Avoscene New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Journal
November 2014
Inside this Issue Offshore promotions programme Building grower/beekeeper relationship Balancing soil moisture Tackling shelterbelt dieback
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Avoscene November 2014
Contents NZ Avocado Office PO Box 13267 Tauranga 3141 New Zealand
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Newsroom
Markets
Level 5, Harrington House 32 Harington Street Tauranga 3110 Ph: 07 571 6147 or 0800 AVOCADO (0800 286 2236) www.nzavocado.co.nz
NZ Avocado
View from the Chair
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Growing the Business
6
Going Global
9
Outside the Box
10
The NZ Market
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Certifiably Organic
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Regional Roundup
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@NZ_Avocado
Directors Bay of Plenty Ashby Whitehead NZAGA & AIC Chair Ph 07 573 6680 m. 027 283 2192 alwhitehead@xtra.co.nz
Various News
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On the Orchard
Export promotion
40
NZ promotions
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Market focus USA
47
Season launch: Asia
50
Pest and disease watch 27 Health and safety
30
Bee safety
32
Irrigation 36
Far North Ian Fulton Ph 09 406 8808 ian.fulton@clear.net.nz Mid North Sue Culham m. 021 771 686 sculham@xtra.co.nz At Large Roger Barber Ph 09 435 0785 m. 021 488 124 barbers@ihug.co.nz John Cotterell Ph 07 549 3395 m. 0274 513 138 jccotterell@actrix.gen.nz
Reports
Nourish
Out and About
Avocentric - Goldstone 53
Recipe 64
Asia Fruit Logistica
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Out and About
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GIA biosecurity
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Residue testing
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John Schnackenberg Ph 07 549 0717 m. 021 731 437 jschnack@ihug.co.nz Tony Ponder NZAGA Vice Chair Ph 07 552 4223 m. 0274 733 712 tony@flaxmillavocado.co.nz Rest of NZ Cover Shot: Sakura Japanese model and beauty journalist at the NZ Avocado season launch in Tokyo.
David French Ph 09 238 3359 m. 0274 375 315 famille@ps.gen.nz Export Directors Alistair Young, Andrew Darling
NZ Avocado Staff
Avoscene Advertising & Editorial
Jen Scoular, CEO
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 For advertising contact: Suzy King at Sun Media Ltd email suzy@thesun.co.nz Design and production: Kym Johnson, Sun Media Ltd email kym@thesun.co.nz
Midge Munro, Communications Manager
Bevan Jelley, New Zealand Market
jen.scoular@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 741 014
midge.munro@nzavocado.co.nz | 027 306 7089
bevan.jelley@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 994 097
Edwina Aitchison, Executive Assistant
Corrie Taylor, Communications Assistant
Michael Gray, Avocado Analyst
edwina.aitchison@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 977 890
corrie.taylor@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 189 0065
Jay Bent, Business Manager
Dr Alvaro Vidiella, R&D Manager
jay.bent@nzavocado.co.nz
alvaro.vidiella@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 025 20412
Glenys Parton, Industry Systems Manager
Phillip West, R&D Officer
glenys.parton@nzavocdo.co.nz | 0274 99 70 81
phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 706 504
michael.gray@nzavocado.co.nz
Joanne Nunn, Administration Assistant jo.nunn@nzavocado.co.nz
Brad Siebert – Biosecurity & Programme Manager brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz
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Comment
View from the Chair By Ashby Whitehead, Chair, NZAGA & AIC
alwhitehead@xtra.co.nz
Participation in industry activities is the most valuable thing you as a grower can do to help turn the wheels of this industry.
AshbyWhitehead, Jen Scoular and Midge Munro at Asia Fruit Logistica, Asia’s largest fresh fruit and vegetable tradeshow attracting 7000 delegates.
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eing present in this industry; reading the information coming through, attending field days, being involved in trials, having an understanding of the supply chain your fruit goes through is so important. We have been given a fantastic opportunity with the Primary Growth Partnership, let’s do something with it. The Board and NZ Avocado staff cannot alone develop and implement the best practice needed throughout the supply chain to transform this industry into a globally competitive, high value, sustainable export industry with a profitable New Zealand market. It needs you being present and willing to do what is needed to perform at your best.
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In this large crop year it is vital you understand where your Class 3 and process grade avocados are ending up – and hopefully you understand the need for all of this fruit to go to processing. There is ample Class 2 fruit to fulfil our local market requirements this season, so if your fruit is ending up on the local market, be aware that it is bringing down the price of the higher quality fruit which makes up the majority of the market.
Class 3 fruit in New Zealand market
Most packers and New Zealand marketers are working to ensure that Class 3 avocados are sent directly to processing for oil rather than being packed. However, a high volume of Class 3 fruit is still being presented to the New Zealand market and is negatively impacting on sales values of Class 2 avocados.
The reports of Class 3 fruit in the market at this point in the season are unexpected given the high
There is no financial gain for selling Class 3 fruit as fresh in this high volume season, the only effect
To put it frankly, the PGP programme will benefit those who are willing to contribute and be involved.
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volumes of Class 2 fruit available. This has led to a high number of complaints from growers who are confused as to why this is happening and they want answers.
Avoscene November 2014
“There is no financial gain for selling Class 3 fruit as fresh in this high volume season, Comment
the only effect is erosion of values and an ongoing impact on values for all growers”
is erosion of values and an ongoing impact on values for all growers. You cannot sit back and just assume your Class 3 fruit is being sent to processing, you must ask the question of your packhouse and marketer and ensure this is actually the case. It is vital that we all work together on this – let’s keep the great momentum we have built up over the last two seasons. AGM & Grower Forum
The AGM this year was held in Paihia, a location we thought would suit both those from the Far North and those from Whangarei. It was a first to host it there and a chance for those from further up the country to join us at an industry event. However, the number of growers who attended was lower than had registered and with the weather being pretty horrendous that day, it certainly would have put a few people off. Even considering this factor it was still very disappointing to see our lowest turnout of growers to a Grower Forum and AGM for a very long time.
Zealand pavilion alongside SP Exports and Te Mata and Zespri and Plant & Food Research, saw a huge amount of traffic. We certainly raised the visibility of avocados from New Zealand positively through the 200 information packs we handed out and the 700 samples of avocados we gave out. There were a vast amount of enquiries regarding New Zealand avocados from China – all the importers we talked to from this market were very enthusiastic about New Zealand avocados, they loved the taste and felt it would fit in very well with their consumers. I now rate gaining access to China as one of the most important activities the industry can undertake on growers’ behalf. China and also India are sleeping giants, with huge populations and a potential for high value sales of New Zealand avocados. AshbyWhitehead chatting with tradeshow attendees about avocados from New Zealand.
Events do carry a cost with venue, catering, staff time and considerable planning effort going into them. We are re-evaluating Grower Forums and the AGM going forward, as we need to get the number of growers attending up, especially to AGMs, as it is an important formal event in the year where growers get an opportunity to have their say on Board and industry performance. Asia Fruit Logistica
Jen, Midge and I attended Asia Fruit Logistica (AFL) in Hong Kong in early September. This was my first time travelling to an Asian country and it certainly opened my eyes to the opportunity that exists in this region. It was the launch of the New Zealand Avocado category story which has been developed through our PGP programme. Our stand in the New
Following the insights gained at AFL, the Board saw it was essential for New Zealand Avocado to have a presence at the World Fruit & Vegetable Trade Fair (China FVF) happening mid-November. This event is sponsored by China Entry & Exit Inspection, and Quarantine Association (CIQA). We are part of the New Zealand delegation and will be furthering our case for access to China. In October I accepted John Schnackenberg’s resignation from the NZAGA and AIC boards effective 30 November. I would personally like to thank John for his seven years of service to the industry as a member of the bopard, including five years as Chair. Avoscene November 2014
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Comment
Growing the Business By Jen Scoular, CEO, New Zealand Avocado
jen.scoular@nzavocado.co.nz
The New Zealand Avocado team is in the midst of rolling out significant promotions programmes, implementing PGP activity and progressing the thinking and focus on increasing orchard productivity. The delivery of this activity is enhanced by the involvement of the wider avocado industry.
New Zealand avocado in a coconut curry at the Jen Scoular asks the question “How many of you have tried New Zealand avocados?� to media and trade at the NZ Avocado season launch in Tokyo, Japan on 1 October.
New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi, India; advising Singaporean women of the benefits of avocado in their daily diet; developing a Korean language website; extolling the virtues of avocados for inner health and beauty to Japanese media; providing New Zealand avocado collateral for in-store tastings in Thailand; and seeing our first television commercials in the New Zealand market. These are all activities being implemented by NZ Avocado and the wider New Zealand avocado industry team to promote our amazing avocados. Tony Ponder fronted the New Delhi event, Nadia Lim the Singaporean event, I fronted the Japanese event, Bevan has been working with our in-market partner on the Korean website, and it was a team effort for the New Zealand TV commercials. Midge drives and supports each of these events, ensuring our key messages come across, our collateral is available and visible, translations happen, recipes are developed, and that the right people are in the right places. Growers have rightly been demanding the industry invests in developing new markets for an increasing
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volume of avocados from New Zealand. The Board supported a cross-industry visit in late 2013, and the activity implemented this year utilises the relationships developed, the information gained, and the opportunities identified in that visit and in subsequent exploration. The support from NZTE and MFAT is hugely valuable, and the investment by Avanza in the market creates real value for the whole industry. This is a great example of a disciplined, collaborative, cross-industry approach to developing and investing in new markets. It’s fantastic what has been put together this year, especially across the Asian markets. I say especially because we have come to expect a great marketing performance in Australia, but we have never undertaken as much across the Asian markets. And I say the wider team because along with the NZ Avocado team there are avocado exporters, New Zealand avocado ambassadors, and great in-market and New Zealand partners all heavily involved in our activities. The planning, communication and sharing of information and ideas across that wider team is invaluable, and helps
Comment
“Never before have we had as much said by overseas sources about avocados from New Zealand as was said and shared on Twitter following the season launch event in New Delhi.”
us all challenge ourselves about the best way to sell more avocados this season and in the long term.
them connecting with growers and sharing what they are learning.
Supporting the actual events is a strong public relations campaign. In the New Zealand market this is regular media releases, the dispatch of a terrific avocado pack to highly connected ‘influencers’ and continual engagement with media to secure radio and newspaper interviews and articles. We back this up with an active social media campaign using Facebook and Twitter to highlight all of our promotional events. Seeing feedback on social media from those receiving the avocado packs or those interested to know more about new avocado recipes or health tips gives us an instant evaluation of the success of our efforts.
Alvaro and Phillip have some detailed data now recording temperature across different orchards and parts of orchards, on the productivity differences across a number of orchards, matched with rain data to test the impact of moisture on fruit size, and now have results from the first MBIE trial on flower pruning. I’ll clarify that we are not seeking a silver bullet. We do know there is a large number of environmental, management and physiological factors that influence productivity, Alvaro is confident he and his wider team will start being able to suggest which ones need to be given priority by growers to build that productivity. At the end of the day it will still come down to growers taking the best practice being developed by the industry and applying it well.
We have included the NZ Avocado category story booklet and the Amazing Anytime recipe booklet with this issue of AvoScene. These booklets describe what makes New Zealand avocados unique in our export markets and the New Zealand market. Avocados on trend
I’m a bit of a newbie to Twitter, although once you’re on it, it is quite addictive. Never before have we had as much said by overseas sources about avocados from New Zealand as was said and shared on Twitter following the season launch event in New Delhi. Celebrity Masterchef Kunal Kupur was thrilled to participate in the high profile event, and he tweeted verbosely with his 13,000 followers, who then tweeted to theirs and the New Zealand avocado story just kept on going… The message from each of these events is clear: demand for high quality, premium avocados from New Zealand is strong. So you will find our R&D team just as busy with their research to increase productivity to ensure we can meet this demand. Again, Alvaro has created a wider team, recognising that he and Phillip can’t alone triple productivity: they need Plant & Food Research scientists, they need dedicated growers, they need rural professionals, they need Midge to support
Promotion of New Zealand avocados on Twitter.
PGP on track
We have just had our first quarterly Primary Growth Partnership Governance meeting. Activities are all on track. Great to be able to report that we are meeting and delivering on the milestones set. There are two and a half new staff positions within the PGP programme; Brad Siebert (Biosecurity & Programme Manager) started in June (half of his role is PGP), Corrie Taylor started at the end of October as Communications Assistant, and a new R&D Assistant is being recruited now. Nici Kennerley has taken a finance role with another company and Jay Bent will join the team as Business Manager from early November. We have a great team of individuals who are committed to deliver, willing to challenge themselves and others, and are putting in the hard yards to drive this industry forward with very valuable support from the wider team. Avoscene November 2014
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For expert advice and grower discussion, join our experienced team at an upcoming field day.
