied by her team, represented our industry and our country in what was a very impressive and professional presentation that I was proud to be a New Zealand spectator present at. Although we were pipped at the post by Colombia we all did ourselves proud and will have our day in years to come.
jredwood@freshmax.co.nz
body driving a New Zealand category story, and key experienced industry personnel across all sectors of the value chain. I was impressed with the amount of growers that attended the congress. This combined with the amazing job done by the NZ Avocado team ensured that although we were not successful in our bid, we still succeeded in gaining great exposure for our industry.
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Avoscene November 2015
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Industry News New avocado salad recipe from Nadia Lim launches season in New Zealand Newsroom
Celebrity chef Nadia Lim is hailing the return of the New Zealand avocado season by devising a new salad recipe that Kiwi foodies will love. Featuring avocado, crunchy bok choy and brown rice, Lim says her ‘Avocado and crunchy bok choy slaw brown rice salad’ is ideal for a quick lunch that’s full of fibre and healthy fats. It’s easy to whip up when you are short on time and the flavour combinations are amazing. You can prep all of the ingredients the night before – except the avocado (prepare that before eating) along with the dressing then toss everything together just before eating – this will avoid the vegetables becoming soggy,” she says. “Raw bok choy is just delicious; it’s similar to using cabbage in a slaw, but nicer I reckon.” The salad is gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan, and is another great way to incorporate avocados into your diet. Avocados are a nutritional powerhouse and food lovers around the globe are discovering new ways to enjoy them beyond just making guacamole. They’re now one of the most popular items on breakfast and brunch menus, and a core ingredient in smoothies, healthy baking and desserts. Jen Scoular, Chief Executive of NZ Avocado, says avocados contain fibre and mono-unsaturated fat which is great for heart health. “Avocados can also help your body absorb more nutrients from other foods, such as the vegetables found in Nadia’s Easy As Avocado Salad.” Avocados also contain more potassium per 100 grams than a banana, and are considered an anti-inflammatory food great
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for your cardiovascular system. “Avocados are one of the most nutritionally-complete foods in the world,” Jen says. “New Zealand’s new season avocados are on sale now so it’s a great time for food lovers to experiment with original salads and other delicious recipe ideas such as this.” For this recipe and more, visit www.nzavocado.co.nz
Health and Safety support programme offered by Apata Recent legislative changes highlight that all PCBUs (person conducting business or undertaking) are accountable for their workers’ safety.
To assist its growers, Apata has commenced its Health and Safety Support program, HASS, and will be inviting subject matter experts to share their knowledge with growers and remove the anxiety associated with words like ‘compliance’. “Being told that you must comply with something can be somewhat daunting,” says Kate, “but we aim to provide
As a general observation, many orchardists would probably already comply because they apply common sense and the concepts are self-evident to them, but Kate says there are some that fall short and this needs to be resolved.
Newsroom
“The truth is Health and Safety can sit in the too-hard basket,” says Apata’s Avocado Business Manager, Kate Trufitt,” but it can be tackled easily when you break it down into its component parts.”
support and training showing that it really isn't too onerous.”
The new law comes into effect on 4 April 2016. Between now and then Apata will provide training opportunities and workshops to help growers get ready. “Whilst growers are responsible for on-orchard Health and Safety compliance, Apata can assist growers to understand the systems and processes required to keep workers safe,” says Kate.
Come along to the Katikati Avocado Expo on 7 February AVANZA invites you to come along to the Katikati Avocado Expo held at the Uretara Domain on 7 February 2016. As we all know, Katikati is at the heart of the biggest avocado growing region in New Zealand. In conjunction with the Katikati A&P show, the Katikati Avocado Expo will be an event to showcase all things avocado. AVANZA will have a significant presence at the show and will be holding wood chopping demonstrations from 12pm. There will also be plenty of children’s activities from colouring in to animal art using avocados and avocado art, so watch this space! There will also be a photo competition running with
an “Avocado Green” theme. For the adults, avocado associated businesses have been invited along to make this a one stop avocado show. There will be exhibitors from all corners of the industry showcasing tools, machinery, equipment, seedlings, products, fertilisers and more. There will also be a competition running for the heaviest export grade Hass avocado weighed in on the day. Email the organising committee at katiavoexpo@gmail.com for more information or to register your interest to be involved – but be quick as spaces are limited.
Are you picking over the Christmas-New Year holiday? If you are intending to pick over the Christmas-New Year holiday period then please ensure your PPIN applications and Export Registrations are submitted to NZ Avocado by 10am Monday 21st December 2015 to allow us time to process these.
NZ Avocado staff contacts over Christmas-New Year The NZ Avocado office will be closed from midday 24 December 2015 and will open again on 5 January 2016. Should you have any urgent query during this time, the following staff are available: Jen Scoular 021 741 014 or Glenys Parton 0274 99 70 81 Happy holidays from the team at NZ Avocado!
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Lynwood Avocado Nursery making a difference
Newsroom
The story starts when John and Pamela Wade planted four hectares of avocados on State Highway 14 in Whangarei in 1983. When their son Stephen Wade worked out how many trees were required for another six hectare planting in 1989, he wondered if he could propagate those himself. That became the reality and beginning of Lynwood Avocado Nursery, a very successful commercial nursery. In October 2015 Stephen invited the industry CEO to officially open the extension of his nursery. His Mum, Dad and wife Sam enjoyed hearing his pride as he described the journey of the nursery, now the largest in New Zealand. The growth has been exponential. Fifteen months ago he employed four staff; that number is now 22. He admits there have been growing pains, but he is confident he is providing his staff with training, ambition and knowledge that they are making a difference in their business. Staff who have been with Lynwood for more than six
months are offered the opportunity to undertake work based training to gain qualifications through NZHITO, qualifications that are recognised in both New Zealand and Australia. Stephen was open in his thanks to the industry for their part in the growth in value, from $70m four or five years ago to over $130m during the past two seasons. He acknowledged the government investment into the industry through the Primary Growth Partnership and recognised the value that investment programme has had for the industry. He knows that increase in industry value and increasing confidence in avocados is driving investment into avocados and demand for the clonal seedling rootstock trees he propogates at Lynwood. Dr Shane Reti, Whangarei MP and BNZ business manager, was also at the official opening. Dr Reti congratulated Stephen for his successful expansion of his nursery. He thanked him a second time for the opportunity he offers his growing number of staff, and the training he is providing to each of them. Dr Reti acknowledged that his government is committed to the primary sector, and was pleased to hear that outcomes from the Primary Growth Partnership is enabling success through different parts of the avocado industry. The party was taken through the new buildings, one of which housed 25,000 new avocado plants, part of the 55,000 seedling and 30,000 clonal rootstocks being grown at Lynwood. Five years ago demand for avocados meant Lynwood produced 10,000 seedling trees and 500 clonal trees. It’s a phenomenal increase in demand, Stephen says. “We have a number of large growers with significant orders in for each of the next three years. As an industry and as a nursery we have certainly been through some tough times. It is a pretty nice situation to be in now, to have expanded considerably and still to be sold out until 2017.” Next to the nursery, the 10 hectare avocado orchard is also enjoying improved productivity as Stephen and his family replant with clonal rootstocks. They are currently halfway through and within four years the orchard will be 100% high density plantings on clonal rootstocks.
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Powering Luuka to Olympics By Elaine Fisher, Journalist, SunMedia
elaine@thesun.co.nz
Just Avocados is one of the driving forces behind the build up to the Rio Olympics for New Zealand’s top female canoe slalom paddler, two time Olympian and Rio 2016 Olympic contender Luuka Jones. The Katikati-based company has provided Luuka with a 2015 VW Polo while she is back home in New Zealand, and a constant supply of avocados. Newsroom
The sign written vehicle with distinctive avocado graphics and the words “helping power Luuka Jones to the Rio Olympics” is also fitted with a roof rack for her training kayak. “It’s fantastic to have the car to get to training now I’m back in New Zealand. It’s certainly getting a lot of attention because of the great signwriting,” says Luuka, who was home for a short break in October before returning to the UK for intensive training. Luuka, who grew up in Tauranga, was already a committed avocado fan when she was asked earlier this year to become brand ambassador for Just Avocados. “Andrew Darling from Just Avocados had been supplying me and my flatmates with avocados while I was in New Zealand and they were very welcome. I love avocados on toast or in salads. They are a great food during training, before an event and an avocado smoothie is an ideal recovery drink after competing.” Brand ambassador
Avocados are among Luuka’s favourite food and great, she says, for powering training and recovery.
