Avoscene March 2017

Avoscene New Zealand Avocado Growers’ Journal

March 2017

Sharing Our NZ Avocado Story

Inside this issue: Go Global Primary Growth Partnership receives positive review New Zealand Avocado Nursey Association update Indulging in avocados at Taste of Auckland Phosphonate and Phytophthora Avoscene March 2017

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AVOCO is with you on and off the water Proud sponsor of the Waihi Beach Coastguard.

 Grower-led  Future proofed  Delivering value AV0150217

enquiries@avoco.co.nz

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Avoscene March 2017

NZ Avocado Office

Contents

PO Box 13267 Tauranga 3141 New Zealand Level 5, Harrington House 32 Harington Street Tauranga 3110

Comment

Markets

Reports

Export Market Promotions 14

New faces

20

The New Zealand Market 16

Indulging in avocados at Taste of Auckland

21

New Zealand Market Promotions

Orchard Analysis Kauri Point survey

22

Ph: 07 571 6147 or 0800 AVOCADO (0800 286 2236)

View from the Chair

4

Growing the business

6

@NZ_Avocado

Regional Roundup

8

NZ Avocado

Going global

10

@nz_avocado

Outside the box

11

Phosphonate and Phytophthora 25

New Zealand Avocado Nursery Association Update 13

Spring/summer avocado review of water use 30

www.nzavocado.co.nz

NZ Avocado

Directors Bay of Plenty/Rest of New Zealand

18

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

Avocentric Neil and Steve Thompson 35

Dave Flett m. 027 555 4420 dave.flett@yahoo.co.nz

'Go Global' Primary Growth Partnership receives positive review 37

John Cotterell Ph 07 549 3395 m. 0274 513 138 jccotterell@actrix.gen.nz Far North Alistair Nicholson Ph 021 946 391 anicholson@vulposinvest.com Mid North Roger Barber Ph 09 435 0785 m. 021 488 124 barbers@ihug.co.nz John Dawson Ph 021 724 900 jd@team.org.nz

On the Orchard

Newsroom

Pest and disease watch: What is avocado sunblotch? 41

Industry matters

Syncronisation of female Hass flowers with male flowers of Hass, Ettinger and Zutano 42

Industry News

Last of the summer sun 46

Avocado news from the world

Nourish

49

Recommended reading 50 51

Moving the industry forward 53

At Large Tony Ponder NZAGA Vice Chair Ph 07 552 4223 m. 0274 733 712 tony@flaxmillavocado.co.nz Linda Flegg Ph 07 549 1047 m. 021 458 782 linda@kauripak.co.nz

AV0150217

Export Directors Andrew Darling Annmarie Lee

Fruit Rots

Recipe 57

Out and About

Out and about

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47

NZ Avocado Staff Jen Scoular, CEO

Glenys Parton, Industry Systems Manager

Bevan Jelley, Market Manager

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

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

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

Avoscene Advertising & Editorial

Edwina Aitchison, Executive Assistant

Marisa Till, Research Manager

Anna Livingston, Market Manager

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

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

marisa.till@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 344 559

anna.livingston@nzavocado.co.nz

Brad Siebert Biosecurity & Programme Manager

Phillip West, R&D Officer

Jodi Senior, Communications Manager

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

jodi.senior@nzavocado.co.nz

Logan Whenuaroa Research Associate

Joanne Nunn, Administration Assistant

For advertising contact: Suzy King at Sun Media Ltd Phone 021 769 831 email suzy@thesun.co.nz

brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz | 021 804 847

Jay Bent, Business Manager jay.bent@nzavocado.co.nz | 027 465 8886

jo.nunn@nzavocado.co.nz

logan.whenuaroa@nzavocado.co.nz 027 373 9859

Design and production: Kym Johnson, Sun Media Ltd email kym@thesun.co.nz For subscriptions contact: Jay Bent email jay.bent@nzavocado.co.nz

Avocado Industry Council Ltd has made every attempt to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information provided in this publication. However, the information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. New Zealand Avocado does not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this publication or documents or other websites linked to. New Zealand Avocado assumes no responsibility for the consequences of use of such information. Your use of information contained in this publication and documents or other websites linked to is at your own risk, and you should seek further advice prior to making decisions based on the information contained herein.

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Comment

View from the Chair

By Ashby Whitehead, Chair, NZAGA & AIC

alwhitehead@xtra.co.nz

It is fantastic to see the growth within our industry – this is reflected well in the recent Primary Growth Partnership programme review.

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We report later in this issue the summary of the

independent review of our Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) programme: NZ Avocados Go Global. It is a very positive review, highlighting the step change in the industry over the past few years. The report concludes that “The Go Global PGP programme has made a major contribution to the New Zealand avocado industry, achieving a step change in the way that the industry operates. It is now a much more trusting, collaborative, cohesive, communicative and co-ordinated industry, with a correspondingly greater public profile.”

amount of time talking to industry stakeholders to get a wide view from across the industry. Thank you too to those who are and continue to be active participants in the Go Global programme. I urge growers to read the report to better understand the breadth of activity happening within the programme. It is a great advantage to our industry to have this level of investment, $8.6m over its five years, put into our industry. Go Global is led by the team at NZ Avocado but they rely heavily on the participation of growers, packers and exporters through working groups, trials and discussion groups.