Call (07) 573 0085 for more information. www.trevelyan.co.nz 8
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By Alistair Young, Export Director, AIC & Chair, AVEC
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Going Global alistair@southernproduce.co.nz
The New Zealand avocado industry has so far this season exported 1.3 million trays of avocados. We have sent our fruit to 10 countries and are tracking right on the mark with our flow plan. So far so good.
CarwynWilliams of AVANZA sharing avocado samples with consumers in Singapore.
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ustralia is receiving 100,000 trays of New Zealand avocados a week and the market values are holding. When you add the 200,000 trays Western Australia has begun packing, the numbers add up to unprecedented volumes of avocados on the Australian market – and we are seeing sales keeping up with the volumes. Great summer-like weather conditions are encouraging consumer demand and we hope the weather keeps on being kind to the Australians. However, this season is not without its pressures. The ports in Los Angeles have been suffering congestion and this has put real pressure on New Zealand fruit age and the accompanying quality. There is not much you can do when the ships simply sit at port and do not get unloaded quickly. But when the fruit finally clears, there have been good out-turns and no negative feedback. With five boats left to complete the USA programme, we are over
halfway to the finish line. Singapore keeps going from strength to strength and the ripe fruit programmes now in place in that market have created a dramatic volume growth. Thailand has experienced some speed wobbles but remains a valuable outlet for us and Korea keeps on taking larger fruit at good returns. The activity around the world involving New Zealand Avocado has been well received, with interaction between the industry and exporters in the various markets being positive and valuable. New Zealand has worked with exporters at fruit shows and seasonal launches in Japan, Hong Kong, India and Singapore. Industry promotional material is being used by exporters and I congratulate the NZ Avocado promotional team on their creativity. Using the skills of Nadia Lim has also had very encouraging outcomes in Singapore. Avoscene November 2014
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Outside the Box Lindsay Wells, NTL Fruitpackers lindsay@ntlhorticulture.co.nz
We cannot control the extremes that weather can throw at our orchards and we accept that, and adapt to each challenge. However, there are some things we should be able to be masters of – maturity testing and crop estimation – yet the outcomes of these processes still leave us with questions.
A new harvest has started with the same
stresses for the growers and packers we see each year, but there is always something different happening, or going to happen, with every season. This year when all the growers in Northland were waiting for the best season in years, a storm ripped through their region, removed a few trees and damaged a significant amount of fruit with wind rub. As a result the wind rub blemish will reduce the pack-outs in some orchards. In a large crop year the flow-on effect is an increased volume of fruit available for the domestic market, followed by the reduced market for small fruit and more fruit in the processing grade. The weather keeps adding to the joys of growing fruit for a living. As the saying goes; “if it was easy, everyone would be doing it”. I have a couple of questions. Have we got the right methodology for testing the maturity of our avocados? Is the dry matter assessment
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giving us the best indicator of oil percentage and eating quality? After spending the last few months testing fruit for dry matter, I have pondered whether the dry matter test is the best method of identifying fruit maturity. Should we be testing some other parameters that will make the process quicker and more accurate for a maturity assessment? I don’t know the options available but I do know there is variation of the dry matter testing within orchards and between growing areas within the same district. The dry matter tests this year have been similar to previous seasons, with most results following the norm of high colour seed coats equating to higher fruit dry matter readings. However, storm and frost damage have also resulted in tested fruit showing mature seed coats without the resultant increase in dry matter. A second concern of the cool chain away from
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“A crop estimate is critical information for season planning and forecast OGR calculation and beyond that it also influences OGR”
the orchard is that of crop estimation. The crop volume for the current season is, as we all know, predicted to be a record. However, crop estimations are still a problem for the industry. Crop estimates inform marketing programmes and influence a packer’s ability to handle fruit in a timely manner – and these processes affect the growers’ bottom line OGR. A crop estimate is critical information for season planning and forecast OGR calculation and beyond that it also influences OGR. At the packer forum meetings we are regularly informed by the marketers that they could have done a better job for the growers if they had better volume data. The lack of accurate volume data affects all stakeholders in the supply chain, which in turn affects the grower OGR. I don’t have any idea what the answer is when it comes to getting an accurate crop estimate, but I do know that the crop I have most experience with (kiwifruit) is difficult to get within 10 per
Global experts in food safety & quality
cent and all the fruit is within eye level. Counting the number of avocados on a tree is made more difficult by the tree size and the time of the growing season. One cannot estimate final fruit size early in the season; the final size depends on the growing conditions throughout the growth period. However with experience (years of growing) and keeping records, you can add in the climate and tree health parameters and make an educated guess on a predicted fruit size at harvest, but you still need to have an accurate estimation of the number of fruit on the tree. The estimation of the final crop is a must for the cash flow budgeting. The budget may not be that important in your business; however, it definitely is for the other businesses that rely on your data to keep your business profitable.
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Comment
New Zealand Market Glen Dunseath, Business & Marketing Manager, Zeafruit
glen@zeafruit.co.nz
Right now there is considerable concern within the avocado industry in respect to performance in our second largest market – New Zealand. During a season in which heavy supply was always going to be a challenge, a degree of recklessness has emerged which is of significant concern.
“Pouring lowgrade, small fruit into the market in a season of heavy supply can only impact OGRs negatively”
Pre-season discussions focused on the potential
issue of over-supply, given the heavy export volumes forecasted. The local market group promoted the option of dropping the packing of small count fruit (32 to 36ct) to focus on maximising returns in the larger sizes (16 to 24, with 28 becoming the pre-pack size). These are the premium sizes and offer best OGR returns if marketed well. In reality, the opposite has happened. Marketers are offering cheap, retailers are thinking cheap, and in a season of over-supply advertising is being actioned with small fruit instead of large. This has eroded value from larger counts, meaning per tray returns are light. Some marketers have made the decision to stop packing 32 and 36 count fruit in the last few weeks. There are solid promotional plans on 16 to 24 counts nationally, and an on-going prepack programme for 28 count fruit. Why oversupply small sizes into a very weak market? There is a significant amount of small fruit and
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Class 3 fruit being procured from some BOP packhouses and a local BOP marketer is actively procuring Class 3 products. It is difficult to see how growers benefit from this. Pouring low-grade, small fruit – procured either from growers or at packhouse door – into the market in a season of heavy supply can only impact OGRs negatively. The same applies to growers, packers and marketers who knowingly handle windfall fruit. This is poor short-term thinking. Retail demand is not as strong as hoped for at this point in the season, and trading appears to be a little flat. There are a good number of competing fruit lines in the market, providing a further challenge to avocado sales. Ripening programmes remain vital to sales. The best way to sell fruit is through value, quality, and fruit ripening. We need consumers eating and re-purchasing quickly in order to increase demand.
Martin Munro, Chairman, NZOAG Inc.
Comment
Certifiably Organic martin.jane.munro@gmail.com
What a positive day for organic avocado production with the support given to our society’s remits at the NZAGA and AIC Annual General Meeting in Paihia. The voice of the organic growers was heard, but will it be acted on?
The reality is that organic production needs to
be nurtured and encouraged by the organisation that governs all avocado production. We do have members already involved in NZ Avocado trials and have for a number of years been involved in various projects along the way. The update of the organic section of the NZ Avocado Growers’ Manual in 2009 was a great show of collaboration. On a related crusade, Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) is raising awareness with the government for further focus on organics. Chair Brendan Hoare recently sent an open letter to all parliamentary party leaders asking each party to focus on the fact that if New Zealand is to have any hope of achieving its current strategic goal of doubling the value of primary exports by 2025, it has to significantly increase the level of organic export production. “World demand for organic products far exceeds supply in most categories,” says Brendan. “It is growing fastest in our significant Asian markets. With such strong demand organic primary products are attracting big premiums even as high as 300 per cent over non-organic. The additional beauty of growing the organic sector is that it can be done without damaging the natural environment - a cost born by the public from polluting forms of farming.” In New Zealand, organic production has grown steadily. In 2012, our organic sector reached between $340m and $360m in value, a jump of 25 per cent in just three years - an impressive feat in times of economic recession. Two thirds of that total is in exports, the rest in domestic consumption. Fresh fruit and vegetables lead the New Zealand organic export business, followed by dairy. (Organic food gets a boost, NZ Herald, 3 October 2014).
It is very encouraging to hear statistics like this and to read the various reports that come in about how well companies are doing by adding an organic division to their product line to meet demand in this niche.
Bumblebee pollinating Hass flowers at Pear Tree Cottage.
OANZ’s letter asks the political parties to look at what other countries are doing to grow their organic sectors. “The investment is sound; it will provide economic growth and improve key environmental indicators so important for both domestic and international markets,” says Brendan. Just as OANZ hopes to work with the government to make positive changes in the best interest of New Zealand, so too do organic avocado growers want to work in with the industry to achieve our common goals. There has been a positive start to export picking and packing of organic avocados in New Zealand, with markets in Australia being supplied to date. Unfortunately pack-out rates have been lower, mainly due to wind rub and storm damage which occurred just prior to picking. However, returns are showing premiums over conventional payments, and demand yet again far exceeds supply. Avoscene November 2014
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News and views from your NZAGA Regional Representatives
Comment
Regional Roundup Sue Culham - Mid North 14.10.14
On the Orchard
Harvesting should be well underway for the New Zealand market and export markets in the Mid North region. My orchard has certainly taken a hammering this season following two cyclones, a storm, maturity of our fruit not reaching the required 24 per cent until late September (was July last year), and the first pack-out data coming through showing grade standard for export has dropped into the low 70s through wind rub. Heart wrenching but that’s horticulture. I would imagine this will be the case for many Northland orchardists, so we need to be aware of what fruit is now going on to the New Zealand market. It’s important you work well with your marketer to ensure your quota of bins to pick each week flows through. If we as growers all pick at once, what does that to do our markets? I am happy for my weekly quota as it also gives me time to keep my orchard management plans in place through the harvesting season. Do you know what is happening with your orchard flow plan? On a better note, the trees are looking healthier after the leaf stripping, with new flush coming through nicely. On-orchard management practices have played a huge part in getting these trees back to health. Bees are due to pollinate orchards, so please be aware of them when looking at spraying insecticides. Bees play such an important part in the cycle so look after them – and they will look after us. Promotions
I congratulate the industry this season with the promotion of our “Amazing Anytime” category story with Nadia Lim through her TV
commercials in the New Zealand market. I managed to catch Nadia’s first TV show ‘New Zealand with Nadia Lim’ on Food TV in late September; what a great ambassador she is for our own locally-grown super fruit. I hope you all have managed to catch her other TV commercials? I myself love the cheesecake advert, it looks delicious. Promote, promote, promote. Avocado thefts
This is something that certainly annoys me and many other growers out there. We put our heart and soul into producing an amazing quality product to have it pulled from our trees and sold at a cheap price out of the boot of cars, likely in the Auckland markets, all this while we are sleeping. I would like to thank Mike Eagles for working closely with our local police and growers to ensure we arrest these people and make sure they think three times before trying to get onto our orchards. I urge all growers to be vigilant and make sure if you see anything suspicious or anyone on your property (or on your neighbour’s property) ensure you ring the police. Look over your shoulder; we can’t stop these thefts if the police don’t know when and where they are occurring. It’s your business and your income at the end of the day. And finally I would like to thank Patrick and Dermot Malley and John Wiessing for hosting the Horticulture NZ Board on their fantastic properties in September. It was great to see the Board hold a meeting in the Mid North region and to engage on the ground with our diverse industry and be appreciative of what life is all about for orchardists here in the Mid North. Unfortunately time was not on our side that day and we ran out of daylight; your time here in the Mid North was much appreciated.
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Comment
Regional Roundup
John Cotterell – At Large 30.09.14
The export season has been underway for over a month and we can see that it’s obviously going to be a year for big fruit. I have seen a number of fruit over 500 grams this month, with the heaviest weighing in at 584 grams. Pack-outs have also been well above the long-term industry average. Both of these facts will help with growers’ OGR in a season where export returns are predicted to be lower than last season.
while in orchards for pollination. The take home message from this field day was communication with our neighbours and spray contractor etc so everyone knows we have bees in our orchard. In the near future we will struggle to get any beekeeper who will consider putting bees in our orchards unless we manage this effectively. Controlling your pests well before the bees are introduced, or delaying the bees until you do have the pests under control, or removing the bees early are all possible options to manage your orchard over this period.