Bethlehem, close to the Wairoa River. “I used to help out at Waimarino Adventure Park in return for kayaking lessons and went over my first waterfall in a kayak when I was about 14,” says Luuka.
From there the sponsorship relationship grew, giving a welcome boost to Luuka’s goal of becoming a medal winner at Rio in 2016.
At 18, to get better at her chosen sport, Luuka saved hard to move to Nottingham to train alongside the British kayaking team.
Just Avocados says Luuka is the perfect brand ambassador to promote the taste and health attributes of avocados.
“Qualifying for Beijing in 2008 was a turning point for me. I was 19 years old, naive to the world of professional sport and totally inspired by the occasion.”
Ben Tuck, operations and logistics manager for Global Fresh NZ Ltd/Just Avocados Ltd, says the company is delighted to assist and work with Luuka. “Having Luuka as our ambassador is not only great for Just Avocados but for the whole New Zealand avocado industry as she is helping spread the message about what a wonderful, nutritious fruit avocados are.”
Sports science
Following Beijing, Luuka joined the Waiariki Academy of sport in Rotorua, receiving sports science input for the first time and immersing herself in a fun and supportive athletic environment.
Kayak waterfall
“This was integral in helping me qualify for and compete in the London Olympics. Following London, I received support from High Performance Sport NZ, enabling me to work with a full time coach for the first time. This has made a huge difference and in two years I have gone from being in the top 30 in the world to finishing in the top 10 at the World Championships in 2014.”
Her road to Rio hasn’t been easy. Her love of water and kayaking was sparked when Luuka’s family moved to
You can keep up with Luuka’s progress on her website: www.luukajones.com
Luuka’s role as an Olympic Ambassador is also applauded by the company, as through it she is helping inspire young people to achieve their dreams by telling school students about her own journey to become among the top women kayakers in the world.
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AVOCADOS DOING GOOD
PROUD SPONSORS OF
LUUKA JONES 2016 RIO OLYMPIC CONTENDER Powered by Just Avocados www.justavocados.co.nz
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New faces Cameron Wallace - Research Analyst, NZ Avocado Cameron’s road from mining to avocados Newsroom
A love of the great outdoors is among the reasons Cameron Wallace came to New Zealand and now he’s found the ideal location to enjoy work and pleasure in the Bay of Plenty and the role of Research Analyst with New Zealand Avocado. His road to the Bay wasn’t direct however. “I'm originally from the UK and after finishing a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sheffield, I went to work in the mining industry in Western Australia, primarily working as a Geotechnical Engineer. “I worked mainly in the data analysis side of things, processing data from the rock core to ascertain the strength of the rock in different areas of the planned mine pit to allow for a suitable design.” When the downturn hit the mining industry, Cameron took the opportunity to work and travel across New Zealand. “I enjoyed labouring on a vineyard and an avocado orchard, but I wanted to get back into the technical side of things, using the skills I had developed. “I think this role with New Zealand Avocado is a good fit for me. It will have me looking at data from our growers to understand what is happening in terms of chemical choice,
pest pressure and quality in different locations and identifying trends. “I will also be looking at improving many of the processes, especially at the data collection stage. “Outside of work, I really enjoy the outdoors – mountain biking, hiking and white-water kayaking which are part of the reasons I came to New Zealand.”
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Industry matters Financial reporting changes for NZ Avocado
Newsroom
Previously, the financial statements of NZ Avocado Growers’ Association Incorporated and Group have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand, which means statements of standard accounting practice and financial reporting standards. For entities with reporting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2015 that have historically prepared financial statements in accordance with Financial Reporting Standards (FRSs) and Statements of Standard Accounting Practice (SSAPs), these standards will no longer be applicable authoritative support under the XRB accounting standards. NZ Avocado Growers’ Association Incorporated and Avocado Industry Council Limited have determined we do
not have any obligation to prepare general purpose financial statements and as such have resolved to prepare special purpose financial statements for periods beginning on and after 1 May 2015. The executive committee of NZ Avocado Growers’ Association Incorporated and the Directors of Avocado Industry Council Limited will consider and approve a set of accounting policies under which the special purpose financial statements will be prepared. While these policies are yet to be defined, it is anticipated they will closely follow the policies adopted by the entities in the previous financial period. NZ Avocado’s Business Manager Jay Bent is available to discuss this change with growers, please call 0800 286 2236.
Fruit theft – growers urged to be extra vigilant NZ Avocado has received multiple reports of avocado theft from orchards in the Te Puke area during the past month. We urge growers in all regions to be extra vigilant throughout the next few months.
If you see something – say something. New Zealand Police recommend the following: • Be extra vigilant and take steps to prevent theft, including increasing security around your orchard. • If you witness any suspicious behaviour, contact your neighbouring orchards to ensure others are also keeping a look out. If a theft takes place, the New Zealand Police encourage reporting in all instances: • If witnessed at the time of theft, call the Police emergency line on 111 immediately. Try to take as many details as you can of the thieves, including their appearance and any vehicles and vehicle registration numbers etc. • If you discover fruit has been stolen but you did not witness the theft, contact your local police station. • If you have had fruit stolen recently but have not yet reported it, contact your local police station. If you are approached by anyone trying to sell car boot loads of avocados, take a description of the person and their vehicle registration and report the activity to your local police station.
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Why do you need a spray plan? The Regional Air Plan states you need a Property Spray Plan when you intend to carry out widespread application of agrichemicals within 50 metres of your property boundary. Details and tips on this were provided in the September 2015 issue of AvoScene. Newsroom
When it comes to sprays, concerns and difficulties can be avoided if neighbours talk to each other. A copy of the spray plan must be given to your neighbour if they ask for it. A spray plan needs to be prepared and reviewed each year. An editable Spray Plan template with a model notification form can be found on the industry website under http://industry.nzavocado.co.nz/industry/spray_ application.csn This document will help you prepare a property Spray Plan.