Thank you to all those who were interviewed for the review; the author David Miller certainly spent a good

The report also includes some recommendations for projects and direction going forward which will be

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considered as we work towards the 2017-18 Business Plan and review of the Five Year Plan. Something we will need to consider as we head into year three of the five year Go Global programme is whether the industry has appetite for a second Primary Growth Partnership - or more accurately perhaps, whether Jen and her team want to go through that application process again. We’ll keep you updated on that.

The Board had strategy discussions at its November meeting and will continue that discussion at the March Board meeting. One of the recommendations that needs a lot of discussion is how we manage quality across the industry, with particular note of the need to understand and mitigate rots.

We are aware, and I hope you as growers are aware, that this season has had some significant issues with fruit quality, most likely as a result of prolonged periods of rain during a long harvest period. It’s fantastic to have seen a large volume of fruit shifted and we are very fortunate that the market, particularly Australia, has been very hungry.

This has meant that our fruit has moved through extremely quickly, perhaps dulling what could have been real issues of fruit quality.

Having become a contract harvester since the sale of our orchard, I completely understand it from both sides of the fence; the grower who wants their fruit harvested, the harvester who has a job to do and has more jobs to do after this, and the exporter pushing to get fruit in to a very empty market to meet contracted orders. Rain comes along but the orders don’t stop and the jobs don’t stop.

But we know wet fruit is more prone to damage through harvest and through the packhouse, and that damage generally results in rots - the issue that puts consumers off like none other.

I hope all growers know the results of their library trays.

Across the industry the percentage of unsound fruit is high this season, and in some cases far too high. Check your own results, and ask your packhouse how they compared with others. I urge you to talk to your exporter too, to understand how your fruit or your pool’s fruit held up quality-wise in the market.

Kerry Everett from Plant & Food Research told me a long time ago (and it was a long time, so the story might not be perfect but it’s a good picture of what happens) that anthracnose dips its proboscis into the avocado as it

hangs on the tree, but until the fruit is harvested, the antifungal compounds in the fruit prevent any damage from the anthracnose. But as soon as the fruit is harvested, the anthracnose moves into the fruit and grows as a rot.

As a grower, all the time you can prevent the anthracnose from attaching itself to your fruit - you are protecting the quality of your fruit in the market. There’s been heaps of debate across the industry over the years about the use of copper, but copper does act as a raincoat for anthracnose and other rots in our fruit.

Anthracnose spirals upwards from the ground below the tree and from dead branches in the tree. In time, with the rot prediction tool, we should be able to predict how much inoculum is in an orchard, and therefore the propensity for that fruit to need the maximum number of fungicide sprays.

But while we don’t have that information, I urge growers to undertake best practice which is to apply eight coppers every year. It was something I did without fail in our own orchard.

With the quality issues in the markets this season the copper debate will be raised again, and the science we have debated before will be brought out again and updated to allow a good informed discussion.

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Growing the business

By Jen Scoular, CEO, New Zealand Avocado

jen.scoular@nzavocado.co.nz

It’s an exciting time in our industry as we near the end of our biggest season ever, in terms of both volume and value.

Firstly, a thank you and congratulations to all those involved in keeping

harvesting, packing and exporting going during the Christmas and New Year period. As an industry we have in the past slowed down considerably, at the expense of good returns in a hungry Australian holiday market. I recall a year ago our exporters urged growers to recognise that the “market doesn’t take a break”, and from the weekly shipping numbers, New Zealand avocados continued to be packed and shipped in significant weekly volumes right through the holiday period. Some exporters are now paying incentives, and if incentives are required to drive behaviour that earns good money, then they are working. I see that as good progress.

As an office, we were able to close over the Christmas/New Year holiday period, however, Glenys and I were on call. During this period exporters faced some quality issues in market, with Glenys returning to work early to examine library trays, visit packhouses and liaise with in-market staff, while Marisa and I jumped on a plane and headed to the Sydney market to support this very important export market.

It’s been a wet spring, after a dry, warm winter, and the fruit we saw in early January wasn’t always looking like Class One fruit. Glenys is heading a cross-industry team to look at quality from orchard through packhouse and in to market – with the aim of trying to re-establish best practice.

We will again raise the copper debate – as Ashby has described well in his article.You will also find some information on anthracnose on page 47, demonstrating that rots and fruit quality have been issues globally for a long time, and remain a huge challenge for us, as we promise “premium avocados from New Zealand” to our markets.

Speaking of Premium Avocados from New Zealand, we are updating some of the imagery to support and tell our avocado story. We hope you enjoy the sample of this that we have used on this issue's cover.