On a positive note, the flowering in the Bay of Plenty is generally looking much better than what I was seeing only a few weeks ago and most growers seem happy with the amount of flower on their trees. I have seen Hass flowers open in the last few days, fingers crossed for some favourable temperatures. NZ Avocado held a field day at our orchard on 29 September on how to manage your orchard once you have bees introduced for pollination. This field day was run as an open discussion with beekeepers and growers.
If you do need to spray while bees are in your orchard or neighbouring orchards, talk to your beekeeper, neighbours and spray contractor and then arrange spraying in the evening once bees have stopped foraging and are in the hive. This allows time for the spray to dry before bees start working the next morning. The choice of chemicals at this time is very limited – if you are not sure what to use, talk to your pack house rep or consultant.
The beekeepers present were very open about the challenges they are dealing with in supplying bees for pollination in our orchards. Most shared instances of their bees being poisoned by spray
At the end of the day you, the grower, are responsible for what happens in your orchard and managing the spraying over the pollination period is a critical component of managing your orchard.
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Comment
Ian Fulton - Far North 16.10.14
As I write this article, the Far North is having the first extended period of fine weather this spring, which has come at an ideal time given flowering has commenced. Across most orchards there appears to be moderate to heavy flowering and, provided the current settled weather continues, there should be good fruit-set. This year conditions over winter and early spring were particularly harsh, with a couple of severe storms that had some of the strongest winds long-term residents have experienced. Total rainfall for the period was significantly higher than normal. Only time will tell if these conditions have had a long-term impact on tree health. On my orchard in low-lying areas prone to water-logging, there has been a marked impact on tree health, though these trees are now starting to flush. By now most growers have size picked some, or most, of their orchards and have a good knowledge of crop volume. Crop loss from the July storm was estimated to have been 5 to 10 per cent, though the recently conducted industry crop estimate has not changed. As there definitely was significant crop loss, it suggests the original estimate was quite a bit lower than the
actual crop. Export pack-outs are on par with last year, which is about 5 per cent lower than long-term average. Note these comments are a regional perspective, as a few orchards have had significant crop loss and low pack-outs due to wind rub. At the recent NZ Avocado Grower Forum, the presentation on health and safety was quite enlightening and has hopefully energised growers to take action to address management system deficiencies on their orchards. Health and safety is a major business risk, yet on most orchards it does not get the attention it warrants. An overarching health and safety philosophy is “ensuring workers go home in at least the same condition as they came to work�. Spraying for pests during flowering is particularly difficult as the chemicals that can be used are quite limited, given bees are in the orchard for pollination and the need to maintain all market access for exporting. The best approach is to get on top of pests prior to flowering, which has become easier with some of the new chemicals available, particularly for the control of mites that can be very problematic over flowering when trees are stressed.
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Newsroom New Zealand avocados on show across Asia Newsroom
New Zealand Avocado showcased new season fruit to high profile chefs, influential media and consumers in Japan, Singapore and India during October. Jen Scoular, Chief Executive of New Zealand Avocado, says the industry’s new Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme with the Ministry for Primary Industries aims to triple productivity to 12 tonnes per hectare and quadruple industry returns to $280 million by 2023. “Increasing our exports to Asia is a significant part of that plan, and we are involved in a series of events in key markets to raise the profile of amazing New Zealand avocados.” The first event, held 1 October, saw up to 80 Japanese media and trade sample fresh and healthy dishes such as avocado cheesecake at the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo. Japanese model and beauty journalist Sakura and well-respected nutritionist and author Erica Angyal took part in a talk show at the event, highlighting the health and beauty attributes of avocados. The second event, organised by Singapore’s national health board to promote healthy living, was held on 4-5 October. New Zealand Avocado ambassador and Masterchef winner, Nadia Lim, shared her secrets on how to create healthy and delicious avocado dishes at the popular annual event’s Nutrition Zone. “Singaporeans are being encouraged to embrace healthy options, so it’s the perfect chance for New Zealand Avocado and AVANZA Ltd (who collectively market most of our avocado exports to Asia) to show consumers why they should choose our fruit.” The third event, on 10 October, was held at the New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi, India. Chefs from the nation’s leading hotels, including
Indian celebrity chef Kunal Kapur, will join media and guests of MFAT and NZTE to sample mouth-watering avocado dishes. “Chef Kapur is a big draw card in India,” explains Tony Ponder, Vice Chair of NZ Avocado and Director of Avanza.
Celebrity Masterchef Kunal Kapur talking avocados from New Zealand with 200 guests at the India season launch.
“He is one of their most well-known restaurateurs and is a host and judge on Masterchef India. He loves New Zealand and his endorsement of New Zealand avocados offers huge credibility to our product.” These three events follow New Zealand Avocado’s successful participation at Asia Fruit Logistica last month. The Hong Kong event is Asia’s leading fresh fruit and vegetable trade show, attracting 7000 trade buyers and visitors from more than 60 different countries. Jen says New Zealand aims to become the avocado supplier of choice throughout Asia. Raising awareness among buyers, suppliers and service providers across the fast-growing region is key to achieving that goal. “There is growing global demand for premium, safe and healthy produce. We are positioning our industry to take advantage of that by emphasising the pristine environment in which New Zealand avocados are grown, and the amazing attributes from a nutrition and versatility perspective.” Avoscene November 2014
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Newsroom NZ Avocado’s Amazing Anytime videos online Newsroom
Along with the three TV commercials which went to air in September featuring our wonderful ambassador Nadia Lim, NZ Avocado also created two extended versions of the commercials for our website. These show the full instructions on how to make the avocado cheesecake and the avocado, quinoa and haloumi salad. Access the videos at this link http://www.nzavocado.co.nz/online/videos.csn
Export partner honoured with Avocado Award Gary Poole, Director of Murray Bros Pty Ltd, was the recipient of an Avocado Award, presented at this year’s AGM dinner. This is the first time an NZ Avocado award has been presented to someone from outside of New Zealand and is testament to the strong relationship Garry has with our industry. Gary Poole receiving his Avocado Award with AshbyWhitehead.
relationship between New Zealand avocados and Australian retail. Recognising the value in supplying ready to eat avocados before others, and setting up systems to optimise the handling and ripening of avocados from New Zealand, Gary embraced the possibilities of ripened fruit and was a pioneer in changing his business to offer ripened fruit in conjunction with his New Zealand suppliers and customers direct to retail. In early 1992 the NZ Avocado Growers’ Association Inc. organised meetings with marketers in Australia seeking support for New Zealand avocados and showing New Zealand had an organised, structured and disciplined supply base that could provide a consistent line of product.
Gary started working with New Zealand avocados in 1990 and shortly afterwards he and Roger Palmer, a New Zealand grower, built and operated the first proper ripening rooms in Australasia for avocado. This was the first direct
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Gary, then a produce handler for Murray Bros, attended one of these meetings, met Ron Bailey, liked what he said and the relationship between Gary, Murray Bros and New Zealand avocados has strengthened into a successful, enduring partnership. The New Zealand avocado industry and growers recognise Gary as one of the pioneers and great leaders of the Australasian avocado industry.
Australia biosecurity representatives visit New Zealand Avocado and Kiwifruit Vine Health hosted the CEO and all directors of Plant Health Australia during their visit to New Zealand during September. Their trip throughout the North Island was to better understand how some New Zealand horticultural industries operate, their current biosecurity challenges and involvement in the new Government Industry Agreement on Biosecurity (GIA). The group of 10 visited vegetable farms in South Auckland and while in the Bay of Plenty were able to visit both kiwifruit and avocado orchards. Information was provided on the current approaches to increase productivity and capability within the avocado industry through the ‘Go Global’ Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme and on the national management approach and R&D efforts for the kiwifruit disease Psa-V. The trip concluded in Wellington where government and industry members of the transitional Deed Governance Group discussed
New Faces
New Zealand’s GIA arrangements and future biosecurity priorities. Plant Health Australia is the national coordinator of the Industry-Government partnership for biosecurity in Australia and are custodians of the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (their version of the GIA). Therefore, the trip provided a great opportunity to discuss different approaches to governmentindustry collaboration on biosecurity and ways to strengthen biosecurity readiness and response.
Plant Health Australia visit.
Corrie Taylor – Communications Assistant
New NZ Avocado staff member Corrie Taylor believes her interest in food and nutrition will be an asset to her role as communications assistant. Corrie joined NZ Avocado in October and will be working closely with communications manager Midge Munro. She was previously employed as a reporter and assistant editor for The Weekend Sun, a Tauranga-based community newspaper published by Sun Media.
She is originally from Auckland and has a Bachelor of Communications majoring in journalism from AUT. When she isn’t working, Corrie enjoys going to the beach, reading, cooking and has a strong interest in health and fitness. She says the chance to promote the health and nutrition benefits of avocados was a drawcard to the role, along with learning more about the horticultural and business aspects of the avocado industry.
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Newsroom Recommended reading
By Phillip West
Dead bees don’t pollinate Newsroom
Flowering is a critical time for the industry and also a time when bees are at their most active in the orchard. In September representatives from the local National Beekeepers Association presented at a field day in Katikati on bee safety
and managing the application of sprays during flowering.You will find the discussion notes from this meeting on the industry website www.nzavocado.co.nz > Orchard Mngt > Spray Application
AvoGreen Manual The AvoGreen Manual Version 4.0 dated September 2014 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. If you have any questions about the AvoGreen Manual please contact Glenys Parton glenys.parton@nzavocado.co.nz
Major changes of note are: • 1.0 - Definitions • 3.1 - Diagram of the Structure • 4.0 - The AvoGreen Standard • 5.3.2 Owner Operators agreement for three years • 5.3.3 - Monitor Refresher Courses • 6.0 Monitoring Protocols • 6 .4.6 - The number of sites to sample – Size of Sample Area and Number of Trees Monitored • 7.3.3 - Action Threshold Levels • All of the Agrichemical information is now located in the Quality Manual Part 3
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 •D ecember to January: Fruit, pages 24-27 • January: Summer Flush, pages 16-17
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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 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.
Industry Matters Government Industry Agreement for Biosecurity If you have any questions about this process or GIA, please contact Brad Siebert at the NZ Avocado office brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz or see the GIA website www.gia.org.nz
NZAGA & AIC Board meetings • 27 November
Blanket dispensation for maturity testing Regional dispensation for maturity testing was lifted and replaced with Blanket Dispensation for all regions on Monday 27 October, 2014.
Newsroom
Consultative roadshows will begin in February next year following an information mailout to the industry.
Calendar of events
Thank you to those packers that submitted monitoring data to NZ Avocado during the season.
Voting Results from NZAGA & AIC AGM 2014 The NZAGA and AIC Annual General Meeting was held 20 August 2014 in Paihia. Below is a summary of the voting results for motions and member remits voted on at this event. MOTION 1: That the levy rate for NZ avocado fruit exported be set at 35c per 5.5 kg tray for the period 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016. Commodity Levy 15c Commodity Levy – Promotions 20c TOTAL 35c Moved: Roger Barber Seconded: Ian Fulton Results for Motion 1: passed FOR by a show of hands. MOTION 2: That the levy rate for avocados sold as fresh fruit in the New Zealand market be set at 3% of First Point of Sale for the period 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016. Moved: Sue Fulton Seconded: David French Results for Motion 2: passed FOR by a show of hands. MOTION 3: That the EMS Management fee for 2015-16 will not exceed 30c per 5.5kg export tray. Moved: AshbyWhitehead Seconded: John Schnackenberg Results for Motion 3: passed FOR by a show of hands.
REMIT 1: That the NZAGA include in their strategy going forward a research and marketing strategy for organically grown avocados. Moved: Martin Munro Seconded:Tui Neill AMENDED REMIT 1: That the NZAGA recognises certified organically grown avocados in the industry strategy going forward. Moved:ThelmaWilliams Seconded: John Schnackenberg Results for the amended Remit 1: passed FOR by a show of hands. REMIT 2: That the NZAGA collect data on certified organic production annually. Moved: Matt Leamy Seconded: Doug Brown Results for Remit 2: passed FOR by a majority by a show of hands, 2 votes against.