Businesses to have their say in new food safety rules The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is calling for input from food businesses and providers into new food safety rules. A consultation on Notices under the new Food Act 2014 has been released recently. Notices give further detail about how the new Act will work on a practical level, says MPI’s Manager Food and Beverage Sally Johnston. “The new Food Act 2014 comes into force in March next year and we consulted on the regulations earlier this year. This consultation is another chance for food businesses and providers to have their say in how the law works in practice.” The proposed notices apply to a wide range of food businesses that need to operate under a food control plan or national programme. This includes those serving food, such as restaurants and cafes, as well as those manufacturing, selling or importing food. The new Act recognises that different food activities involve different risks. Higher risk activities, such as preparing meals, will operate under a written food control plan, which identifies food safety risks and sets out steps to mitigate those risks. Lower risk activities, such as selling prepackaged food, will operate under a national programme. They won’t need a written plan, but will need to follow requirements for producing safe and suitable food. While the Act itself forms the basis of the new law, what businesses must do to comply with the new Act are set out in Regulations and Notices. This consultation asks for feedback on practical areas of implementation, including templates for
creating food control plans, requirements for ensuring food is safe and suitable, requirements for importers, and skills needed to evaluate and verify high risk processes, such as low acid canned food. “We encourage all those who will operate under the Food Act 2014, including food providers and those who work with them, to help inform every stage of its development. “Your feedback will help us assess whether we need to amend our proposals to better meet your needs, while still ensuring that our food safety system is robust and effective.” Deadline for submissions is 5pm, 6 November 2015. Find out more here http://mpi.govt.nz/news-andresources/consultations/proposals-for-notices-under-thefood-act-2014/
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Recommended reading By Phillip West, R&D Officer, New Zealand Avocado
phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz
Newsroom
Summer is almost upon us, which means thoughts wander to barbeques, sunblock and irrigation. With talk of El Niño potentially bringing a particularly dry summer, many growers may be thinking about investing in a new irrigation system or upgrading an existing one. Recommended reading for this issue of AvoScene is the resources page of the Irrigation New Zealand website, which has a range of handy checklists and templates for growers with existing irrigation systems and those considering investing in one. http://irrigationnz.co.nz/news-resources/ irrigation-resources/ We all understand avocado trees need water, however questions remain – how much water and how often? What is the impact of my trees drying out a bit? NZ Avocado is currently working with Plant & Food Research and The University of Waikato to better understand the water use of avocado trees in New Zealand and what impact soil moisture deficits can have on production. Dr Michael Clearwater from The University of Waikato reported progress of this work at our Katikati field day in June (a copy of the field day handout is under the resource tab of our industry website). Preliminary results from this work supports anecdotal reports from growers that prolonged dry periods can limit fruit size, hitting growers in the pocket. Lack of moisture also effects nutrient uptake by the roots and can effect root distribution. In dry summers the root system can die back and become limited to the area of soil covered by sprinklers. Sprinkler coverage as low as 30% has been observed in some orchards with larger trees and this restriction on the root system undoubtedly puts stress on the tree and reduces productivity. Where soil moisture deficits are present, even if infrequent, irrigation may prove to be a
worthwhile investment. So, where to start? Irrigation New Zealand’s webpage has a range of information available but some examples that may be of particular use are listed below: • Practical instructions on how to determine soil texture and how soil texture affects water relations in your soil. • Documents relating to irrigation development and what you should consider before investing. • Useful checklists for preseason and ongoing maintenance. • A template for an orchard environmental plan. • A standard irrigation contract between Purchaser and Contractor. • Guide for commissioning a new irrigation system. • Suggested guidelines for the safe use of fertigation systems. Hopefully the information on Irrigation New Zealand’s website can be of some use when thinking about soil moisture and irrigation. We suggest you get in contact with local irrigation providers and talk to growers in your area to help understand issues specific to your area.
Reading your trees Below are the key tree characteristics as set out in your Reading Your Trees Guide to assess at this time of year: • October to December: Spring flush, pages 11-15 • December: Roots, pages 28-29, Canopy Density, pages 30-31 • December to January: Fruit, pages 24-27 • January: Summer Flush, pages 16-17 Once your trees have been assessed you will be ready to consider the suggested intervention strategies. At the bottom of each section in this guide there are a number of
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factors to consider to optimise your orchard management.You will need to determine which is the best option for your own situation – if in doubt, seek specialist advice. Download the Reading Your Trees workbook from the industry website under Resources > and select Orchard Management Guidelines from the drop down box. This workbook complements the Reading Your Trees guide and allows you to record your assessments.
AvoGreen Manual
Major changes of note are: • Changes in structure of AvoGreen • Changes in the definitions to support the change in structure • Change to terms of Owner–Operator licence and Owner-Operator Pest Monitor accreditation (5 years down to 3 years) • Action Threshold Level for Leafroller in shoots;
Calendar of events
2% or more fruit sites are infested, OR 2% or more shoot sites are infested. • F ruit and shoot sites can be monitored in a single monitoring round BUT the calculations must be made separately
Newsroom
The AvoGreen Manual Version 5.2 dated August 2015 is now available on the website www.nzavocado.co.nz > Export > AvoGreen > AvoGreen Manual. This replaces all previous versions. Please familiarise yourself with the latest copy as there has been formatting and renumbering changes.
• Clarification of calculations • Editing changes Note: All changes in the document are reflected in the blue font. If you have any questions about the AvoGreen Manual please email Glenys Parton - glenys.parton@nzavocado.co.nz
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Avocado news from the world
Newsroom
Shoppers spend more overall when buying avocados, study shows US consumers spend significantly more money in retailers when avocados are included in their baskets, according to new research from the Hass Avocado Board.
executive director Emiliano Escobedo said.
In a new study entitled Keys to the Cart: Driving Hass Avocado Sales at Retail, the California-based association looked at how avocado purchases impacted the value of the retail market base, and also identified key consumer habits.
The study found more than half of US households buy avocados, with an average of 33 days between purchases. On average, shoppers purchase avocados six times per year and spend US$3.49 each time.
The findings show shoppers spend 65% more instore overall when avocados are included, while millennial shoppers spend 73% more. “The study, based on IRI household panel data, yields actionable insights into how high-value shoppers, such as millennials, are driving the category by purchasing avocados more frequently and spending more each time,” Hass Avocado Board
“Equally as interesting is how regional segmentation sheds light on areas that may be poised to deliver the next big wave of category growth.”
This equates to an annual avocado spend of US$20.76 per household. The Hass Avocado Board says retailers can benefit in various ways from the ‘robust’ fruit category, claiming the value of the basket increases to US$68 with avocados from US$54 without. Source: http://www.freshfruitportal.com/ news/2015/09/29/u-s-shoppers-spend-more-overallwhen-buying-avocados-study-says/?country=others
Avocados from Mexico offers new tools at show A new line up of branding and category-building programs from Avocados From Mexico set to be unveiled at Fresh Summit in Atlanta promises retailers, wholesalers and foodservice operators “Fresh 365/24/7” support. “We want Avocados From Mexico to be a benchmark for the fresh industry in the U.S. and you will definitely see that in terms of our marketing, trade, market intelligence and digital activation at the Summit,” president Alvaro Luque said. Avocados From Mexico plans to expand its “Avo Lifestyle” campaign with a partnership with “a major fitness brand” that offers consumers an app for their “My Avo Plan.” With the app, consumers can incorporate daily consumption of avocados into their personal health and fitness routines. The avocado organization also plans to highlight its
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alliance with Partnership for a Healthier America to boost the FNV campaign, which encourages teens and mothers to consume and prepare more Fruits ’n’ Vegetables. For this year’s trade show, chef Mark Garcia is scheduled provide demonstrations of avocado uses at the Avocados From Mexico booth. “AFM will also feature innovation in the way of instore merchandising with new portable displays and an avocado education toolkit, which will feature a variety of unique in-store POS and displays designed to help educate the consumer on how to pick, ripen and store avocados.” Source: http://www.thepacker.com/news/avocadosmexico-offers-new-tools-show Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-08/ victorian-mallee-avocado-growers-battle-heat/6836850
Promising outlook for California’s 2016 avocado season
“It is so early to call a volume number, but it looks like the industry will have 30 to 45 percent more fruit available,” says Jan DeLyser with the California Avocado Commission. “We receive our estimates from growers and field representatives who regularly walk the groves to monitor the crop; it is encouraging to see the actual size of the fruit for this time of the year. “Because of the nice size, we anticipate a bit of an earlier start to the new season. There is still a long time to go, but with predications for El Niño the moisture in the air could further help size up the fruit. Moisture really helps in refreshing the tree.” Non-traditional uses of avocado support consumption
The avocado category has been experiencing significant growth. Offerings from other countries support year-round availability and consumption. In addition, the nutritional value of the Hass avocado plays an important role, but also the versatility of the fruit. “Avocados are used in ways beyond the traditional guacamole or ingredient in a salad,” mentioned DeLyser. “Currently, we have an initiative in which avocados are a breakfast item. We also have snacking and summer entertaining programs. Avocado volumes shipped for 4th of July are now neck and neck with
e Avosce Avoscen ne Happ New Zeala
“Advancement of ripening programs has also supported consumption. Consumers can pick up the fruit in the store and eat a ripe avocado that same night.” This year, US consumption amounted to 2 billion pounds and the projection for next year is about 2.2 billion pounds. Strong preference for California avocado
According to a study performed by Bovitz Research Inc. on behalf of the California Avocado Commission, two thirds of US avocado consumers with a preference prefer California avocados. They like the fact it is grown locally. The core market for California avocados is the area west of the Rocky Mountains. This includes California and Arizona, but also cities like Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland and Seattle. In addition, a smaller number is exported to Japan and South Korea. “Asian consumers also seem to have a preference for California avocados.” Increased popularity of Gem variety
Hass continues to be the main variety, accounting for over 95 percent of California production. It is popular for its nutritional value, its shipability as well as its ripening capabilities. “The Reed variety is becoming a bit more popular. It is a late-season variety available late summer and early fall with excellent eating quality that really stands out. Another variety that people are talking about is the Gem. It is Hass-like and likely to be a variety we will be hearing more about in future.”