As I write we will have shipped nearly 80% of the expected total export volume for 2016-17, a record level for the industry. Market conditions have been excellent and growers will be rightly anticipating a strong return for their fruit. The Australian market has been fantastic – with great demand and less volume out of Western Australia than we anticipated, or they forecast. That was a lucky break for New Zealand fruit – our quality wouldn’t have coped with long periods waiting for a sale, and as an industry we must prepare ourselves for less than perfect seasons and concentrate on maximising quality in our orchards.

We’ve started the planning cycle for 2017-18; always exciting as we set out what we want to deliver, then go through the process of determining the activities we need to undertake to deliver. The Board continues with a second half-day strategy session at the start of their March Board meeting

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– this will provide the framework we need to set the annual plan. I have set up some growers’ meetings around the growing regions to seek feedback from you all on the things you think we should be doing with your commodity levy and export fees - I hope to see a number of you at these meetings. The more growers we hear from, the more closely we can align our activity to meeting your needs.

over 10 or 15 years to build up the respective markets, to invest in engagement, relationships and the development of the high quality, ready to eat category; yes - if our markets become a cheap escape route avoiding the tax or avoiding the slowdown in demand created because of the increased price in the US. Big conversations we need to have across our industry.

At the same time, we meet with an exporter group, a New Zealand marketer group and the Packer Forum to talk through and seek their feedback on the high level plans we have to support them in the industry.

Ashby mentioned in his article the Primary Growth Partnership independent report which we received just before Christmas. It was something we had to fund, with MPI, as part of the programme, to give the government assurance that their investment in our industry is returning good value. The report certainly confirms that, and compliments the industry on the changes that have been implemented. One of the recommendations out of that is that we do indeed need to contemplate what our industry might look like in ten years. Recalling back to the 2011-12 season, we may not have anticipated the progress, returns and recent high level investments into our industry. It's an exciting place to be.

President Trump’s pledge to fund the building of a wall with Mexico by introducing an import tax on imported goods provoked lots of chatter on social media about the price Americans would pay for avocados. About 60% of Mexican avocados are exported to the US. That sort of pledge from Trump raises the risk of Mexican avocados being exported into both Australia and New Zealand. Does that pose a problem to us? No - if those imports support the investment both New Zealand and Australia have made

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Regional Roundup Dave Flett – BOP region 31.01.2017 Here I am writing my report on what I have seen happening in the industry in the past three months.

Well, what a difference in the weather pattern three months ago everyone was complaining about too much rain and how it was effecting the crops and picking. Today I am looking at a forecast of hot and dry with no rain forecast and my tensiometers telling me to irrigate every two to three days.

The ever need to spray for tree and crop protection has had me looking at all the options. While I have a commercial sprayer for the large trees, I have been doing my small trees from my 400l PTO-driven spray unit. While this has been successful, I have been looking at doing this spraying from a drone. I recently had a very successful demonstration from Yamaha with their drone helicopter. The small trees were sprayed from about 2-3 metres above and it was quick and precise where it could spray.

Measurement methods were used in the trees to calculate spray coverage, which was very good. This drone could be used when the area to be sprayed is small and/or too difficult for a ground sprayer or full size helicopter to spray. NZ Avocado will publish its findings on the results and viability of this method shortly.

Security in the orchard has always been top of mind and another area where I have made it my job to find what is available and how it would be

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best implemented in an orchard. With next season looking like being an off season and the possibility of a shortage of avocados as a result, we may well be faced with having to put in extra security measures to protect our orchards.

I am already trialling some of the initial prototypes of some of the new devices available but am awaiting some of the more sophisticated options in this area that are coming soon. I will do a full report in an upcoming Avoscene and will also run a field day to look at some of these options.

In conjunction with this I was also asked to represent the horticulture industry on a new group looking at preventing rural crime. The group, known as Police and Rural Stakeholders Partnership, meet quarterly to work through how best to prevent rural crime. Some of the main stakeholders on the committee are; Federated Farmers, NZ neighbourhood support, NZ Police,Young Farmers, FMG Insurance, and Neighbourhood Watch.

The group is communicating with the rural sector through public meetings throughout the country.

I have arranged with them for one to be held in Katikati on 7 March, more details as to time and venue will be published soon. We would encourage all growers concerned with security of their valuable crops to make the time to attend.

Comment

Roger Barber & John Dawson – Mid-North region Roger Barber: tudorwoodnz@gmail.com

John Dawson: jd@team.org.nz

Ch-ch-ch-changes in the Mid North In our first column for 2017, Roger and I send you best wishes for the season ahead. By now you will be in a position to assess the ‘fruits’ of your labour over the last 12 months and be starting to think about changes (if any) that you may be wanting to make for the season ahead.

We therefore thought ‘changes’ was also an appropriate theme for this catch-up.