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Avocado news from the world Avanza brings New Zealand avocados to Indian market
Newsroom
Avanza, which represents three companies in New Zealand accounting for 85 per cent of avocado exports, has entered the Indian market. The company appointed Mumbai-based Anusaya Fresh India as its distributor, which will sell the fruits to high-end retail chains, five-star hotels and restaurants. Avanza also appointed celebrity chef Kunal Kapur as its new brand ambassador to help engage with various stakeholders in the supply chain to popularise the premium Hass variety of avocados. Company director Tony Ponder says they export to 14 countries and are pursuing a global strategy, also stepping up their presence
in the Asian region. “Markets like India are key future markets for us. We will be following a strategy for the next five years to develop the avocado market here.” Tony says more Indian consumers, chefs and suppliers were getting exposed to avocados and the market presented an opportunity fitting perfectly with the company’s strategy to offer avocados as a health food option. In the next five years, Avanza will focus on growing demand, educating Indian consumers, distributors, chefs and retail chains about the nutritional benefits as well as how to handle their Haas variety of avocados. Source:The Times of India
Avocados from Peru closes out monumental season The second largest avocado importer in the US, the Peruvian Avocado Commission, is already preparing for 2015 – projected to be its biggest year yet in terms of amount of fruit imported. More customised retailer programmes, impactful new advertising, attention-generating public relations campaigns, and a solid social media programme are under development and will be ready to launch when the first fruit arrives next spring. PAC board chairman Enrique Camet says the US is an extremely important market for Avocados from Peru. “High quality, large fruit, motivated retailers, and a strong, strategic marketing programme all contributed to establishing Avocados from Peru
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as the second largest importer of avocados in the United States.” PAC’s 2014 marketing programme had two primary goals – build long-term retailer support and make consumers aware that Avocados from Peru are available all summer long. “We had four short months to sell 145 million pounds of avocados,” says PAC chief executive officer Xavier Equihua. “We did just that working side-by-side with our retail partners to develop tailored programmes and by implementing engaging public relations and social media programmes that provided consumers with many compelling reasons to eat more avocados.” Source: Peruvian Avocado Commission
Bid to put more avocados on plates successful Roma Spiccia opened the gates to her Pickering Brook orchard and invited members of the public to get more acquainted with her avocados.
The festival piggy-backed onto the annual Karragullen expo in the Perth Hills, and aimed to boost avocado sales by raising awareness of the fruit’s versatility and nutritional benefits.
“I think I was overwhelmed,” she said. “It shows there is a huge respect for the avocado growers. It is a fantastic product.
Events at the festival included avocado orchard walks, cooking demonstrations and growing workshops.
“It’s so great to have those people come into our world and just spend a bit of time in the world of a fruit grower.” Source: ABC Online
Newsroom
More than 10,000 people attended Western Australia’s first avocado festival in October, rendering the event a huge success.
“Passionate growers love to show off.
New nutrition research shared at Atlanta conference The Hass Avocado Board (HAB) shared the latest findings from its nutrition research and marketing programme at the recent Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ annual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo TM, held in Atlanta. Conference goers who visited with HAB were taken on an educational journey, dubbed ‘The Green Brick Road – Journey to a Higher Avocado IQ’. The experience explored HAB’s expanded body of knowledge about avocado nutrition. HAB has made significant investments in nutrition research, says Emiliano Escobedo, executive director of HAB.
“Educating these key influencers heightens awareness of avocados as a delicious, cholesterolfree source of naturally good fats, ultimately helping more consumers to ‘love one today’. At the conference, HAB focussed on the fact avocados pair well with other foods to maximise taste and promote optimal nutrition. HAB’s recent research on avocado consumption and nutrient intake includes findings that show eating fresh avocado with either tomato sauce or raw carrots significantly enhanced absorption of alpha- and beta-carotene, and conversion of these carotenoids to an active form of Vitamin A. Source: www.perishablenews.com
Tea producer invests $2m in avocado storage facility Zimbabwe’s largest tea producer, Tanganda, is committing to investing $2 million in the construction of an avocado pack house at its Avontuur Estate. It is hoped the facility, expected to be completed in 2016, will boost revenue as the company completes its diversification programme. A nut processing facility will also be established during the same period. Managing director, Timothy Fennell, says the completion of the facilities would boost production in the next two to three years when the projects reach maturity.
He said the company’s diversification programme was almost complete with only 10 per cent of the firm’s previously underutilised land at Chipinge Estates expected to be under crop by March next year. Tea accounts for 90 per cent of the company’s revenue, but the company has been forced to diversify to other crops due to falling global prices, says Timothy. Tanganda has since 2012 intensified production of avocados as part of strategies to diversify risk from tea. Source: www.freshplaza.com
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Kenyan avocado farmers benefit from aid programme and Kiwi agri know-how Newsroom
More than 1200 smallholder avocado farmers in the central highlands of Kenya are benefiting from a five-year aid project involving Plant & Food Research and edible oils company Olivado. The New Zealand Aid programme has provided up to $4 million across five years to Plant & Food to help improve the productivity and quality of production from the farmers who supply Olivado’s Nairobi factory. The smallholder farmers generally have farms of just one hectare, with an average 24 trees. About 45 per cent of the farmers are women. The project aims to lift them from subsistence agriculture to being part of the cash economy.
Olivado buys the Fair Trade and Certified Organic fruit directly from the independent family-owned farms. The number of farmers involved in the project has grown by about 20 per cent since it began a year ago, says Olivado general manager Sarah Nicholls. Plant & Food said the long-term goal was to more than double the average return to the farmers over the next decade by improving yields, shifting to a new tree variety, and improving post-harvest practices. Source: Scoop Independent News
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Pest and disease watch: Shelterbelt dieback Brad Siebert – Biosecurity & Programme Manager
brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz
Leyland cypress (Cupressocyparis leylandii) is a common tree bordering many orchards throughout New Zealand’s horticultural regions. In recent months there have been widespread reports of an increase in the symptoms of cypress canker within avocado shelterbelts. On the Orchard
The most noticeable symptom of Cypress canker is localised yellowing or browning of the foliage.
Occurrence
Symptoms
Cypress canker is the most significant disease of cypresses in New Zealand and is the main reason that macrocarpa is not planted more widely.
The most obvious indication of the disease is the browning and subsequent dieback of a leader or major side branch. Affected branch tips turn yellow or brown and are usually randomly distributed on the tree. This random distribution of branch dieback is useful in disease diagnosis. Sunken, dark brown cankers can develop on the affected branches and small, black fruiting bodies of the fungal organisms can often be seen within these affected areas.
Although the two species of fungi which are thought to be responsible for cypress canker have been recorded in New Zealand since the 1930s, Lindsay Bulman, Science Leader at Scion, says they have recently received a significant increase in reports from the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Auckland and Northland, as well as Canterbury. Lindsay believes as the pathogen favours warm conditions, the milder winters we have experienced may have contributed to an increase in disease expression.
The disease can progressively kill large sections of the tree during periods of frequent rainfall or high humidity when the fungus can advance rapidly. The fungal spores are primarily spread
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“Prune off infected material and destroy it before the disease gets a chance to build up and spread.
Unmanaged spread can eventually lead to the death of the entire tree. On the Orchard
between trees and branches by water splash and over longer distances by pruning tools and trimming equipment. Rapid infection can occur through introduced tree wounds (pruning) and when left unchecked, the fungus can move into the main trunk, killing the entire tree. Management
The spread of the disease within and between shelter trees can be significantly slowed with some short term management practices. As soon as symptoms are observed, all infected branches should be aggressively pruned and infected material burnt, deep buried, or removed from site to prevent the spread of spores to other trees. Lindsay from Scion says the best practice is sanitation.
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“Where pruning may not be practical, spraying is an option to manage trees with only isolated or limited dieback. If copper is already being applied to the orchard then it would be useful to spray the cypresses in early summer and then again after three months.” With no specific fungicides for the ongoing control of the disease, growers with trees already showing significant and unmanageable dieback should consider alternative tree types or selecting cypress species with low susceptibility as their long-term management approach. As pruning equipment both spreads the pathogen and creates entry wounds, growers should also consider doing shelterbelt work in dry weather and use any equipment within noninfected areas of the property first. If you wish to discuss shelterbelt or pest management options further, please contact Brad at the NZ Avocado office.
At Just Avocados, our aim is simple; to provide growers the best range of services available. Check out our new website www.justavocados.co.nz and take your pick from the menu of specialist services on offer. We know Growers. We know Markets. We know Avocados‌Now you know it.
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Complacency = safety risk Elaine Fisher, Journalist, SunMedia
elaine@thesun.co.nz
Complacency among avocado growers when it comes to health and safety practices is potentially the biggest risk in worker and grower safety on orchards.
Avocado growers who think they have no
On the Orchard
liability for the safety of contractors working on their properties could be in for a nasty shock if an accident happens, warns Hamish Norwood, national development manager for HazardCo. “Growers who work on and manage their own orchards are generally pretty aware of health and safety requirements but some who generally employ contractors and aren’t involved on a day-to-day basis think all the responsibility rests with contractors, but that’s not the case,” says Hamish. While contractors must have their own health and safety plans in place, property owners have a responsibility and legal requirement to do the same. Those who don’t, run the risk of prosecution and fines if an accident happens. Safety seminars
HazardCo, which specialises in health and safety solutions for a wide range of industries, including horticulture, has been running seminars for avocado growers in conjunction
with the AIC. Jamie Potter, the company’s Auckland, Northland and North Waikato representative, has been running the seminars which aim to raise awareness of growers’ obligations and how to keep themselves and workers safe. Potential hazards can change almost daily in orchards, says Hamish. There are the obvious dangers from machinery and equipment but less obvious can be the impacts of weather. “Rain or frost can make the ground slippery for people and machines. High winds can bring down branches and fruit, and even stepping on a fallen avocado can cause an ankle injury.” Complacency, says Hamish, is probably the biggest risk to safety. “When people have been doing the same task year after year, in the same location, they can forget to take safety into account.
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“We recommend that health and safety should be at the forefront of all briefings with staff and contractors and should be talked about regularly.” Changing attitudes
Attitudes to keeping safe are changing in New Zealand.
On the Orchard
“People are much more accepting of the need to wear safety gear, and not worry about how they look. Quad and motor bike helmets are a classic example, because in an accident the helmet is the one thing which is going to save you from head injuries.” Preparing a health and safety plan is important, but the plan must be a living document which is used, reviewed and updated. Hamish says even with the most thorough of plans, accidents do happen. “However, if the orchardist can demonstrate he or she has an effective, working health and safety
plan in place, the risk of prosecution following an accident is significantly reduced. “This takes a huge amount of stress off the orchardist and allows attention to be given to the injured person.” HazardCo was formed in 2007 by Gavin Karl and Mark Potter, who through their extensive experience in the construction industry, saw the need for a different type of health and safety plans for business. Through HazardCo they created a system to give business owners a simple, practical way to effectively deal with health and safety on their work site that helps address the legislative and regulatory requirements – but which “doesn’t look like a mass of complicated paper work”. The subscription-based company helps clients prepare health and safety plans for their specific requirements, updating them on an annual basis, and helps clients work through the processes should accidents happen. “Our goal is to help ensure everyone gets home safe at the end of each and every day,” says Mark.
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A hive of activity Hamish Carter, Journalist, SunMedia
hamish@thesun.co.nz
On the Orchard
A push for growers to build closer relationships with their pollinating beekeeper has begun, with intention to develop industry policy or guidelines.
I
nterest was shown in developing a closer relationship at a Tauranga meeting in late September, which attracted about 40 growers and a dozen beekeepers for preliminary discussions on the issue. A similar meeting will be held in other regions. New Zealand Avocado industry systems manager Glenys Parton was pleased with the discussions, saying the push to safeguard bee health relies on clear communication between growers, beekeepers and sprayers. Glenys knows how contentious the issue is, with some growers concerned initiatives to safeguard bees will restrict their ability to manage their orchard, but she is optimistic the dialogue will benefit both industries and improve working relationships. “We want to do the right thing by the beekeepers and at the same time balance the needs of the orchards.” Glenys says managing the long pollination
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window is the key challenge. “It makes it a lot more complex (than shorter pollination crops like kiwifruit) because a wave of pest pressure may mean growers need to spray during this period. That’s why the key comes down to closer communication and building that relationship between grower and beekeeper so that they know what’s going on. “If you want to continue to have hives for pollination, the grower and the beekeeper need to work together.” National Beekeepers Association BOP president Dennis Crowley accepts avocados’ long flowering period creates extra challenges, but was impressed by some orchardists at the meeting who were more aware of the issue, monitoring pests before getting bees in and getting hives for a shorter period so they can spray at the shoulders of the season. Dennis says beekeepers want growers to coordinate spraying with neighbours to avoid putting bees at risk. Absentee owners who rely
on contractors to organise spraying programmes without considering risks to pollinating hives are a particular concern for beekeepers, he says. “The absentee owners, or anyone who has ongoing problems, unfortunately will be the ones who miss out, because beekeepers won’t want to put their hives at risk.”