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the Super Bowl and Cinco de Mayo. Newsroom
California’s 2015 avocado season has wrapped up and it will take about four months for the fruit to be available again in stores and restaurants. According to first estimates, California avocado volumes are looking bigger for next year.
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To book advertising space in the next issue of Avoscene please contact Suzy King at SunMedia Ltd. Booking deadline for the next issue is February 12th, 2016. Contact Suzy on 07 578 0030 or 021 769 831 email suzy@thesun.co.nz
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On the Orchard
trust the packhouse that puts growers first
Call (07) 573 0085 for more information. www.trevelyan.co.nz
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Health and Safety Reform Bill – what you need to know With the passing of the Health and Safety Reform Bill by Parliament, changes to health and safety will come into effect on 4 April 2016.
A
vocado orchardists need to meet their duties under the new law to ensure that their orchard as a workplace does not pose risks to employees’, contractors’, visitors and their own health and safety.
On the Orchard
When the new Health and Safety at Work Act comes into force 4 April 2016, it will replace the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and the Machinery Act 1950. Avocado orchardists have a primary duty of care in relation to the health and safety of workers and others affected by the work carried out on their property. What stage is the new law at? The Health and Safety Reform Bill has been passed by Parliament. It will come into effect on 4 April 2016.You can view the new Act here on the New Zealand Legislation website http://www.legislation.govt.nz on the homepage is a section called “Top documents”. The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 is in this list, click to view. What happens next?
The new law will be called the Health and Safety at Work Act. A series of regulations are being developed to support the new Act. These include: • General risk and workplace management • Major Hazard Facilities • Asbestos • Engagement, worker participation and representation (available shortly for public consultation) More information is on the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment webpage http://www.mbie.govt.nz/infoservices/employment-skills/workplace-health-and-safetyreform Things you can do now
• Familiarise yourself with the key concepts of the legislation • Review your health and safety practices • Identify health and safety risks in your business and take
steps to prevent these from causing harm • Lead by example • Make health and safety part of your workplace culture You can sign-up for updates on progress of the legislation here: www.business.govt.nz/worksafe/about/subscribe A hardcopy toolkit is available from Worksafe New Zealand, “Safer Farms Toolkit”. This toolkit is designed to help you manage health and safety on your orchard and provide guidance and templates in the following areas: • Assessing your health and safety practise • Understanding your legal duties • Creating your safety management plan • Managing your hazards and ricks You can request a toolkit directly from Worksafe NZ by calling 0800 030 040. Bay of Plenty Growers if you have any questions or would like to request a toolkit please contact David Wilkinson, Acting Assessment Manager – Tauranga, Central Region, phone 07 927 0324.
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Pest and disease watch: Cercospora spot By Brad Siebert, Biosecurity and Programme mManager, NZ Avocado brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz
On the Orchard
Although not yet present in New Zealand, Cercospora spot is a biosecurity threat that every grower needs to be aware of. Learn about what to look for and how to report this disease.
What is Cercospora spot?
Cercospora spot Pseudocercospora purpurea is an important fungal disease of avocados that is present in many countries, including parts of Australia. In South Africa it is considered one of the most serious pre-harvest diseases with untreated orchards potentially losing up to 70% of exportable fruit. The fungus prefers warm, humid and rainy climates and is able to infect previously uninjured fruit and leaves making it a pest we don’t want to have in New Zealand. What should I look for?
Symptoms can be seen on leaves, fruit and stems, with infections appearing at any time during the growing season. The first signs of the fungus are often small angular necrotic brown spots on leaves surrounded by a distinctive yellow halo. Leaf spots are first apparent on the underside of mature leaves however as the infection progresses, spots are seen on both sides and may join to form larger brown-purple patches. Under humid or wet conditions affected areas can support what looks like tuffs of greyish mould when seen through a hand lens. On immature fruit, infections first appear as small greenishwhite superficial blemishes. Once fruit matures, or the disease has progressed, fruit will have small, scattered, slightly raised spots that have a definite outline but irregular shape. As the disease develops lesions and brown spots can
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become sunken and eventual cracks can form on the fruit. These skin cracks can create an entry point for other fungal pathogens that are often already present in the orchard like Botryosphaeria Sp. (a common cause of New Zealand’s postharvest rots). How is it spread and controlled?
The fungus produces numerous spores which are easily spread by wind, water, insects and movement of contaminated orchard tools and equipment. The movement of spore infected fruit and plant material will rapidly spread the disease over long distances to new regions. The fungus can overwinter within the lesions of leaves and twigs until the combination of humidity and rainfall will release spores to infect new fruit and leaves in early summer. Growers trying to manage the fungus overseas are having to use proactive fungicide sprays like copper from the time of fruit set until harvest. Who can I call?
Any unusual plant symptoms or plant pests you have noticed on your orchard should be reported to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) on 0800 80 99 66 or email info@mpi.govt.nz or by contacting NZ Avocado on 07 571 6147.
New Zealand promotions: Everyone’s talking about avocados By Midge Munro – Communications Manager, NZ Avocado
midge.munro@nzavocado.co.nz
Early results from the launch of the avocado season in New Zealand to media and influencers has been phenomenal, with a strong upsurge in articles and online mentions.
Markets
Season launch avocado salad kit to media.
In early September we sent NZ Avocado launch kits to 40 key media and influential personalities to announce the start of the avocado season New Zealand.
We have identified from research and engagement with avocado consumers that there are four target consumer groups for our activity. We have also identified the media and personalities that have the biggest influence over the health and food information that these groups receive or engage with. Our four target groups are foodies (our core avocado loving group who are older singles and couples with high income), mothers/fathers, working women, and fitness/ health enthusiasts. The launch kits were tailored to each of these groups and sent to media/influencers that are aligned to each group.
Example of great exposure avocados are receiving since the season launch.
Each kit contained a recipe – we used Nadia Lim’s Avocado and Crunchy Bok Choy Slaw Brown Rice Salad as a base and then tailored the name of the recipe and the description to suit each audience. We also included fresh avocados, some other ingredients to make the recipe, a recipe booklet with our key messages, and either a NZ Avocado Amazing Anytime branded portable salad container or a salad bowl – specifically for the foodie group. Feedback on social media was instant and pick up by food writers has continued to come through daily in our media monitoring. Engagement with these groups will continue throughout the season with recipe and health releases to keep a steady stream of avocado information flowing to our target consumers.
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Bid to host WAC 2019 raises international visibility of industry Jen Scoular – CEO, NZ Avocado jen.scoular@nzavocado.co.nz
Reports
A large contingent from the New Zealand avocado industry participated at the 8th World Avocado Congress in Lima, Peru from 13-19 September.
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The World Avocado Congress happens every four years and at the end of each event, delegates decide which country will host the next one.