1. Changes in representation: Roger and I have formed a good connection as your NZAGA/AIC representatives, with complementary skills and experience which we hope to maximise on behalf of “Team Mid North” – you!

With the addition of Alistair Nicholson representing the Far North, the perspective of Northern avocado growers is well represented around the NZAGA/AIC Board table.

3. Changes in performance: Recently NZ Avocado produced statistics to show the improvements that the various avocado growing regions of New Zealand are making. It was disappointing to see Team Mid North being shown to be the poorest performer when compared to our friends in both the Far North and the Bay of Plenty.

Roger Barber

John Dawson While we all know the climatic history that has contributed to this situation, we need a clearer Mid North strategy to start climbing this league table to better achieve our individual and collective goals.

4. Changes in collaboration: To start to address point three and to serve you more effectively in general, we need to get a better understanding of your individual objectives, perspectives and issues that pertain to your avocado orchard. As these differ widely amongst our community, we want to focus our efforts on your behalf on what is important to you.

2. Changes in scale: As an example, three years ago the ‘big’ orchard in Mangawhai was purchased by a new grower. At 25 hectares, it was/is between two and four times the size of the other avocado orchards in the district. Recently, the owner of the ‘big’ orchard referred to it as ‘small’ in comparison to his first 30,000 tree planting in Tapora.

Consequently, we will soon be sending you a questionnaire to gain a deeper understanding of how we can best focus the resources of the industry on your behalf.

This illustrates the speed of change in both perception and reality as corporate growers start to reshape our industry.

In the meantime, our email inboxes always welcome your thoughts, recommendations and constructive criticism.

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Going global Andrew Darling, AVEC Chair

andrew@darlinggroup.co.nz

Alongside, and as part of, the growth and maturity of the New Zealand avocado industry, AVEC, the exporter’s council, has been through its own evolution in terms of growth, maturity and development.

I am proud to have helped take

The funding of the independent chair will be shared between individual exporters and the AIC Board.

AVEC through a long and well debated process, to the point that we have agreed to and appointed an Independent Chair. An Independent Chair will manage commercial interests between exporters, on behalf of exporters, and in the best interest of the industry.

To that end, we are thrilled to announce the appointment of Alistair Petrie as the Independent Chair of AVEC starting 1 March, with his first meeting 21 March.

AVEC was incorporated in 2012 to become a more organised functioning entity with agreed rules of cooperation between exporters. The addition of independence in the role of chair is an obvious and crucial development of the formality of AVEC.

Alistair Petrie

A summary of Alistair’s CV demonstrates the capability we are adding to the industry: Alistair Petrie has an impressive history in international and domestic marketing, with strong planning and executive skills to successfully lead organisations. This includes 16 years in senior roles with the Turners and Growers Group and Freshmax Pty group, encompassing domestic, Pacific and international markets. He has a proven track record promoting business expansion, innovation, financial and operational efficiencies and P&L performance, often in challenging market circumstances.

Alistair holds an Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Agriculture and Food Marketing.

AVEC strongly endorses the industry objectives to maximise grower returns by managing market outcomes.

AVEC demonstrates co-operation and collaboration within a commercial, competitive environment.

Ashby led a similar discussion at the AIC Board table, and the AIC Board has approved the independent chair of AVEC sits at the AIC Board table as a non-voting Board member, ensuring that Alistair has first-hand knowledge of all aspects of governance across our industry.

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When AVEC members debated what a Chair might look like, they agreed the individual needs industry experience internationally and domestically, and needs a wide range of understanding across the commercial tension between export, fruit quality and grower politics.

AVEC members believe Alistair offers all of these and look forward to the additional value Alistair will add to the industry.

As I write we are finishing on a particularly good note given the strength of the market and the returns being delivered.

Growers will again enjoy healthy returns given the largest crop on record – that is an excellent outcome.

Having said that, we have had significant quality issues in the market and there is a good discussion to be had with growers as to the husbandry pre and post-harvest on the management of rots.

We were very fortunate that demand growth in Australia was able to move fruit through the system fast enough or we would have had a very different outcome.

We may not be that fortunate again. Unless we manage fruit quality we cannot guarantee a good outcome. As an industry can we afford to take that risk?

AVEC is the Avocado exporter’s council and was incorporated under the Incorporated Society’s Act in 2012.

Comment

Outside the box Duane Wells, Natural Touch Limited duane@ntlhorticulture.co.nz

As the export season draws to an end, we are now looking back to review the rollercoaster we have all just been on. The ups and downs and twists and turns are what we consider when striving to improve and prepare for the next season.

For growers, packers and marketers alike, especially those

who have been active in the northern regions, insect activity across the past growing cycle and harvest season has been the major point of concern. The warm, wet late summer, autumn, winter and spring months meant insects were rampant from early in the growing cycle, and in some cases difficult to control due to the inability to spray as required during very short windows of fine weather.