“I don’t want people to say we don’t have to talk now because we have a contract,” says Dennis. “I’m personally more about talking and relationships.” For the past two years Omokoroa growers Maria and Andrew Watchorn have had a contract with their beekeeper and have no complaints about working with an agreement that extends to details such as health and safety policies. “Apart from helping to look after the bees, it impressed me with the level of professionalism,” says Maria, who admits it takes more work to keep the orchard bee-friendly but believes it’s an important investment. Maria says they have always been careful with bees on the orchard, taking ‘common sense’ steps including insisting any sprays are applied after dusk. “It’s a concern to me that some beekeepers are getting out of pollination and it should be a concern to the whole industry,” says Maria, describing the bees’ role as a huge component of what makes an orchard successful. Katikati beekeeper Greg Wagstaff has had mixed experiences pollinating orchards throughout the years – but believes the threat posed by two economic trends in beekeeping highlight an even greater need for growers to focus on bee safety. With the price of honey doubling in recent years,
“Just the economics are driving beekeepers to focus on honey. This is the headline issue. Then if you get hives back that have been compromised, you have to weigh that against the loss in honey value.”
On the Orchard
One option some beekeepers are taking is having contracts with growers to ensure bee-friendly practices. It’s a concept Dennis is lukewarm on, despite saying it’s good to highlight milestones to be achieved and requirements of both parties.
he says some beekeepers have stopped providing pollination services because the income is not so crucial. Greg, who runs mid-sized beekeeping operation Beeworx, also warns the trend of corporates buying up hives from small beekeepers is likely to cut hive numbers pollinating orchards.
Greg believes the most important thing avocado growers can do is to become focused on protecting bee health. It’s a view shared by Dennis, who says the future of orchard pollination services comes down to growers working closely with beekeepers to help safeguard the bees. Ultimately Dennis would like to see industry guidelines established and a commitment by growers to do all they can to protect bees as vital pollinators. “The reality is if growers have a lot of dead bees, they have to look at their practices,” says Glenys, who also wants to hear from beekeepers about any problems. “We would really like to hear of any problems so we can work together with growers to make positive changes for the future.”
Pollination contracts Whether it’s a formal contract or hand shake agreement, a beekeeper and grower should discuss and agree on the following points to manage agrichemical use during pollination: • Position of the hives in the orchard. • Adequate notice of any spray programme. • Compliance with bee toxicity warnings and agrichemical legislation. • Avoiding spray use between 08:00 and 17:00 hours when bees are active. • Providing adjoining land owners notice of intent to bring in hives. • Sward and shelterbelt flower awareness management. • Daily management of hives, water sources, and reporting of bee health back to beekeeper.
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Happy, healthy hives - Grower Checklist When it comes to achieving a bee friendly environment in your orchard there are important rules to follow.
Sprays
There are some very simple rules when we look at agricultural sprays and irrigation and this is as applicable to lifestyle block farmers and councils as it is to working farms: On the Orchard
• I f the crop is flowering and bees are flying and working the crop, leave spraying until dusk and before dawn. This is generally better than the day itself, with less wind and less spray drift. • A chemical may be said to be “bee friendly”, but do not take the risk. Often, the “sticking agent” mixed with the chemical can be more dangerous to bees than the active product. •E nsure any spraying contractor is fully briefed on your requirements. Deliberately flaunting these guidelines is a prosecutable offence and the prospects of a beekeeper accepting a contract to pollinate your crops in the future will be greatly diminished. • Cover water sources bees are likely to visit. Hive location
Placing hives for good pollination is like selling a house; it is location, location, location: •E nsure hives are out of the travel path of any irrigator. •D ifferent crops have different requirements. For crops the bees want to work, like white clover, they will fly some distance to seek pollen and nectar. Locating them over the fence in a sheltered warm north-facing site will do the job. • S ome crops are a little less palatable for the honeybee, such as kiwifruit, carrots and onions. In this instance, placing the hives in
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the paddock or the orchard directly with the crop can enhance the pollination strike rate. Again, common sense will prevail: the honeybee is a master pollen and nectar gatherer; show them the opportunity and they will get on with the job, weather permitting. Urban environment
Much of the advice above applies equally at home in the suburbs with gardeners. Make home gardens an inviting place for a bee to visit increases pollination success. • Use a mixture of bee-friendly plants in your garden to encourage bees to fly in and do their job of pollination. • Lavender in the vegetable plot or orchard is a great start and it will flower right through the pollination period. • Bee-friendly gardening is just as important as bee-friendly farming. Keep it simple, keep it safe and bees will keep your garden pollinated. Irrigation
Irrigation water is a major threat to bee life. Bees cannot live in a cold-wet environment and will rapidly chill and die before returning to the hive. • Use common sense and irrigate in the evening and not during the day when bees are flying. This has the advantage of greater water retention for pasture and crops. • If you want hives in a crop, ensure an irrigator cannot drift across and take out the hives. Source: John Hartnell, Federated Farmers Bee Industry Group. For more details on creating a bee-friendly environment go to: www.nba.org.nz
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Soil moisture when planting Alvaro Vidiella R&D Manager
alvaro.vidiella@nzavocado.co.nz
On the Orchard
When it comes to newly planted trees, it is crucial to maintain the right amount of water in the soil. But it can be challenging to determine and maintain a healthy balance.
Figure 1.The trees on the left of this California orchard were planted at the same time and in the same conditions as the trees on the right, but on different irrigation sectors.The trees on the left were overwatered for some time due to a deficiency in the irrigation system. The trees on the right were watered properly, according to the plan.
W
ith avocado trees out of stock in our nurseries, a fair amount of planting will be happening this season. Last year we published an update of our Best Practice guidelines on how to plant new trees. Nurserymen, growers, consultants and other rural professionals participated in the development of the guidelines. You can find the final document in the website along with videos of growers explaining how they have been planting trees in their orchards. This article is an extract of the chapter on soil moisture management from these guidelines. One of the most important aspects with newly planted trees in our orchards is trying to keep the right soil moisture levels in the soil for the establishment of the trees. It is important to ensure newly planted trees don’t dry out or receive excess water, as both cases will result in the roots not absorbing enough water. The symptoms of both extremes are 36
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therefore very similar, if not identical – the plant will wilt. Even if there is plenty of water in the soil, if the roots are dead – because they have not been in the right environment – the tree won’t be able to absorb enough water and will show the same symptoms as if the soil had no water at all. It is a fact more young avocado trees die of excess irrigation than of a lack of moisture in the soil. Work carried out in New Zealand, California and Spain on the establishment of clonal trees (and particularly on Dusa®) show excess irrigation of newly planted trees is a major cause of tree death in many orchards. (Figure 1). Soil must be soaked immediately after planting
It is extremely important soil is soaked immediately, or as soon as possible, after planting. The importance of this will be greater if:
If there is not enough water in the surrounding soil, the potting mix will dry very quickly, and the roots will die. Immediately after planting you must wet the surrounding soil to a distance of minimum 40 - 50 cm from the potting mix and to a depth of minimum 40 cm. Once this volume of soil is wet, you must stop the irrigation and allow any excess water to drain. This will take one to two days, and you will need to irrigate again a few days later.
(50 litres per plant every 10 days) than smaller frequent irrigations (5 litres per plant every 2 days). In theory, large infrequent irrigation will soak the soil that the roots will explore in the following months, which will be feeding moisture into the potting mix during the first few days, while leaving enough time between irrigations to allow the soil to dry and the roots to receive the right amount of air. Irrigation throughout the first few weeks will probably need to be more frequent, because most roots (all during the first few days) will be in the potting mix, which can dry very quickly.
On the Orchard
• The potting mix was not adequately soaked at the time of planting. • The soil was relatively dry at the time of planting. • The planting holes are not dug immediately before planting. • The weather expected for the following days is relatively dry, hot, windy and sunny. • The individual tree shelter is not in place. • The trees are not mulched. • The trees are on humps.
As roots begin to grow into the surrounding soil – which can happen as soon as four days after planting if soil temperatures are high – irrigation can be less frequent. It is at this point when any device you use to monitor soil moisture will play a crucial role. It would be useful to place tensiometer stations around the planting. These stations could consist of one-three tensiometers placed at different distances and depths from the plant. There is no real perfect design, but below is a practical set-up.
Figure 2.The soil must be soaked as soon as possible after planting.
Soil moisture control after planting
It is at this stage balance is key.You must make sure the soil does not get too dry, but it is also crucial you don’t water too frequently, because the plants may die from excess water. As a general rule with avocados in our conditions, it is better to perform large, infrequent irrigations
• Main station: Three tensiometers (Figure 3). o Tensiometer 1: Place in the potting mix about 3 cm from the exterior border of the mix, 10-15 cm deep. o Tensiometer 2: Place 7-15 cm from the potting mix 10-20 cm deep, about half the depth of the potting mix. o Tensiometer 3: Place 7-15 cm from the potting mix at 20-30 cm deep, at the bottom of the potting mix. • S econdary station: One or two tensiometers (Figure 4). o Tensiometer 1: Place 7-15 cm from the potting mix at 10-20 cm deep, about half the depth of the potting mix. o Tensiometer 2 (optional): Place 7-15 cm from the potting mix at 20-30 cm deep, at the bottom of the potting mix. Avoscene November 2014
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Ideally there should be two main stations per block, and two secondary stations per hectare. In a 2ha block you would place two main stations and four secondary stations. Distribute the stations consistently throughout the block to capture the diversity you think could occur between areas that require more or less irrigation. The stations should be placed on trees of average size, relative to all the trees planted. On the Orchard
Unfortunately, the use of these tensiometers is not simple, as there can be variation in their behaviour. Follow these management guidelines with flexibility and with the help of someone who has
experience with tensiometers and new plantings. After the initial irrigation, completed immediately after planting to soak the soil, the tensiometers should read less than -10 kPa. Most tensiometers will never read below five or even 10 kPa. If this is not the case, the soil may not be wet enough or there could be something wrong with the tensiometers. Check they are properly installed (with no air bubbles, etc.) and follow the set up instructions carefully. If the problem remains, remove the tensiometer and place it in a different spot around the tree. Seek help from someone with some experience if you are unsure. As days go by, the tension of the tensiometer in the potting mix should rise faster than the tension of the other two.
Figure 3. Main tensiometer station:Tensiometers are placed 10 cm from the potting mix, and 15 cm, 20 cm and 45 cm deep. Notice the tensiometer that was originally placed in the potting mix had been moved to the soil since the roots had already grown into the adjacent soil.
In the first few days, complete a second watering when at least one of the tensiometers in the potting mix reaches (-25 - -30kPa). The tensiometers should all read less than 10 kPa once the irrigation is complete. If the readings between the tensiometer stations are very different (which is not uncommon) try to find out why the differences exist. If there are clearly different areas regarding soil types, wind exposure, or drainage, consider dividing the block into sub-blocks regarding irrigation needs. Remember, more trees die from excess watering than from a lack of watering. Monitor the growth of the roots from of the potting mix regularly by removing the layer of mulch and digging 5-10 cm along the wall of the mix to observe if the roots are exploring the surrounding soil.
Figure 4. Secondary tensiometer station: One tensiometer placed 10 cm away from the potting mix and 20 cm deep. 38
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Once the roots have started to explore the soil around it (are 10-20 cm into the surrounding soil) you can start irrigating when soil reaches - 25 to - 40 kPa (Figure 5 and Figure 6). One thing to note is that some clonals tend to droop during the midday heat. This is quite normal and not a sign of a lack of moisture in the soil.
Figure 5.The yellow arrows show roots growing into the soil surrounding the potting mix.
On the Orchard
If the tree recovers in the evening or late afternoon, it is an indication the soil moisture is adequate. However, these observations must be backed up with tensiometer readings, and if you notice a discrepancy between observations and tensiometer readings, consult with an expert. These management guidelines are based on research carried out in other countries and on New Zealand anecdotal experience. There is generally a high variability in the response of the tensiometers depending on the characteristics of the system plant-soiltensiometer. Despite the high varability, there is no doubt the use of the tensiometer system will help you make a better informed decision about when and how much to irrigate. We can currently access other instruments to monitor soil moisture, such as capacitance
Figure 6. Roots exploring the surrounding soil. (Photo Lindsay Heard)
probes. Hopefully some of the research work NZ Avocado is currently planning will give us more information about how we can manage soil moisture in different circumstances in New Zealand. For the complete document with references and videos go to www.nzavocado.co.nz, click on the orchard management tab and select Preparation and Planting
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Offshore promotions programme Midge Munro – Communications Manager midge.munro@nzavocado.co.nz
Markets
New Zealand Avocado has in place the most extensive export market promotions programme it has ever implemented.
Media enjoying New Zealand avocados at the New Zealand Embassy in Japan.