Tourism NZ approached New Zealand Avocado in 2013 with the idea, and financial support, to bid to host the 2019 World Avocado Congress in New Zealand. NZ Avocado took up the challenge and put together a strong bid which climaxed at the final presentation in Peru, where New Zealand and Colombia competed for the 2019 hosting rights. Voting happens at the end of the very last session of the congress after a presentation by each of the competing countries. Delegates present at this final session are eligible for one vote. The New Zealand bid campaign was initially stronger than Colombia's, and started prior to the congress with letters going out to more than 100 global avocado friends, and direct contact made with mostly the English speaking industry associations and Boards. New Zealand had a pavilion in the centre of the trade show, supported by NZ Avocado, Plant & Food Research and Compac Soprting Equipment.
of themselves, at tour exhibition stand with a New Zealand delegate then email the photo to ivotenz@nzavocado.co.nz It was a clever way of engaging with delegates, getting them onto our stand and getting their contact details as well as having a chat to the photo was taken. Most would also come round the next day to make sure their photo was up on the stand. We would estimate that 700 of the 1,000 delegates were Spanish speaking, and although each of the presentations had simultaneous translation, the opening and closing events, the formal dinner and the lunches were delivered in Spanish, without translation. We were naĂŻve about how supportive South Americans are for their fellow South American countries.
Jarrod Redwood - Freshmax, AllanWoolf - Plant & Food Research,Wendy and Chris Ward growers fromWaikanae.
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In addition to Tourism NZ funding, the Auckland Convention Bureau also provided financial support and resources for the bid, as Auckland was chosen to be the host city should NZ Avocado be successful in its bid. Air New Zealand also came to the party with the offer of two free return flights to New Zealand from any Air NZ hub. This was well utilised in a brilliant competition held on the trade show stand. To enter the competition, delegates had to take a selfie or photo
Glenys Parton, Jen Scoular and Midge Munro with women from the Brazilian avocado industry.
Yvonne McDiarmid, Jem Burdon - both Plant & Food Research, StephenWade - Lynwood Avocado Nursery.
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By the end of day four we felt the vote would go strongly toward Colombia. The Colombian Ambassador spoke to about 400 delegates at the final lunch, in Spanish, about Colombia’s bid. Colombia presented in five sessions over the congress, but managed to present four of those on the last day, whereas New Zealand presented 12 times, but had no sessions on the final day.
The voting is a long process where every delegate received a popsicle stick and lined up to drop it in either the New Zealand or the Colombian box. At the end, the boxes are opened, and if close, the boxes are weighed. Throughout the presentations and voting there was a wonderful, passionate atmosphere, with New Zealanders and Colombians offering to attend each other’s 2019 congress, whatever the result was.
However we came back strongly on the final day, with a presentation done in both English and Spanish, by the CEO and R&D Manager, a native Spanish speaker. It was an electric audience, of about 700, an amazing atmosphere. We made two points in particular if we were to host the 2019 congress that received huge cries of support:
New Zealand votes weighed 321 grams to Colombia’s 335 grams, so the 2019 congress will be hosted by Colombia.
• We offered a much reduced registration fee • We offered full translation at all the events
Reports
We added to this passionate atmosphere with a wonderful diversion when we asked Ashby Whitehead the Chair, to salute the All Blacks, as this was also the opening of the Rugby World Cup. Ashby’s salute was a perfectly pitched rugby ball, duly emblazoned with VoteNZ logo, into the audience. This was the cue for the other strategically placed Kiwis to throw their emblazoned rugby balls out into the crowd. This added to the cries and cheers of support, and to the demand for more balls!
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New Zealand graciously conceded defeat, and will strongly support Colombia at the next congress. Colombian officials at the time said, and their political agency have since tweeted, that Colombia will strongly support a bid in 2019 for New Zealand to host the 2023 congress. There are benefits for our industry and for New Zealand in hosting a world congress and NZ Avocado has the capability to do so. These include providing a chance to highlight advances the industry has made with the Primary Growth Partnership; offer what might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to New Zealanders to be delegates at a world congress; showcase our industry’s unique advantages; share knowledge of new technology; raise visibility of the industry and support industry morale; and network with the world’s avocado researchers.
World Avocado Congress – an R&D perspective Phillip West, R&D Officer, NZ Avocado
phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz
The information shared and received at the World Avocado Congress in Peru will prove invaluable as NZ Avocado moves forward in its research programme. Hear about some of the highlights of the Congress from an R&D perspective.
Congress field trip to a Peruvian avocado orchard.
I was very privileged to travel to Peru earlier this year in
New Zealand was well represented in terms of attendance, presentations, networking and Pisco Sour consumption - have a chat to anyone you know that went, as I’m sure everyone came back with useful pieces of information from both the presentations as well as conversations with other avocado people from around the world. I came away from both the brainstorming session and the congress feeling what we are doing in New Zealand with our research programme is quite similar to what is going on in other countries. Internationally we’re all still struggling with alternate bearing, trying to increase fruit set/productivity, manage pests and diseases, while having one eye on the future in terms of new cultivars and what they might be able to provide us in terms of growing systems and consumer experience.
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September to attend both the World Avocado Congress and a brainstorming session of scientists held prior to the congress. The whole experience was fantastic and so I will endeavour to pass on some of the interesting research highlights in this article and how what we are doing in New Zealand ties in.
Carol Lovatt presented a fascinating piece of work where the production characteristics from some 3,000 trees from different areas of California were tracked for 20 years from 1992 to 2012. Information on both production and fruit size was collected, along with climate, soil type, root stock and management practices, to understand limitations to Hass production and the areas best to target to increase total yield sustainably. Carol reported adverse climatic events causing low yields and triggering alternate bearing cycles similar to what we see in New Zealand. Sixty-six per cent of the trees had an alternate bearing index (ABI) of between 50- 100% (ABI% is the percentage difference between “on” and “off ” cropping seasons) and 47% of the trees had an ABI above 75%. Carol recommended that, to improve the total yield per tree, growers in the Californian area should focus on addressing the high level of alternate bearing. She did not present any suggestions on how to mitigate the alternate bearing but noted there were several trees producing good yields consecutively and planned to investigate these trees further. Carol also presented a plenary talk on how targeting
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-D oubling soil applied Nitrogen during fruit set increased yield and reduced alternate bearing. -B ack-to-back soil application of Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N-P-K) during exponential fruit growth increased total yield and the yield of commercially valuable sized fruit. -M ultiple soil applications of N-P-K reduced avocado yield compared to trees receiving multiple applications of N only of N-P-K during exponential fruit growth.
It was a full house for Carol Lovatt's presentation.
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nutrient application to match the demand of the tree can benefit production. We all know avocado trees go through different phases of their reproductive cycle at different times of year. What might be less well understood is the changing needs of the tree for 17 essential elements through these phases. Carol’s talk focussed on the nutrient status of the tree but also recognised the additional benefits fertilisers can have, such as improving soil structure and nutrient retention capacity, adjusting pH and helping create a soil environment that suppresses pathogens. The main point Carol was trying to address was that if one or more particular nutrient is deficient then the tree can only perform as well as the limiting nutrient allows, irrespective of the abundance of other nutrients. Carol spoke about foliar application as being quite useful for some nutrients when targeting a specific phenological event, such as flowering, as there is a level of uncertainty around transport, timing of uptake and things like leeching with soil application - Carol was talking from a Californian perspective with very dry soils with increasing salinity issues and water restrictions. Some interesting highlights were: - Foliar applied boron at the cauliflower flowering stage increased ovule viability, number of ovules penetrated by pollen tubes and overall yield. - Foliar applied potassium phosphite at the same stage of flowering increased fruit size.