Damage causing pests such as thrip early in 2016, followed by mite through the flowering months, and more recently leaf roller, were notable in defect analysis and/or inspection interception. On a more positive note, following last season there has been a dramatic reduction in interceptions of live armoured scale, as a result of the more targeted pest control. This has allowed countries like Thailand, which is an armoured scale sensitive market, to get consistency of supply as this market has become very important to the New Zealand avocado industry.

Export market dynamics has seen a significant reduction in the ability to apply post-harvest treatment to control fungal activity on avocados. Because of this, it has seen post-harvest operators investigating and trialing a range of treatments to help minimise some isolated, but less than desirable out turns in market. Even the cool chain management has come under the spotlight, with trials to see if varied rates of cooling affects out turns.

Typically the best cosmetic fruit is harvested early in the season, leaving the remaining fruit exposed to further chance of insect damage and additional high wind events, which have been prevalent in the North this season. It is at the tail end of the season we typically see a slide in some export pack-out rates with increased cosmetic blemishes from a long season on the trees and the avocado doing its thing and maturing, both in oil content and skin colour.

The maturing skin colour adds complexities to the grading process, with fine balance between what is an acceptable amount of maturing colour in any given grade and what is not. It only takes the approximate area of a thumb nail (2cm2 accumulated blemish) of blemish to possibly move a piece of fruit to a lower grade, making the control of pests

Mixture of poor quality fruit.

Thrips damage on fruit

critical in the aim to minimise damage and rejects. All post harvest operators have multiple independent spot grade checks throughout the season to ensure that fruit is being packed within the NZ Avocado grade standards. There is a maximum defect threshold within those standards which is where all post-harvest facilities want to be close to, without exceeding, to ensure the maximum amount of fruit makes it to export markets. Also, almost every export consignment is additionally grade tested in market. It is the avocado version of running the gauntlet.

However, the current lower export pack-out rates are not universal. This season is the highest average pack-out season that I have witnessed through our packing facility. The high pack-out rate is coupled with the largest average fruit size season I have seen, which is likely to be due to the warm wet weather. There is always a silver lining if you look hard enough.

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New Zealand Avocado Nursery Association Update Stuart Pascoe, Lynwood Avocado Nursery stuart@lynwood.co.nz

The New Zealand Avocado Nursery Association (ANA) was formed more than 20 years ago as the representative body for New Zealand avocado nurseries. A MOU exists between the ANA and NZ Avocado to assist in the exchange of information, while also helping to manage the release of new cultivars and the development of industry standards - ultimately to ensure there was unity through the sector and so all New Zealand growers are able to source a superior standard of tree.

Stephen Lynwood from Lynwood Avocado Nursery.

Looking worldwide, in recent years, demand for avocados is running at 10% plus, year on year, and production has only increased at 3% per year.

While this has kept prices high for fruit, it has meant that there has been an extraordinary increase in demand for trees.

The bottle neck worldwide is at the nursery level.

Consequently, nurseries worldwide are ramping up production at an extreme rate and this is certainly the case in New Zealand.

As the years have passed and demand has fluctuated, many of the member nurseries have ceased producing trees, leaving only three of the member nurseries operating under the Association’s rules. However, new nurseries are now being established and they are expected to join the ANA as their operations come into production.

What this increase in demand for trees has done is make suitable seed valuable with the nurseries out there wanting to buy Zutano fruit.

So a reminder to any growers with Zutano fruit - the nurseries are wanting to buy, so don’t just let them fall on the ground.

While the biggest percentage of trees going into the ground are still seedlings, the percentage of clonal trees are increasing each year as growers are investing in the new genetics.

There is a delay of two years for the supply of new trees which is certainly being targeted by the nurseries – however, keep in mind the delay in the rest of the world is considerably longer, with South African growers looking at 2023 before they can source trees.

The NZ Avocado Nursery Association helps NZ Avocado administer the industry High Health Scheme which sets out a minimum physical specification, a guarantee that it is true to type and ensures compulsory testing for Phytophthora Cinnamomi and Avocado Sun Blotch Viroid (ASBVd).

To ensure that you are getting the best trees possible, growers should be ordering trees from nurseries that belong to the New Zealand Avocado Nursery Association and propagating certified trees under the industry High Health Scheme.

Members of the New Zealand Avocado Nursery Association can be found on the NZ Avocado website here: http:// industry.nzavocado.co.nz/industry/propagation.csn

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Export Market Promotions Bevan Jelley, Market Manager, NZ Avocado

bevan.jelley@nzavocado.co.nz

Markets

New Zealand Avocado continues its support of your avocado exporter by promoting consumption of avocados in Australia and developing the story of Premium Avocados from New Zealand in Asian markets.

Thailand Facebook.

Australia

Thailand

In Australia we have promoted avocado consumption during the New Zealand export season using the "Love that avocado feeling" campaign, with television and online advertising.

During planning for this season Thailand was identified by the export promotions working group as a priority market.