Activity has been given a huge boost by the
Primary Growth Partnership, which has enabled the creation of a New Zealand Avocado category story that aims to create a point of difference for our avocados in offshore markets by leveraging off the New Zealand identity and unique growing environment. The Primary Growth Partnership is enabling us to undertake exciting new activity in New Zealand and Asian markets. This season we are promoting New Zealand avocados in New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Australia, Singapore and India. We are also for the first time, through a contestable promotions fund, partnering with your exporters to support their promotions programmes which align well with the PGP programme and the industry
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market development. These activities and their outcomes will be reported to you at the end of the season. Part of our industry strategy is to create a unified story for avocados from New Zealand that all exporters can utilise to create a point of difference, and also to increase awareness of New Zealand avocados. So what makes our avocados different from anyone else’s in the world? We held workshops earlier this year with export and domestic marketers to brainstorm the unique selling points of New Zealand avocados and concluded that ‘time’ is our unique factor. Time relates to the fact that in New Zealand we wait until the time is right to harvest our
avocados, when taste benefits are at their best. Our avocados hang on the tree for a long time compared to other producing countries, soak up the New Zealand sunshine in our long summer days and are carefully nurtured for at least a year by our dedicated growers. This story is akin to the Mainland Cheese marketing “Good things take time”. We are also infusing this material with elements of the New Zealand story - our clean air and soil and our reputation for producing premium produce that is safe. We launched this story at the beginning of September in Hong Kong at Asia Fruit Logistica – Asia’s largest fresh fruit tradeshow attracting more than 6000 delegates, including retailers and handlers from across Asia.
With all exporters utilising this material, we are stepping forward with a unified approach and increasing the number of touch points consumers have with this story.
2014-15 Promotions programme Japan
Japan is an important priority market for New Zealand and we have the exciting opportunity to launch the avocados from New Zealand category story in a market that values premium produce from clean and safe growing environment. Japan is an advanced market, consumers are adept in using avocados and are presented with ripe and ready to eat at retail. The challenge here is to position New Zealand avocados as a premium product with perceived superior benefits over other imported avocados for high income working women and trendsetters.
For the rest of the season we are partnering with high end Deli and retailer Dean & Deluca to run sampling at their monthly Green Market in their Roppongi store. We will also execute a recipe contest on Facebook with their customers. Korea
Korea has been identified as a market with great potential; however, Korean consumers are not yet familiar with avocados as a fruit for culinary preparation.
Korean website for New Zealand avocados.
Markets
Exporters along with New Zealand Avocado are using this material and associated story in promotions across Asia.
We kicked off the season with a media trade and influencers launch at the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo on 1 October. Read more about the launch event on page 52.
At retail they are presented green and sometimes shrink wrapped, which means that Korean consumers may not have not had the pleasure of tasting a perfectly ripe avocado. New Zealand exporters are working to improve the handling of avocados in Korea and New Zealand avocado is supporting this activity by creating a local language website which will act as a reference point for consumers. We will include basic information on how to choose, ripen, store and use, as well as communicating the health benefits and the New Zealand avocado category story. Singapore
The Singapore Health Promotion Board held an event 3-5 October called Choose Well. This event was part of the National Healthy Lifestyle
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for the most part these people had never tasted an avocado or if they had, had no idea how to choose, ripen or use. However once they tasted avocado in the spring roll, smoothie or chocolate mousse they were hooked. “It was like avocado became a new obsession for all the people that tried it,” says Nadia.
Campaign (NHLC) which is an annual campaign organised to promote a nation of healthy and happy people. We saw this as a great opportunity to reach a large number of health conscious consumers about the benefits of avocados from New Zealand. Our avocado ambassador Nadia Lim attended the event where she demo’ed to packed audiences in the Nutrition Zone and also engaged with consumers on a stand for a Singaporean retailer who sells New Zealand avocados.
“Some people stood and watched the demo of all three recipes and even came back the next day with friends to see the demos again.” Some attendees did mention they had heard avocados were fattening, a fact which Nadia was quick to correct them on. “I told them that one avocado a day is perfectly good for you and that the majority of the fat is the good kind that helps maintain a healthy heart.” Nurses at the event were particularly interested in the health benefits.
Markets
The event saw 20,000 Singaporeans come through the venue. Nadia commented that the attendees were the everyday Singaporean and
Attendees were really engaged with the recipes and demos and the retail stand sold out of avocados on day two of the event.
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India
On 10 October we held a season launch reception at the High Commission in New Delhi, India. This event was arranged in close collaboration with NZTE staff in India and was hosted by Grahame Morton, New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India. NZAGA and AIC Vice Chair Tony Ponder represented the industry at this event which attracted 200 guests made up of hotel chefs, media, NZTE and MFAT guests and also guests of Fisher and Paykel, whose kitchen equipment was used for our celebrity ambassador Kunal Kapur to demonstrate avocado recipes. Read more on this event on page 53. Australia
In Australia our strategy is different to that in our Asian markets. Australian consumers are proud of their Australian produced products, which means the uniquely New Zealand avocado category story material is not appropriate for this market. This season we have continued to work collaboratively, as we have done for a number of years, with Horticulture Australia (HAL) and Avocados Australia (AAL) to continue the promotion of avocados during our export window.
Nadia Lim interacting with the enthusiastic crowd in Singapore.
New Zealand avocado is running a 15 second version of this advert for three weeks during October and November. This commercial will be viewed by almost two million people in our target group of female grocery buyers. *Turning Avocado Enthusiasts into Lovers,Talking Avocado Autumn 2014Volume 25 N0 1
Markets
The centre of the HAL and AAL campaign is a
TV commercial which is based on the research insight that consumers experience an emotional lift when they think of using avocados. Testing of the advert showed that 67 per cent of those surveyed indicated that the commercial made them want to eat more avocados.*
dosWinter 2014 Extract from Talking Avoca CEO’s report by John Tyas
A win/win for both
industries
try has agreed to The New Zealand indus ards the avocado contribute funding tow in Australia this year, to promotion programme nsumption of avocados help build continued co alia welcomes the str in Australia. Avocados Au the Australian levyd ten ex ll wi ich wh decision, n aig by three weeks in funded television camp October/November. cussions between AAL, This decision follows dis g the past couple of HAL and NZAGA durin options for coof months when a number . ed nt ese pr re we investment for both industries, This is a great outcome d the current ten as it will significantly ex consumption across do ca avo ild bu campaign to riod this year, and pe er mm su d an the spring also into the future. ded television The Australian levy-fun
r be made available unde commercial, TVC, will nd e by the New Zeala certain conditions for us d. industry during this perio oach is that it builds The benefits of this appr industry is doing rather on what the Australian te campaign that than developing a separa s. It also provides ge may have different messa media, rather than on re itu nd pe ex maximum develop new creative using scarce resources to material. agency, IKON, the By using the same media ll go fur ther due to New Zealand funding wi HAL has already es the contracted media rat N. KO th wi negotiated d slightly during the The TVC will be amende d to be ‘country rio New Zealand funded pe n/win for both wi a y inl rta ce is neutral’. It industries.
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New Zealand market promotions update Bevan Jelley, New Zealand Market bevan.jelley@nzavocado.co.nz
Markets
NZ Avocado’s promotional programme is seeing solid results, as TV commercials and supermarket tastings drive traffic to the website and boost consumer interest.
The NZ Avocado promotions programme
Season launch
The promotions theme for this season is ‘New Zealand Avocados, Amazing Anytime’ – referring to the amazing nutritional qualities and health benefits of avocados, alongside their versatility.
The new season was launched in September to 30 high profile media and influencers. We sent out cooler bags, featuring Amazing Anytime imagery, filled with the ingredients required to make Nadia Lim’s avocado, coconut and lime cheesecake. The response was very positive, with recipients instantly tweeting to their followers and emailing us about how much they loved the pack.
intensified considerably in September, with the ‘Amazing Anytime’ avocado television commercials going to air across New Zealand, media packs being sent out, and supermarket tastings getting underway.
It reminds consumers avocados can fit into any meal time; breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner or dessert.
The Amazing Anytime cooler bag sent out to high profile media and influencers.
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Promotional activities have been specifically designed to deliver the Amazing Anytime story with maximum impact to drive immediate increases in demand. Flagship activities are a TV commercial campaign and in-store supermarket tasting demonstrations throughout New World, Countdown and Pak ‘n Save supermarkets nationwide.
Avoscene November 2014
TV commercials’ success
Avocados are the star in three new TV commercials showcasing amazing recipes and including key nutrition messages. Nadia Lim delivers a different avocado recipe in each of the three commercials. A breakfast commercial features a range of delicious options for avocado on toast, the dinner commercial showcases an amazing avocado, halloumi and pumpkin salad, and for dessert: Nadia’s amazing avocado cheesecake.
The commercials went to air in September and will play throughout the export season until February 2015. Supermarket tasting demonstrations
NZ Avocado is coordinating in-store avocado tasting demonstrations in supermarkets across New Zealand. Each taster features avocado, a slice of cherry tomato and a basil leaf upon a cracker. Amazing Anytime recipe booklets are also being handed out to shoppers, while demonstrators deliver key messages about the fruit’s versatility, nutritional properties and health benefits. Feedback from consumers at the demonstrations has been very positive. Many people love the flavour combination of the avocado, basil and tomato, and had not tried it before. The recipe booklets are exceptionally popular and demonstrators are reporting the array of avocado recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner is
motivating consumers to purchase more avocados. Tasting events are being advertised via the NZ Avocado Facebook page and have generated a lot of ‘likes’ and posts from our avocado-loving Facebook friends.
Instore supermarket tastings of New Zealand avocados.
New Zealand with Nadia
Markets
Traffic to the NZ Avocado website has provided an early indication of the effects of the TV campaign to date. The dessert commercial in particular has caused a large spike in activity on the cheesecake recipe page, from less than 10 visits per day to more than 100 daily since the commercials went to air. More than 250 visits to the cheesecake recipe page occurred on the specific days the cheesecake commercial aired.
Avocados took a starring role in a recently aired episode of New Zealand with Nadia – a TV show in which healthy eating chef and New Zealand Avocado Ambassador Nadia Lim travels to orchards and farms throughout New Zealand, creating meals using the regional produce. Avocados featured heavily in the Bay of Plenty episode, in which Nadia travelled to an orchard on Motuhoa Island, and a packing facility in Katikati. She showcased three avocado-based meals at the McGillivray’s orchard in Katikati; avocado bruschetta, sticky hoisin-glazed pork chops with an avocado mango salsa, and an avocado chocolate mousse. New Zealand with Nadia will also air on the Asian Food Channel, a food-dedicated TV network spanning more than 12 countries throughout Asia. The health benefits of avocados and an emphasis on New Zealand’s clean, green image are tailored to Asian audiences and feature heavily throughout the show.
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USA market’s value is two-fold Elaine Fisher, Journalist, SunMedia
elaine@thesun.co.nz
Around 600,000 trays of New Zealand avocados will be shipped by Avanza to the USA this season – a market whose value is in more than per-tray returns.
John Carroll of Avanza says the value is also in how it helps enhance other markets.
The USA market is especially important for New Zealand growers during this large crop volume season as it not only helps take the pressure off the Australian market, but also provides an outlet for larger early season fruit, he says. Avanza partners with Mission Produce, which distributes New Zealand avocados mainly to supermarkets in the USA, and the two companies also have a strong working relationship in Asia.
“We saw an Australian market that was oversupplied and spiralled out of control, so we needed some experienced minds thinking about what needed to happen next time we faced a big crop. Shipping to the USA was a key option.” An influencing market
“We are keeping a close eye on what is happening in Australia where the Western Australian crop is now in the market. We do need to push the market to grow, but not recklessly. If at the end of the season we consider we could have pushed a little harder, we can know we will have allowed the market to breathe and gained some added value for our fruit. ”
Markets
Sending fruit to America this season is an important strategy to take the pressure off the Australian market, following hard lessons learned three years ago.
player and we don’t turn up regularly. So while there is an affection for New Zealand, it’s more a case of consumers recognising that New Zealand fruit has arrived and seeing it is of good quality. If the proof’s in the pudding, our fruit will be well appreciated.” Avanza has stationed Tony Sinkovich on the USA west coast for up to four months to oversee the arrival of fruit and handle any issues which may arise. “Avanza has been prepared to make the investment to have Tony up there to keep the confidence in the fruit and, while early days, it’s proving worthwhile.”
The USA also plays an important role in providing a market for early season big fruit, leaving smaller fruit for the Asian markets which have a preference for those sizes.
Shipment delays
“New Zealand fruit is well regarded in the USA market but in terms of volumes we’re a tiny
“It wasn’t anything to do with us or our fruit, just general congestion at the port. However,
John says the season got off to a slightly disappointing start when the first shipment of 13 containers was held up at the Los Angeles port.