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Of course the soil, environmental conditions and fertiliser practices of Californian orchards are quite different to those found here in New Zealand, so please be careful in applying Carol’s work directly to your own orchard. A full article covering the information Carol presented is available in the Californian Avocado Society’s 2013 yearbook, which you can find by doing a Google search for “Hass avocado nutrition research in California”. Improving fruit set was another topic that stood out to me, with a lot of research investigating flower quality with a particular focus on carbohydrate resourcing of flowers. As you’ve read from Carol Lovatt’s work above, carbohydrates aren’t the only thing flowers need to set fruit, but I think it’s an interesting research area that relates to tree health, balance and alternate bearing. Several presentations related to carbohydrate resourcing of flowers, all of which pointed towards flower pistil retention being higher in pistils containing higher levels of carbohydrate - i.e. more carbohydrates in the flowers meaning more fruit retained for harvest. Inaki Hormaza presented work looking at starch content of pistils but also reported work looking at other factors, including the number of pollen grains deposited per flower and the effect of temperature and humidity during flowering. Inaki reported that while fruit retention was greater when flowers received more pollen (greater than 40 grains) there were still fruit dropped that received much more pollen, suggesting more pollen isn’t the silver bullet. Temperature effected the time taken for a pollen tube to grow from the pollen grain to the ovule with the process taking about eight days at 30°C, but is progressively slower at colder temperatures, taking up to 30 days at 10°C. Temperature and humidity also affected the timing of flower opening and the “stickiness” of pollen respectively and suggested
irrigation or fogging to increase orchard humidity may help with pollination in some orchards. Inaki’s also noted that trees close to pollenisers had higher yields in “off ” years and that having an even distribution of hives in the orchard also improved yields compared to having them all at one end.
damage the beetles cause when they make their galleries inside the trunk is significant but the biggest effect is from the spread of the fungi they inoculate the trees with. Each species of beetle carries a limited range of fungal species that impact different host plants.
Regardless of the signalling and details involved, I believe most growers understand that to provide the best chance of good fruit set a multitude of things need to be in place. It comes down to having healthy, well balanced trees with enough pollen present at the right time and the pollinators to get it where it needs to be. If you manage to get that right, then it just comes down to keeping your fingers crossed that the climate behaves during pollination and through the rest of the season to ensure you have a good amount of the right sized fruit come harvest.
The Redbay Ambrosia beetle carries the fungi Raffaelea lauricola that causes Laurel Wilt and is a big problem in Florida. The fungus causes xylem to become clogged, blocking the transport of water and nutrients to sections of canopy. This results in wilting, dieback and potentially the death of the tree. Human activity has assisted the spread through the transporting of infested wood (mainly firewood). Control is very difficult as the beetles are very well protected from pesticides once inside the trunks of the trees.
The final main area that stood out to me was the number of pest and diseases other countries are dealing with. We are currently in an enviable position with the small number of pests we have and the relatively limited impact they have on our industry. I stress “relatively” because they can still have a significant impact and growers spend a significant amount of money to manage them. Exotic pests like Laurel Wilt and Brown Marmorated stink bug could make life a whole lot more complicated and expensive if they ever arrived here.
The Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer is another member of the Ambrosia beetle family and vectors three fungi: Fusarium euwallaceae, Graphium sp and Acremonium sp. The Fusarium dieback that PSHB cause is similar to laurel wilt as the tree also walls off its xylem in an attempt to halt the spread of the fungus, which limits its own supply of water and nutrients.
Ambrosia beetles are about the size of a sesame seed and farm fungi as a food source. They burrow into trees and inoculate their cosy new homes with fungal spores that they store in special pouches in their mouths. The physical
Keeping up-to-date with international researchers to understand their experiences and seeing if it translates to New Zealand conditions will I’m sure have benefits for the future and our industry as a whole. I would encourage anyone thinking of attending the 2019 World Congress in Colombia to utilise the experience of sharing your knowledge and experience with the world and bringing some back as well.
Reports
The majority of the pest presentations focused on ambrosia beetles and the associated fungi they carry. These guys and their associated fungi are particularly scary in that once established they are extremely difficult to control and cause major damage to avocado orchards. An additional factor is their ability to rapidly reproduce from a single unmated female to an established breeding population.
It’s difficult to squeeze all the information from Peru into a single article but it will definitely filter into future articles, as well our research programme. As I mentioned at the start of this article, I came away from the trip feeling our research is well aligned with what is going on overseas and we are very much up with the play.
Carol Lovatt is the Professor of Plant Physiology and Plant Physiologist for the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. Inaki Hormaza is a Professor at the Mayora Research Station of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research in Malaga, Spain.
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Asia Fruit Logistica update Bevan Jelley, NZ Market, NZ Avocado bevan.jelly@nzavocado.co.nz
NZ Avocado joined exporters to promote avocados from New Zealand at Asia Fruit Logistica in September.
New Zealand avocado exporters at Asia Fruit Logistica. New Zealand avocado exporters at Asia Fruit Logistica.
A
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sia Fruit Logistica is the largest fresh fruit trade show in Asia and with more than 8000 attendees, it provides unrivalled opportunity to connect with avocado importers, marketers and retailers from all over the Asia region. NZ Avocado engaged with these contacts to learn about their markets, customers and businesses and speak to them about the benefits of avocados from New Zealand and the industry systems that ensure premium, safe fruit for their customers. Two hundred Premium New Zealand Avocados information packs, translated in Chinese and English, were distributed at the show. It was fantastic to see the amount of interest in avocados from New Zealand and the related business taking place at the stands of our New Zealand avocado exporters. AVANZA, Seeka, Freshmax, JP Exports and Te Mata had bustling stands with back-to-back customer meetings throughout the full three days of the trade show, cementing relationships for the coming season and generating new business for New Zealand avocado growers’ fruit in Asian markets.
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There was a significant amount of interest from Chinese importers and retailers in avocados from New Zealand. Many asked when market access for New Zealand avocados will be granted to China and spoke of recent growth in their avocado sales, making it very clear that when access becomes available, they want them! Avocados and avocado imagery were highly prominent at the trade show, reflecting the massive opportunity presented by the rapid growth of avocado consumption across the region. South American fresh fruit suppliers from Chile, Peru and Mexico all had large avocado displays and stand imagery to capitalise on the growth in avocados. The amount of resource they dedicated to promoting avocados showed the competitive environment in which our New Zealand exporters work and underlined the importance for NZ Avocado to have a presence at this show, to support our exporters by leveraging the story of avocados from New Zealand and raising the visibility of our unique industry.
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High Health Scheme Brad Siebert – Biosecurity and Programme Manager, NZ Avocado
brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz
The High Health Scheme is an industry funded project initiated in 2008 which set out to develop a plant propagation programme for use in New Zealand avocado nurseries to promote tree health, genetic traceability and ensure disease-free planting material was available for growers.
Reports
The development of the High Health Scheme was a
collaborative effort between the New Zealand Avocado Nursery Association (NZANA) and the New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Association (NZAGA). The High Health Scheme (HHS) was launched in 2013 with the objective of certifying that plants produced under the scheme were propagated under a nursery management system that would: • Ensure plants were true to type (tracing of source material and genetic identity); • Minimise the risk of Avocado Sunblotch Viroid (ASBVd); • Minimise the risk of Phytophthora cinnamomi (Pc); • Comply with minimum physical specifications; • Allow the traceability of all material back to the source block it was harvested from.
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Two nurseries, Riversun Nursery Ltd and Lynwood Avocado Nursery Ltd, have been accredited under the HHS since its inception and remain at the forefront of avocado rootstock supply throughout New Zealand. These nurseries are independently audited on an annual basis and assist in regular reviews to ensure the scheme is meeting the needs of the industry. Purchasing certified nursery plants provides assurance that every new tree introduced onto your orchard is true to type, healthy, meets specific physical specifications and that the nursery followed a management system based on minimising, and testing for, plant diseases. An upcoming review will focus on ensuring a far greater number of avocado nurseries are able to meet the requirements of the High Health Scheme. Changes will also provide nurseries with greater ability to manage the
rootstock varieties they produce and ensure biosecurity aspects of the scheme are still sufficient to provide an early warning system for the industries high impact diseases. The distribution of uncertified nursery stock remains a high risk pathway for the spread of industry pests and diseases. To reduce this threat, NZ Avocado need a greater understanding of what nurseries are producing avocado plants so a comprehensive nursery register can be maintained. This register will be of benefit to growers looking for propagation material and will contribute to biosecurity preparedness. Only members of the New Zealand Avocado Nursery Association which are implementing the High Health Scheme are eligible to receive and propagate the patented cultivars under AIC control. Current members of the nursery association include: • Riversun Nursery Limited (Gisborne)
on their details so we can contact them and include them in industry communications.