The importance of establishing a story for avocados from New Zealand and loyal consumer base has escalated with the announcement that Thailand has recently provided a draft new protocol for Australian Hass avocado exports from Western Australia, based on conditional non-host status for Mediterranean Fruit Fly. Australian avocados have not been present in this market for the past three seasons.

"Love that avocado feeling" television commercials have been viewed by over 1.4 million consumers in Australia during the New Zealand export season and online advertising has reached 1.9 million consumers.

Asia highlights

The focus in Asian markets this season has been on creating lasting promotion resources to develop communities that follow and engage with avocados from New Zealand.

Premium Avocados from New Zealand websites have been developed for Thailand and Singapore, and a website for Japan is due to be completed by the end of the season.

Along with the Korean language website developed in 2014, these online resources support exporter in-market activity by telling the story of Premium Avocados from New Zealand to consumers in Asia.

New Zealand avocado recipes have been developed by celebrity chefs and food bloggers to appeal to consumers in Singapore, Thailand and Japan.

Followers of New Zealand avocado social media in Asia have tripled since the start of the season, with a community of 19,000 fans across Japan, Korea, Thailand and Singapore now following New Zealand Avocado.

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Korean website.

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Drawing on the template for market development which is generating successful outcomes in Korea, New Zealand avocado has developed a suite of digital and online resources in Thailand to support exporter in-market promotion activity. A Thai website for avocados from New Zealand has been created, containing recipes, usage information and telling the story of avocados from New Zealand.

A Thailand Facebook page has been created and activity undertaken on the page has rapidly generated 13,000 followers of NZ Avocado. The Facebook page allows us to promote exporter tastings and promotions events in Thailand, encourage Thai followers to create their own recipes using New Zealand avocados, and reward them with giveaways and competitions. A competition to win a three course avocado meal at Kai, a New Zealand themed restaurant in Bangkok, received 20,000 entries.

We have connected with influential personalities in Thailand, including celebrity chef Ian Kittichai and multi-sport athlete

Noon Kiatfuengfoo to create New Zealand avocado recipe videos and educational video content. They will also be used in live promotion events in future seasons. With a combined social media following of 15,000, these influencers help to spread the benefits of avocados from New Zealand in food, fitness and health.

Korea has experienced remarkable growth in demand for avocados from New Zealand this season. Exports there reached 168,000 trays, more than double the amount sent in any previous season.

NZ Avocado developed three Korean language recipe videos for promotion via the NZ Avocado Korea website and Facebook page. The three recipes demonstrate how avocado can be incorporated into everyday Korean cuisine and each recipe had an average of 16,000 views.

Japan

This season NZ Avocado connected with influential Japanese bloggers to develop recipes for their followers using avocados from New Zealand. NZ Avocado has an established Japan Facebook page with 4,000 followers. The recipes will be promoted through the Facebook page and made available to exporters.

Influencers of health and fitness, cuisine, and advice for mothers of babies and young children each created three recipes for use in NZ Avocado promotions and for sharing with their own online and social media followers.

Acai bowl with nutritious New Zealand avocado - by Ms Sayaka Shibuki.

Contestable Promotion Projects

NZ Avocado contestable promotion funded projects have been undertaken in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore and India this season. NZ Avocado supports exporter activity in priority markets with up to 50% funding for innovative promotion projects that are aligned with the industry strategy for market development and deliver messaging and imagery to promote the Premium Avocados from New Zealand category story. This season’s projects will be reported on in more detail in the next issue of Avoscene.

Markets

Korea

These influencers include Sayaka Shibuki, a yoga instructor and mother of one year old; Ms. Kobori, a cooking specialist; and Ms. Ariko, a food stylist.

Twenty-eight successful promotions activities have been supported by NZ Avocado contestable funding in the past three seasons and one of the innovations delivered through this initiative in 2015 is currently making global news. An avocado ripeness label developed by New Zealand avocado exporter Freshmax that uses images of avocado skin colour to communicate stages of ripeness to shoppers has gone viral in social media and world news sites. The label was developed to improve consumer understanding of avocados in Thailand with support from the New Zealand avocado contestable funding. It is being used in the New Zealand market for the first time this season. Articles about the label have appeared on global news sites in the UK, USA, India, Canada and Australia creating fantastic visibility for avocados from New Zealand.

A Facebook followers entry for the Eat, Share and Win Thailand Facebook competition.

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Markets

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The New Zealand Market Todd Abrahams, Pole to Pole

todd@poletopole.co.nz

With the avocado export season about to finish, the New Zealand avocado market seems set to strengthen. Late season avocado volumes should be reasonable compared to last season.

Group hasn’t been terribly accurate in recent months. The forecasted volumes that were projected to hit the New Zealand market were well above the actual volumes that were sold for the same period (November, December and January). On a bright note, this has had a stabilising effect on the values being achieved in the New Zealand market.