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“Mission, which handles one in every four avocados sold in the USA, has seven cold storage and ripening centres throughout the country.
Photo courtesy of the Hass Avocado Board www.avocadocentral.com
despite the hold up, and the time on the water, the fruit was still of very good quality and was well received in the market.” The biggest issue was the disruption the delays caused to the marketing programmes Mission is running for New Zealand avocados. “Key retailers have their doors open seven days a week, so inconsistent deliveries can hurt.” Markets
Avanza is targeting the west coast of the USA, mainly because of the additional cost of road freight and extra travel time involved in shipping fruit to the east.
“New Zealand fruit will be distributed through three of these locations, Seattle, Denver and Oxnard, Mission’s home base in California. It may well be some of our fruit is channelled into Western Canada via Mission’s Seattle operation.” Pre-packs
Most of the fruit is sold in two layer trays packed by New Zealand post-harvest operators bearing Avanza and Mission logos, but John says this season some fruit is being re-packed into bags of five or six pieces of fruit for one specific customer. “We couldn’t do that type of packing in New Zealand. Plus Mission is looking after our interests. If, as we hope, New Zealand fruit is a strong quality option, Mission will look to place that fruit into the best of their customers. Some of these people have quite particular requirements.”
Game ‘super’ boost for avocados Consumers in the USA don’t need educating about how to use avocados, or their nutritional value. With a rise in the country’s Hispanic population over many years has come a steady increase in consumption of the fruit, across the wider population. “Mexican food is now firmly fixed as a serious meal option for Americans and avocados are an essential part of that cuisine,” says John Carroll of Avanza, which is exporting New Zealand fruit to the USA this season. “The real growth of the USA avocado market is not a new story, yet it shows no sign of abating.” Avocado consumption soars each February
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during Super Bowl festivities, with estimates that Americans eat 79 million pounds or roughly 158 million avocados around the championship game. Most of the fruit is eaten as guacamole and it is said that if all of the popular dip consumed was spread on a football field, it would be around three metres or 11 feet deep. It’s not just avocados which are big during the championships. It’s estimated around 13,000,000kg of chips, (enough to stretch 472,000km, if laid end to end), 90 million chicken wings and 15 million pizza, are also eaten. The Super Bowl unfortunately, falls outside the current 14-week New Zealand avocado export season to the USA.
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™ To find out more, visit www.cropprotection.dupont.co.nz AlwAys reAd And follow lAbel directions. copyright© 2014 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
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Season launches in Asia Midge Munro - Communications Manager, New Zealand Avocado
midge.munro@nzavocado.co.nz
The New Zealand avocado season in Asia kicked off in October with two high profile events in Tokyo, Japan and New Delhi, India.
Markets
Erica Angyal, Jason Reeves, Sakura and Jen Scoular at the Tokyo launch.
These events attracted large numbers of
enthusiastic media, trade and in-market contacts. Celebrity spokespeople were also highlights of both events.
Season launch in Tokyo, Japan
A successful NZ Avocado season launch was held at the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo on 1 October. The event was well attended with 80 enthusiastic trade, media and Embassy and NZTE representatives filling the reception room in the Embassy to capacity. Jen Scoular, CEO New Zealand Avocado, represented the industry at this event, giving a presentation on the benefits of New Zealandgrown avocados. “The atmosphere was very lively and the media showed a real interest in New Zealand avocados,” says Jen. Everyone who attended was given a kit on
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arrival which included a recipe booklet, media release, fresh New Zealand avocados, New Zealand avocado oil, and translated information about the industry. “Guests were taking the various pieces of information out of their bags as we were talking about them in the presentation; it felt really good to have provided them with such engaging information.” The event was also supported by two special guests; Sakura, a Japanese model and Vogue Japan online blogger, and Erica Angyal, a nutritionist who advises Miss Universe Japan and is also an active columnist and author in Japan. “Sakura loves avocados, is gorgeous and did a great job of selling avocados both in terms of healthy eating and eating for beauty. These comments were then positively endorsed by Erica,” says Jen. Attendees stayed on longer than expected, which is a positive sign of their interest.
Kunal Kapur demonstrates Indian cuisine using New Zealand avocados at the New Delhi launch.
“I was interviewed afterwards by probably 10 different journalists, and most questions were on the industry, so there was definitely a real feeling of interest in avocados from New Zealand.” NZTE and embassy staff were very supportive; New Zealand’s Trade commissioner to Japan, Jason Reeves, opened the event in Japanese and the embassy’s head chef presented a fabulous lunch for attendees which showed off the versatility of avocados. “The buffet was delicious, and again, lots of interest in the different uses for avocado.”
“Overall I believe we achieved the objectives to raise visibility of avocados from New Zealand, and increased our reach with a wider range of media.”
The New Zealand avocado season was launched 10 October at an event at the New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi. Tony Ponder, Vice Chair of New Zealand Avocado and Director of AVANZA Ltd, represented the industry at this event and introduced the New Zealand avocado industry to the trade, media, food service and other high profile guests. Kunal Kapur, Celebrity Masterchef and avocado lover, showed 200 guests at the event many ways of using avocado to create delicious and nutritious meals.
Markets
The aim of the event was to raise visibility of avocados from New Zealand among media who speak to our target audience of high income working women and mothers. The newly developed New Zealand avocado category story was used as the basis for the presentation and materials supplied to the media.
Season launch in New Delhi, India
“New Zealand Hass avocados are an amazing healthy and versatile wholefood that contain the good fats needed to maintain a healthy heart. They interestingly blend with everyday Indian meals and the soft buttery texture and nutty flavour goes really well with many traditional dishes such as Bhel Puri and Tawa Pulao. They also blend seamlessly with curries,” says Kunal. Kunal is one of the most celebrated faces of Indian cuisine today. He is chef extraordinaire, TV show host, winner of several culinary awards and the author of recently launched cookbook - ‘A Chef in Every Home’. He is living his dream of making Indian cuisine the number one cuisine in the world and empowering everyone through the power of cooking to become self-sufficient.
Media looking at New Zealand avocados and avocado oils at the Tokyo launch.
Chef Kunal has been recognised amongst the Best Chefs in India by National Weekly Magazine - India Today. Recently, the Food & Nightlife
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“Avocado itself is nutritious, good to taste, fits well in any kind of recipe and is good for the heart”
Magazine adjudged him as the “Gourmet Guru”. He has been honoured as one of the Top 20 chefs of India. “I have visited New Zealand, it is a beautiful country that yields premium agricultural and horticultural products that are produced to meet high standards of food safety, quality and reliability,” says Kunal. Kunal says he loves making a New Zealand avocado and kiwifruit lassi to have with breakfast or lunch as it’s a quick and easy way to get a nutrient boost and also helps with digestion.
Markets
Media coverage of the event has been outstanding, with Kunal tweeting extensively to his 13,000-plus followers. The Indian business and lifestyle media also shared their experience at the event, the key messages from the press kit they received and recipes which Kunal
demonstrated on the night. New Zealand High Commissioner Grahame Morton commented: “With the entry of New Zealand avocado in India, we have created a new space in the minds of the consumer. Since it is not a commercial fruit in India and not easily available, this is an apt opportunity for us to introduce avocado as a nutritionally rich whole food suitable for all ages.” Adding to this, Trade Commissioner Richard White said: “We see the consumer preference growing towards consumption of avocados in the near future. Avocado itself is nutritious, good to taste, fits well in any kind of recipe and is good for the heart.” Kunal will continue to be involved with New Zealand avocados throughout the season with an association with AVANZA.
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Avocentric - Goldstone Orchard By Elaine Fisher, Journalist, SunMedia
elaine@thesun.co.nz
The family behind an Omokoroa orchard share their successful solution to frost damage. Mitchell Goldstone (14) and his brother Bradley (16) are part of the ground harvesting team at the Goldstone Orchard.
Water has proved a life-saver for Brian
Goldstone’s Omokoroa orchard – not because it was parched, but because it was frost-prone.
“At the time we developed the orchard, we thought you planted the trees and pretty much sat back and waited for the money to come in. We didn’t even plant shelter to start with. We’ve learnt a lot since then.” Prole Road, close to the Tauranga Harbour and not much above sea level, wouldn’t appear to be a frost-prone area, but it is. What makes the Goldstone orchard even more vulnerable are the shallow gullies which run through it, providing a perfect catchment for frosts. Using water from a natural source on the farm,
Using a PTO pump
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“We had considered ripping the trees out because of frosts but decided to give frost protection a go and the first season after doing so we got a crop,” says Brian, who developed the six hectare orchard in Prole Road from bare land 12 years ago.
Brian had Waterforce design and supply an irrigation system to trees and, in the high frost prone areas of the orchard, an overheard sprinkler system. The system is both low-tech and high tech. A sensor in one of the lowest parts of the orchard alerts Brian by text message when the temperature drops to around two degrees, which automatically starts the orchard tractor’s PTO pump without him leaving his house. The pump circulates a fine mist of water to the trees. Brian can manually stop and start the pump at his discretion by sending a text message with the instruction. “By morning the trees are completely covered, from the top of the trees to the ground, with ice protecting the fruit, leaves, and new flowers.” This is the third season since the system was installed and the orchard has produced a commercial crop each time. Avoscene November 2014
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ground after the winds.” Brian obviously enjoys avocado orcharding. He has developed a keen eye for tree health, and is keen to continue to learn about avocado growing and strive to lift performance even further. However he’s no longer of the opinion that avocado orchards look after themselves and although not a full-time orchardist – Brian also operates Goldstone Ltd, an earthmoving and property development company – he pays close attention to orchard management. Brian Goldstone and AIC R&D manager Dr Alvaro Vidiella discuss the benefits of frost protection to Brian’s orchard.
“The frost protection system has paid for itself in the first season.” If Brian needed a reminder of just how valuable the system is, he got it this spring when a technical problem stopped the system from turning on when it should have during a -2.5 degree frost. “That particular frost costs us around one per cent of our crop, as well as the damage to flowers and leaves of the next season’s crop.”
Trees are kept to a height suitable for picking from 6m platforms and Apata Ltd carries out the picking and packing.
Brian acknowledges this system would not be suitable in an orchard with drainage problems since the large amounts of water used cause severe tree health issues due to water logging.
Best performer
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Since installing the system, Brian has removed some mature trees, using a tree spade, and relocated them on raised mounds in the most frost prone block, and despite the move and severe pruning, they are looking healthy and productive. After initially believing the orchard didn’t need shelter, Brian removed some trees and planted a row of Cryptomeria which has generally performed well.
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To date Brian hasn’t flower pruned, but it’s an option he’s considering, after three seasons of heavy cropping. Around 40 hives are brought in for pollination and the orchard has 35 pollinator trees.
The system of hoses supported by tall poles positioned in the centre of each tree is also used for irrigation and Brian credits this with enhancing the orchard’s large fruit profile.
Tree spading
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FruitFed carries out pest monitoring and sprays are applied on recommendation. Jerome Hardy, technical manager with AVOCO, takes regular soil samples and his fertiliser recommendations are followed closely. Trees are injected once a year for phytophthora using the Omnia stem shot system.
John Bird, Apata’s national avocado manager, says the orchard is among its best performers. “Brian’s orchard had the best pack-out last season, with 87 per cent export fruit. The trees produced 8 tonne a hectare and look likely to do close to 30 tonne this season.” This season there will be two picks in the orchard, the first fruit going to the USA and Japan, and the second pick mainly to Australia. John says the USA market has helped take pressure off Australia in this high-crop volume year.
However, extremely high westerly winds in early October hit the trees on the lee of the shelter hard.
“New Zealand fruit is being well received in the USA for its high quality and even catering grade fruit is achieving good returns.”
“It appears the wind came over the shelter and swirled around the trees closest to it. I reckon we lost another two per cent of the crop – my sons and I picked up around 12 bins of fruit from the
Some of Brian’s larger fruit were probably among those sold by the piece, presented in individual net wrapping in high-end Japanese fruit and vegetable stores and supermarkets.