• Lynwood Avocado Nursery (Whangarei) • Opihi Nurseries Ltd (Te Puna) If you propagate avocado plants for distribution or have brought plants from a supplier not listed above, please pass
Reports
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Research & Development update By Phillip West, R&D Officer, NZ Avocado phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz Danni van der Heijden, R&D Associate, NZ Avocado danielle.vanderheijden@nzavocado.co.nz
It’s been a busy few months for the R&D team with various trials underway with Plant & Food Research, as well as trips up to the Whangarei and Northland areas. Hear about what they have been up to.
The NZ Avocado R&D team has been out in orchards along with Plant & Food Research staff collecting data from trials as well as setting up and planning new ones as part of the MBIE: Avocado’s for Export and PGP: Go Global research programmes.
New orchards have also been selected for trials looking at the effect that the timing of pruning may have on balancing an orchard in an “on” year with excessive flowering. Plans have also been made to use one of these orchards to continue work on understanding the effects temperature has on flowering and fruit set. To complement this on-orchard set up, the project will also utilise Plant & Food Research’s nearly completed temperature controlled glasshouse facility. Danni visited Whangarei in mid-October to install temperature loggers in orchards and take measurements of the new cultivar trees that are part of the industries ongoing assessment programme. The temperature loggers were installed in
Phillip has been working with the PGP Canopy Management working group based in the Bay of Plenty to help characterise another pruning method. This working group is tasked with characterising some of the different approaches to avocado pruning, assessing their performance and communicating them to the wider industry.
Reports
The first year’s harvest data was collected from the “Small Tree” project aimed at investigating whether growing trees in a more intensive system with closer spacings and smaller trees is economically viable.
orchards that are part of the Primary Growth Partnership New Cultivars project and will help the working group understand how temperature may influence the performance of the different varieties.
We are still in the early days of this work but it’s hoped that this resource will allow growers to obtain objective information about pruning options available to them so they can decide what might work best for their own situation. In late October Phillip travelled to the Far North region to meet with the PGP Tree Decline working group to help progress the work plan and discuss how best to monitor the performance of the trees that are involved in the project. It’s a busy but exciting time of year for the whole industry to be getting fruit harvested and with flowering hinting at the prospects for next year.
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Avocentric - Ian Fulton By Elaine Fisher, Journalist, SunMedia
elaine@thesun.co.nz
The freedom to go fishing anytime is among a number of advantages to being an avocado grower, says Ian Fulton, who is an orchard owner, as well as AIC Director and NZAGA Far North representative.
Reports
Photography by Rochelle Lewis, Little Rock Photography
Avocados are a great crop and within reason very forgiving.
For most jobs on the orchard if it is a great day and the fish are biting, work can be put off until another day. Avocados only ripen once they are picked, which provides huge flexibility for harvesting. “For the good growers, avocados are a quite profitable business; better than green kiwifruit, though less than gold kiwifruit.
“The industry is fairly mature with a good industry body providing governance and there are plenty of packhouses and exporters. This allows growers to focus just on their orchard operations and not get distracted by industry issues and packing/marketing.” These are among the attributes which attracted Ian to the
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industry after a 25-year professional career in agricultural engineering, land management and environmental management. For 10 years Ian was responsible for the rehabilitation programmes at Alcan Gove, a world-class bauxite mining and alumina refinery operation in Eastern Anhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. Gold mine
A significant part of the work involved research programmes to demonstrate rehabilitation success on mined land and to develop rehabilitation techniques for the alumina refinery tailing ponds. The research was mostly contracted to CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia’s federal government agency for
scientific research) and the University of Queensland.
Orchard Performance
“The tailing ponds were particularly difficult to rehabilitate given that the material, when deposited in the ponds, had a consistency of toothpaste, and was highly sodic with a pH of 11 to 12.” In November 2006 Ian purchased an 8.3 canopy hectare orchard in the Far North at Waiharara, mid-way between Kaitaia and Houhora. Its trees ranged from recently planted to six years in age and were just starting to produce a crop. In the second year of owning the orchard, to supplement income, he worked for six months in southern China on a large gold mine mentoring Chinese national staff on environmental management, with an emphasis on developing the site’s rehabilitation strategy and closure plan. “The employment was on a fly-in, fly-out basis; 30 days on, 10 days off. Paid the bills but became just too difficult to try and catch up on orchard work during the 10 days off.” Today Ian’s orchard totals 13.3 canopy ha, made up of the 8.3 canopy ha mature orchard and 5.0 canopy ha bought as sheltered bare land in July 2011 which has been progressively planted during the last four years. Zutano rootstock
The two blocks are on opposite sides of Norton Road, Waiharara, and trees on the original orchard range in age from 10 to 15 year old Hass with about eight per cent Zutano pollinators. All trees are on Zutano rootstock.
Across the road on the newer block there are trees from just planted to four year-olds, once again Hass with eight per cent mixed pollinators. “A bit over half are on Dusa/Bounty clonal root stock and the balance on Zutano root stock.” Ian operates the orchard himself with a half-time labour unit plus casual labour for picking and phosphonate injecting. He won the Team Avocado Grower of the Year award for the 2011-2012 and for the 2012-2013 seasons.
Reports
It may be called the “Winterless North” but this winter Ian’s orchard experienced at least 20 frosts with one -4.5 degrees C causing loss of 2,000 to 3,000 trays and quite a bit of tree damage. “Some years there’s only a couple of mild frosts, while other years there’s 15 to 20 frosts with a couple of severe frosts that cause fruit loss, flower bud loss and death of some young planted trees. “The Far North is always windy. We have wet, windy, mild winters and springs with dry summers and autumn.” Tropical storms
He says there’s the potential (one every four or five years) for tropical storms during summer and early autumn. Photography by Rochelle Lewis, Little Rock Photography
“Every two to three years we have severe winter storms, normally in July.
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“The orchard is very low lying, with the water table being basically at sea level. In their natural state these soils will not support the growing of avocados as they have poor drainage due to the pan. “In preparation for planting, the pan is broken and top soil mounded along the proposed avocado rows using a large excavator. On all the new plantings the pan is also broken in the hollow between the planting rows. Earthworks are also done to ensure surface water does not pond anywhere and readily drains away.” Management
The soil and trees are fed with various N, P, K, Mg and Ca plus trace element fertilisers, with at least one NPK application per month. Solid fertiliser is applied by hand and spreader, while soluble fertiliser is fertigated through the irrigation system. “We use about 60 per cent solid fertiliser and the balance is soluble fertiliser.”
Photography by Rochelle Lewis, Little Rock Photography
“As I have no control over storms, I do not lose any sleep, as they are just a fact of life – just clean up the mess afterwards.” However, all blocks on Ian’s orchard are well sheltered with pine shelterbelts. For frost mitigation there are two wind machines located in low lying areas, plus the irrigation systems are automatically controlled by temperature sensors that allow irrigation to be cycled around the more sensitive blocks. Irrigation is used from mid-October to mid-April, but this varies from year to year depending on rainfall. Water is sourced from two bores. “Most orchards in the Far North access water from an aquifer that underlies the Aupouri Peninsula.” Soil on the orchard has been mapped as One Tree Point Peaty Sand/Ruakaka Peaty Sandy Loam association – and the typical soil profile is 0.6m of peaty sandy loam over a cemented pan with free draining sand below the pan. The groundwater table is two to four metres below the surface.