The larger exporters have played a key role in achieving this by managing the volumes of fresh avocados released into the New Zealand market through tightening grade standards and diverting excess volumes to processing. This has benefited all local marketers and helped manage the huge volumes across the whole New Zealand market.

Early season maturity standards for avocados being sold in New Zealand have been a big talking point at recent New Zealand Market Group meetings. The changes to New Zealand market maturity guidelines proposed by the Quality Standards Consultative Group can be found on the NZ Avocado industry website. The New Zealand Market Group supported the proposed changes, except for changing the average dry matter percentage from 23% to 24%. This discussion has proven very valuable, particularly now with the group agreeing to best practice methods for independent early season dry matter sampling.

Also agreed within the New Zealand Market Group was

the need for representation within the Quality Standards Consultative Group to evaluate the changes proposed for early season maturity standards for the New Zealand market.

This is an ongoing discussion and has also led to the proposal by the group that the New Zealand market itself should have a director representative at AIC Board level (currently there are two exporter directors). The New Zealand market is our second largest market behind Australia and has experienced exponential growth in recent years. The NZ Avocado annual report shows the New Zealand market represents approximately 30% of total industry sales value (see the table below).

Markets

Crop flow data collated by the New Zealand Market

As an avocado grower, I’m very excited about the future for the New Zealand avocado market. Market growth seems set to continue in the coming years and as I talk to many other avocado growers, the conversations inevitably move toward food safety and the law changes which came into effect 1 March 2016. What we once knew as ‘best practice’ or ‘policy’ for our customers is now becoming the law. My advice is always for avocado growers to consult with their industry colleagues, marketers, packers and technical advisors in order to help them on the journey to meet the standards and get certification of their avocado orchard. While this may present challenges, it is also a great opportunity to administer and document best practice – it’s all about health and safety!

Industry Statistics

Industry Value at FOB ($millions) Year 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07

Export New Zealand Fresh Processing Total $91.4 $40.4 $2.1 $133.9 $101.4 $30.5 $2.7 $134.6 $102.9 $33.0 $- $135.9 $31.6 $28.7 $0.1 $60.4 $62.9 $19.0 $0.2 $82.1 $45.5 $21.8 $0.6 $67.9 $65.2 $18.5 $0.4 $84.1 $31.9 $17.9 $0.2 $50.0 $48.5 $15.8 $0.4 $64.7 $26.9 $16.3 $0.2 $43.4

Export – Free on board, value at NZ border. New Zealand market – value at First Point of Sale. Processing – includes fruit processed in New Zealand and in Australia.

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New Zealand Market Promotions Bevan Jelley, Market Manager, NZ Avocado bevan.jelley@nzavocado.co.nz Jodi Senior, Communications Manager, NZ Avocado Jodi.senior@nzavocado.co.nz

Markets

The New Zealand Avocados Amazing Anytime promotions campaign reached record numbers of Kiwi consumers during summer through television and online advertising, supermarket avocado sampling and social media.

New NZ Avocado consumer website.

Amazing Anytime television commercials starring Ollie

Avocado have been viewed by more than 2 million Kiwis so far this summer. Ollie is proving to be a hit with kids and families, and is playing a starring role in all NZ Avocado promotions activity.

In store sampling

This season NZ Avocado has undertaken 310 avocado sampling sessions in 80 of New Zealand's largest supermarkets. Shoppers were offered samples of avocado and an Amazing Anytime recipe booklet.

Sixty special demo sessions were undertaken where shoppers in selected stores took a "selfie" with Ollie

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Avocado to enter a competition on the NZ Avocado Facebook page.

Some 2200 “selfies� of shoppers with Ollie Avocado were taken in New Zealand supermarkets during Amazing Anytime avocado sampling sessions. The selfies were seen by an audience of 140,000 New Zealanders on social media.

Online advertising

Online advertising was included in the promotions mix for the first time this season. Its effectiveness has been astounding, with an average reach of 400,000 New Zealanders per month, and over 800,000 Kiwis viewing Amazing Anytime online advertising in January alone.

The increase in visibility is driving 15,000 visits per month to the newly refreshed NZ Avocado consumer website as New Zealanders look for more amazing avocado recipe ideas, avocado nutritional information and grower stories.

By comparison, the website was receiving an average of 8,000 visits per month at the height of last season.

Social media

This season we saw the rise in popularity of avocado roses, avocado desserts and smashed avocado on toasted kumara slices. Across social media, it has been fantastic to see the many innovative ways that people love to consume avocados.

Markets

Supermarket instore sampling selfies with Ollie.

We put it to our Facebook followers to vote on the tastiest looking avocado dish. We also asked followers to send us pictures of their favourite avocado dish from their favourite café.

We had a fantastic response to this exciting competition, with more than 5,000 clicks on the amazing dishes submitted by cafes and over 1900 votes in total. With a mouth-watering avocado bagel combo, Best Ugly Bagels, with cafes in Auckland and Wellington, took out the title to be New Zealand’s Best Avocado Café 2017.