Avoscene November 2014
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Avoscene November 2014
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w be o n n a C d with e i l p p a ended m m o c re oil
Government Industry Agreements for Biosecurity Brad Siebert Biosecurity & Programme Manager
brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz
Government Industry Agreements have been talked about for many years and the time is finally upon the avocado industry to make the decision to join this partnership for better biosecurity outcomes. Government Industry Agreements (GIA)
The Government Industry Agreement for Biosecurity Readiness and Response creates a new partnership between industry and government to achieve better biosecurity outcomes. This partnership approach is formalised in a Deed that provides for shared decision-making and cost sharing for biosecurity activities. This approach will ensure the avocado industry has a say in important biosecurity decisions and provide greater certainty that the industry is prepared for, and can effectively respond to, biosecurity threats. The scope of the GIA
The GIA Deed
The GIA Deed outlines the principles for this partnership which commits both industry and MPI to joint decision-making and cost-sharing for minimum commitments only. A copy of the Deed and further information can be found on the GIA website www.gia.org.nz Operational Agreements
Once industry and government have signed the GIA Deed, they can commence discussions about Operational Agreements (OA) for specific pests of interest to the industry. These documents sit under the Deed and provide the mechanism for industry to prescribe the readiness and response activities to be undertaken and how the activities will be funded. Along with the government, an OA may involve more than one industry group, particularly
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Under the GIA, the avocado industry will identify the biosecurity risks of greatest concern and jointly invest with government to better manage those risks. GIA allows industry to have ongoing engagement across the biosecurity system and provides a mechanism to formally
agree on those activities directly related to readiness and response.
Biosecurity system engagement under GIA
Pre-border
Border
Readiness and response
Pest Management
Joint decision-making and cost sharing through GIA
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Oriental fruit fly.
where multiple crops are affected by a particular pest or group of pests, such as fruit flies. Industries that do not sign up to GIA
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A non-signatory industry would not have decision-making rights during a response that affects its sector, although MPI will continue to consult with them. Where a non-signatory industry receives a benefit from a response, MPI will look to recover a share of the response costs from individual growers and producers. Costs will be recovered through a biosecurity levy where it is efficient and equitable to do so. Industry will decide on GIA
NZAGA will have to show it has a clear mandate from growers before becoming a Deed signatory. A referendum via a postal ballot will identify the level of industry support to sign the Deed. This approach was supported by growers at the 2013 AGM. The postal ballot will coincide with a number of GIA roadshows and will focus on two key decisions: •T he proposal that NZAGA becomes a party to the GIA Deed •H ow the organisation’s GIA Deed commitments will be funded
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Funding requirements
The way biosecurity activities will be funded must be agreed and supported by industry prior to NZAGA signing the Deed. Although the industry does not have to commit to any costshared activities for readiness until it signs an Operational Agreement, all Deed signatories are required to fund their minimum commitments (detailed below). From 1 July 2017, signatories also need to be to be able to fund their share of costs for a response that affects their sector. Operational Agreements will detail individual cost sharing arrangements between MPI and industries. Where two or more industries benefit from a biosecurity activity, the industry portion of the costs will be shared between them based on the relative benefit the activity has to each industry. Costs to industry
Industry groups will pay a maximum of 50 per cent of costs for agreed readiness and response activities, with overall costs determined using the proportion of public benefit relative to industry benefit. The government has also included transitional discounts to help industry transition into GIA. Government will pay 100per cent of
Clause 3.2 of the GIA Deed: communicate between Signatories and with relevant stakeholders. Minimum industry Signatory commitments to this E. S ecuring and maintaining sufficient resources to meet Deed and its implementation include: their commitments for the administration of this Deed A. Being aware of the industry biosecurity risk profile and including annual meetings, consultation and decisiontaking measures to manage the biosecurity risks that making. industry is best placed to manage. F. Establishing or accessing the necessary capacity and B. C ommunicating with industry membership, including capability to engage in processes to implement this Maori, on biosecurity in general to elicit better Deed, and any Operational Agreements developed. biosecurity outcomes. Minimum MPI commitments to this Deed and its C. Working with MPI to integrate industry into response implementation include: delivery programmes and processes. A. M aintaining a core competency to deliver effective D. R aising awareness of response arrangements described response and readiness activities, including diagnostic in the MPI response procedures and policies. and investigation capability, and to negotiate market E. P romoting early reporting of unwanted organisms access. to MPI. B. Rapidly notifying potentially affected Signatories when F. S ecuring appropriately skilled and committed people a suspected unwanted organism is detected in New to engage in readiness and response activities, including Zealand. technical and operational experts. C. Urgently establishing preliminary response G. R aising awareness within their membership, of the GIA arrangements consistent with Deed requirements and and the commitments that have been made through this any Operational Agreements that may be in place, Deed and any Operational Agreement(s). including initiating decision-making, cost sharing and Minimum commitments for all Signatories to impact/risk analysis processes. achieve Deed outcomes include: D. M anaging trade and market access issues arising from A. Maintaining access to technical biosecurity capacity and the detection of the unwanted organism, and meeting capability. international reporting obligations. E. R epresenting the interests of non-Signatories and other B. M aintaining or improving the capacity to recognise and stakeholders, including Maori. rapidly report the detection of any unwanted organism. F F. acilitating access for industry Signatories to Crown C. Promoting awareness and use of mechanisms to report loans, as a last resort, to fund response commitments changes in New Zealand’s biosecurity status. under this Deed. stablishing and maintaining mechanisms to D. E Commitments
biosecurity preparedness activities. An annual limit would also need to be agreed by industry to ensure this proposal is sustainable.
Readiness and Minimum Commitment costs
Response costs are different as funding is only needed when industry agree to cost share a biosecurity response. A Biosecurity Act Levy is the preferred method to fund the industry’s share of response costs and would be collected across both export and domestic avocado.
Readiness costs may include sharing in surveillance programmes and Minimum Commitments include increasing industry biosecurity awareness, taking part in the GIA Biosecurity Forum and governance arrangements. Through the postal ballot, the industry will determine if a proportion of existing industry levies and fees should be used to fund these
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response costs until 1 July 2017, with industry paying its full share from 2023. For readiness activities, Government will cover a portion of industry’s share until mid 2020.
Response costs
This ‘GIA-specific levy’ is collected for a single purpose under the Biosecurity Act provisions.
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In line with the industry’s existing levy collection, the Biosecurity Act Levy would be collected per tray on export fruit and as a per centage of the first point of sale price for domestic fruit. NZAGA is currently looking at the most effective way to manage the levy rates and limits. The decision to set the levy either at zero and only activate it during a response or collect a limited biosecurity reserve by having the levy set above zero is yet to be decided. Funds collected by the Levy would only be used for the industry to repay its share of response costs. Where the industry decide to set a zero levy rate, the industry is likely to seek a Crown loan, as it may not have adequate funds to immediately cover its share of response costs. Once all response costs are repaid, the levy would return to a rate of zero. The Biosecurity Act Levy would specify set rates and annual collection limits which industry would agree to during consultation. The Crown has offered to provide interest-bearing loans to Deed signatories to cover their share of response costs with a payback period of up to 10 years.
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Because signing the Deed brings legal and financial obligations, the avocado industry must go through a process to show it has grower support and can meet its GIA partnership obligations.
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NZAGA will continue to provide updates to growers and supply chain partners to ensure the views of the industry are being represented and that growers are able to make an informed decision when asked for their support during the postal ballot. NZAGA will communicate GIA updates through: • The New Zealand Avocado website • AvoScene • GIA roadshows • Industry meetings Have your say
New Zealand avocado strongly encourage growers to provide feedback and participate in the GIA process. If you have any questions, please contact Jen Scoular jen.scoular@nzavocado.co.nz or Brad Siebert brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz. GIA contacts from the NZAGA & AIC Board include: Ashby Whitehead, Roger Barber and Ian Fulton – refer back to the contents page for contact details. Further information on GIA is available on the NZ Avocado industry website www.nzavocado.co.nz/industry and the GIA website www.gia.org.nz
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Residue Testing 101 Matt Doolan - Business Manager, Horticulture New Zealand
matthew.dolan@hortnz.co.nz
It’s harvest season, which means it’s also residue testing season.
Residue testing is expensive and time consuming,
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so it pays to have a bit of an understanding of how it works. If you are part of an industry programme then most of the process is taken care of, but if you organise you own samples, then the following information may be useful for you.
I took a visit to the AsureQuality lab in Wellington and asked the experts a few questions. Luckily they were patient people and here’s what I found out. What type of test ?
There are a whole lot of testing methods used in a lab, so unless you know a bit about mass sprectrometry analysis, then it is best to ask which type of tests you will need. Unfortunately you probably won’t get a simple answer, as it will depend on the crop, the compounds that have been applied and the market MRL you need to meet.
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Testing in a nutshell
There are two main testing techniques used: Gas Chromatograph (GC) and Liquid Chromatograph (LC). These two techniques find different types of compounds, but it is likely that you will need both tests to cover the range of compounds. In the old days most residues were covered by a GC test, but more agrichemicals now require the LC test. The most comprehensive test is a Multiresidue which covers over 450 compounds and includes both LC & GC methods. But again, this doesn’t cover everything. In particular it misses the acidic herbicides, which require yet another test. It is common that even with this battery of tests, there will still be compounds that have been missed, so for those you will
need a specific “screen”. If you are tempted to request only a basic GC test because it is cheaper, think again.You may miss some important residues. How low can you go?
Fruit and vegetables are generally tested to a detection level of 0.01 mg per kg, which is 100 parts per billion. This is a mindbogglingly small amount, Matt Dolan equal to about 600 drops of water in an Olympic swimming pool. Residue testing equipment can detect residues even lower than this, but only if specifically requested. Testing at this level of detection is important as it is the allowable level for compounds that are used off-label. It is important to note that only the list of compounds requested in the test are covered. The tests will not pick up other compounds. Why do samples take so long to process?
A basic residue test takes about 10 days from the time of sampling until you get the results. This can be extremely frustrating if product is waiting to be harvested or exported, but there is a lot involved in the process. What do the results mean?
The results are reported to you against the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) that you ask for. There are plenty of options. The international
When should you do a residue test?
There is no legal requirement to residue test produce, but there is a requirement that residues levels on the product do not exceed the MRL. MPI randomly test produce each year to monitor this, as do customers. Retailers and processors often require residue testing for each production area prior to harvest, and GLOBALG.A.P requires a risk assessment, essentially requiring a test unless the producer can justify otherwise. NZGAP runs a random testing programme of certified product, but it is becoming more common for growers to test their own product regularly. Where agrichemicals are used off label, or close to harvest, it is recommended that a residue test is done prior to harvest.
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While the CSI scientists on TV can wave a wand over something and instantly tell what is in it, in the real world, residue testing is a long, time consuming process involving about 10 different steps, three of which happen overnight and can take up to 16 hours to complete.
Codex MRL is common, but it can also be the MRLs in New Zealand or another country. Beware; the MRL set for a compound in another country may be higher than in NZ. This means that your product may be within the overseas MRL, but in excess on the NZ MRL.
Tips for residue testing:
•G et advice from the lab. They are very knowledgeable and helpful. • Get a sampling kit. It has all the instructions, equipment and labels you need. • Plan ahead to avoid waiting times and frustration. • Know exactly what you are testing for. Refer to your spray programme and be aware of the hardest MRLs you have to meet. • A basic residue test may be cheaper, but may not cover the range of compounds. Thank you to Ross Pearson and the team at the AsureQuality lab in Lower Hutt.
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Recipe
Avocado, mango and vanilla gelato
Nourish
Avocado lends a perfect smooth and creamy texture to this delicious treat, that’s healthy too! Ingredients
Method
Flesh of 2 firm ripe avocados, diced Flesh of 2 large ripe sweet mangoes, diced Seeds from 1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract 3 tablespoons icing sugar 3-4 tablespoons coconut cream Juice of 1 lime
Freeze avocado and mango pieces on a tray or in a dish lined with baking paper for eight hours or overnight, until frozen hard.
Syrup Peel of 1 lime (without the pith), cut into thin strips Âź cup sugar mixed with 3 tablespoons water Pulp of 3 passionfruit
Remove from freezer and thaw for 10 minutes before adding to a food processor with vanilla, icing sugar, coconut cream and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately or scoop into a container and return to freezer until it is the right firmness and ready to serve. To make the syrup, put all ingredients in a small pot and boil for a few minutes until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool before drizzling over gelato. Serves 6-8 Recipe created by Nadia Lim for New Zealand Avocado
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Out and about New Zealand Avocado launched its new export market promotional material at September’s Asia Fruit Logistica - Asia’s leading fresh fruit and vegetable trade show, held in Hong Kong.
Out & About
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Out and about
Jen Scoular with Michael Broadhurst at the Japan season launch.
Bay of Plenty Polytechnic students learn about the avocado industry with Midge Munro.
Out & About
Nicolla Haisman and Judith Rees from Plant & Food with NZ Avocado R&D Officer PhillipWest starch sampling at Don Graylings orchard on Matahui Road.
Plant & Food’s Nick Gould and Bill Snelgar explain their experiment temperature effects on flowers at the Te Puke field day.
Growers at NZ Avocado field day in Te Puke assessing health of new cultivars. 66
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NZ Avocado’s AlvaroVidiella enters in data from growers during the Te Puke field day experiment.
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