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Phytophthora is a problem, especially in the poorer draining areas, so annual phosphonate injecting is done in late autumn. Greenhouse thrips have become an issue, especially with the trees getting bigger with heavy crop loads. “Six spotted mites have been problematic but the insect growth regulator ParaMite has made controlling this pest easier. Leafroller’s not much of an issue and there are plenty of good spray options available.” While those insects aren’t welcome in the orchard, Ian is happy to see others there. “I believe the trees get significant pollination from small flies and other insects, as the orchard is alive with insects, especially at night. Never had a problem setting fruit; if anything some blocks can set too much fruit that leads to stressing the trees and small fruit size etc.” However to assist pollination, four beehives per canopy ha are brought in. On the mature orchard there is an active pruning programme to reduce tree size to improve tree health, fruit size, spray coverage and orchard access.
Re-planting programme
From next spring a re-planting programme will commence to re-plant poor performing areas. “This will involve reworking the land, improving drainage and planting with Hass on clonal root stock. I am committed to do half a hectare per year for the next four years.” The mature orchard yielded 14.9T/ha in 2012/13; 22.2T/ha the following season and 18.3T/ha for the 2014/15 harvest. It is estimated to produce 22 to 24T/ha in the 2015-16 season. “It appears the orchard will average around 20 tonnes per hectare. On the recently planted orchard four-year-old trees have had two small crops, and three-year-old trees had their first crop this year. “The mature orchard is size picked, usually to 23 count and larger. We do two or three size picks eight to 10 weeks apart then strip in February, though some years small and coloured fruit are carried through to April/May; all depends on fruit sizing and likely market short-supply in April and May.” On the recently planted orchard, the trees are strippicked. Fulton Orchard’s fruit is packed through Far North Packers, with early and late season avocados going to the domestic market and from September to February Class 1 fruit is exported through AVOCO, with Classes 2 and 3 going to the domestic market. Reports
Managing and working on the orchard keeps Ian pretty busy but he stepped up to an industry governance role because of a combination of wanting more intellectual stimulation than running an orchard could provide plus the belief that he could make a positive contribution, particularly from a technical perspective. Ian says his professional background has been a great platform to become an avocado orchardist. “There is no shortage of advice on most orcharding issues, but the difficulty is deciphering good from bad or irrelevant advice, and my background is a great help in this area. The snake oil salesmen get a short shift on my property. After the first couple of years the word must have got around because they stopped knocking on the door.”
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Burgers OK for healthy men thanks to promising avocado research
Research shows men can still enjoy burgers as a treat and maintain good health simply by adding half an avocado to their hamburgers.
A pilot study carried out by the University of California (UCLA) and supported by the Hass Avocado Board, examined what happened when healthy men added half a fresh avocado to their hamburgers. The study found avocado helped reduce inflammation and narrowing of the blood vessels in comparison to men who ate a meat-only burger instead. The research, published in the journal Food and Function, said the effect of adding fresh avocado to the hamburgers was noticeable within hours. Consuming avocado helped slow the production of compounds that contributed to inflammation – a risk-factor associated with heart disease.
Nourish
The avocado also helped the men (aged 18 to 35) maintain normal blood flow around their bodies, which ensured oxygen and vital nutrients reached their organs, tissues and cells. Researchers believe these positive health effects are because avocados are rich in natural monounsaturated ‘healthy fats’ and antioxidants. Jen Scoular, Chief Executive of NZ Avocado, says the hamburger research has not been discussed in New Zealand
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before and there is now growing consumer awareness and understanding of the health benefits avocados can offer. The study also provides promising clues about the impact avocado has vascular and heart health in particular. “Avocados are one of the most nutritionally-complete foods in the world,” Jen says. “They’re full of fibre and help your body absorb more nutrients, from other foods you eat. “Eating avocado is not only delicious – it’s a great way to improve your overall health.” New Zealand’s summer crop of avocados is now on sale – just in time for families to get creative in the kitchen. “The kids will love smashing up avocado to add to gourmet hamburgers. New Zealand men – and their hearts – will thank you for it.” To read more about the study’s key findings visit www.avocadocentral.com/avocado-nutrition-center/uclastudy While these are initial findings from a single study, they provide promising clues and a basis for future research to determine whether avocados can play a role in the areas of vascular health and heart health.
Recipe
Avocado on toast Try these exciting and different variations of one of the most popular duos of our time – avocado and toast.
Avocado and tomato
Avocado and spices
Mash avocado and spread generously over toast, then place a selection of diced juicy cherry tomatoes on top. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Generously spread mashed avocado over toast and sprinkle with garlic powder, pepper, sea salt and red pepper flakes to spice it up.
Avocado and egg
Avocado with feta and sweetcorn
Poach, scramble or fry an egg and place on top of mashed avocado spread onto the toast. Finally top with a small handful of grated parmesan.
Grill a handful of fresh sweet corn and place on top of mashed avocado on toast. Top with crumbled feta to taste. Avocado with cream cheese
Avocado and smoked salmon
Slice avocado and place on toast, top with flaked smoked salmon then finish it off with a dash of lemon zest and a sprinkling of freshly cracked salt and pepper.
Smear cream cheese on toast and add mashed avocado on top. Finally sprinkle with a mix of seeds, salt, pepper, garlic and onion to taste. Avocado with bacon and goat cheese
Avocado and smashed peas
Avocado with pomegranate seeds, strawberries, feta and balsamic
Dice or mash up avocado and spread generously over toast. Add fresh pomegranate seeds, thinly sliced strawberries and crumbled feta. Finish off with a drizzle of balsamic.
Mash avocado and spread generously on toast. Top with finely chopped pieces of bacon and sprinkle with goat’s cheese. Avocado with feta and mint
Nourish
Smash a handful of cooked peas and spread on toast. Place avocado slices over the peas and top with salt and pepper to taste.
Thinly slice avocado and place on toast. Cover with feta, chopped mint, a dash of salt and a splash of lemon juice. Avocado with bacon and eggs
Scramble an egg and pour over generously spread mashed avocado on toast. Top off with pieces of cooked bacon.
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Out & About
Out and about
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A group from Yamanobe, Japan - the sister city of Tauranga - at the end of their Avocado Oil New Zealand factory visit.
The group enjoyed taste testing of three different New Zealand made avocado oils by Grove.
Jen Scoular presenting to growers in Northland about the World Avocado Congress.
Bob Major, the newly appointed independent Chair for the industry's PGP Steering Group, was welcomed during a packhouse and orchard tour in October.
Generating discussion and ideas with growers at a PGP Objective 5 user story workshop held in Katikati.
Midge Munro with chef Nick Honeyman and world champion white-water kayaker Luuka Jones, during filming of "The best of New Zealand with Nick Honeyman".
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JAPAN
PACIFIC ISLANDS
HONG KONG TAIWAN
MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE THAILAND AUSTRALIA
YOUR CROP WILL TRAVEL FAR AND WIDE
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CONTACT US Avoscene November 2015
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TOGETHER. FOREVER.
Do we like Pina Coladas? Sure. Getting caught in the rain? Well, it’s part of the job really. The thought of yoga gives us a backache and when it comes to champagne... well, to be honest, we’d be happier with a beer. We’re all about logistics, but the planning involved in making love at midnight in the dunes doesn’t bear fruit. I mean really... in the sand? Maybe time has made us a bit less adventurous, but just like the song, the passion is very much alive. Some things never get old - Apata still loves avo's.
KATE TRUFITT
BUSINESS MANAGER
DD: 07 552 0510 | MB: 0278 099 779 | kate.trufitt@apata.co.nz
KEVIN RAVENHILL
CLIENT MANAGER
DD: 07 552 0537 | MB: 0274 835 699 | kevin.ravenhill@apata.co.nz
PETER SNEDDON
TM
CLIENT MANAGER
NIKO TAHAU
TOGETHER WE’RE BETTER
CLIENT MANAGER
DD: 07 552 0528 | MB: 0272 265 489 | niko.tahau@apata.co.nz 52 PROUD l Avoscene November TO PARTNER WITH 2015
WWW.AVOCO.CO.NZ
WWW.APATA.CO.NZ
J000828 DEVCICH.CO.NZ
DD: 07 533 6212 (ext 803) | MB: 0272 057 496 | peter.sneddon@apata.co.nz