Our social media channels have seen huge growth in engagement and in following. In September 2016 the NZ Avocado Facebook page had 17,173 followers, compared with 24,035 followers in February 2017. Two highlights from this season’s social activity were our search for New Zealand’s Best Avocado Café and our Valentine’s Day giveaway.

Art Green and Matilda Rice.

Valentine’s Day competition

Some of the cafe dishes submitted as part of the New Zealand's Best Avocado Cafe competition.

New Zealand’s Best Avocado Café 2017 competition

In January we asked popular cafes from all over New Zealand to send us their amazing avocado dishes for a chance to be crowned New Zealand’s Best Avocado Café 2017.

To highlight Kiwi’s love affair with avocados, we celebrated Valentine’s Day by asking some of our “friends of avocado” to run a special giveaway for us on their social media pages.

Julia and Libby Matthews, Art Green and Matilda Rice, and Claire Turnbull all offered their followers the opportunity to go into the draw to win a Valentine’s Day avocado prize pack, including all of the ingredients to make their special someone a delicious avocado chocolate mousse. These particular influencers fit perfectly within our target audience categories of health and fitness, mums, and foodies, and this competition was a new and effective way of targeting our key consumers.

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New faces Erica Faber

Orchard Productivity Manager, Just Avocados

Erica has recently joined the Just Avocados team as orchard productivity manager where she will provide advice to growers on orchard management for increasing productivity.

Reports

She brings with her more than 21 years’ experience in the horticulture industry with 16 years as a technical advisor. She has gained recognition in the citrus and avocado industries for innovative contributions improving propagation methods, production and profits.

Managing director Andrew Darling says Erica’s appointment is an exciting development for the Just Avocados business and for supplying growers.

“We have a focus on adding value to our growers and Erica’s appointment is a significant milestone in this area. I believe that our growers have a great opportunity

Terry Russell

Career highlights include overseeing the growth of one particular business from a modest 20ha of pipfruit to 80ha following the deregulation of the industry. At the same time, Terry expanded the company’s kiwifruit plantings from 4ha to 9ha whilst also re-developing 6ha from Hort 16A to G3 after the Psa incursion.

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Most recently, Erica managed all facets of production on a 175Ha avocado operation in South Africa. Erica was also responsible for the yearly 20-40ha expansion of the orchard, market and customer compliance and harvesting to integrate with overseas markets to ensure optimum profitability.

In her role with Just Avocados, Erica will lead programmes to support Just Avocados’ growers nationally.

“I will ensure our growers have information and advice on the best regimes with regards to specific nutrition practices and pruning techniques as this will have a big impact on their productivity but I am here to provide support to the growers on all aspects of orchard management.”

Harvest Manager, Apata Group

Terry has been involved in the horticulture and agriculture sectors since leaving school. Much of his career has been spent in Hawke’s Bay working with pipfruit, stonefruit, kiwifruit, squash and sweetcorn.

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here to engage with her to discuss and develop strategies for increasing the productivity of their orchards.”

Along with his wife, they always had a plan to relocate to the Bay of Plenty and securing a role with Apata has made this plan a reality.

“Apata is a great place to work. We work hard, but have a lot fun in the process. It’s a great environment. As with everything I’ve done in the past; sure, there’s some stress.

But there are a lot of laughs, too,” says Terry.

What little spare time he has had has been spent raising a family and pursuing his interest in the outdoors, tramping and orienteering.

Indulging in avocados at Taste of Auckland

By Jodi Senior, Communications Manager, NZ Avocado Jodi.senior@nzavocado.co.nz

We celebrated our amazing product and enjoyed mixing with foodies at the Taste of Auckland festival at Western Springs, Auckland in November.

Reports

Part of the NZ Avocado team who were involved in preparing and sharing avocado samples throughout the weekend.

It was a fun team building event, where seven of the team

were involved in preparing and sharing over 7700 delicious samples for more than 6,000 visitors to our stand during this annual foodie festival, held 17-20 November.

Over the course of six sessions during the festival, attendees who visited our stand indulged in exciting new avocado recipes while learning about their favourite superfood. It was also a great opportunity for us give our avocado-loving audience tips on how to pick the right avocado and how to correctly store avocados at various stages of ripeness.

Taste of Auckland is the largest food and wine festival in New Zealand during the main part of the avocado season, with over 20,000 foodies attending over four days. We have exhibited the past two years as well and each time has been a great success, with us receiving incredibly positive feedback from thousands of guests who loved our avocado samples and showed a real interest in the industry.

Nadia Lim, well-known New Zealand celebrity chef and nutritionist, joined us on the Saturday and Sunday to interact with visitors to our stand as well as demonstrate three tasty avocado recipes – avocado bliss balls, avocado chocolate mousse and avocado pina colada smoothies (you can find these delicious recipes on our website). Nadia told her audiences all about why she loves avocados, her favourite

Nadia Lim joined the team to demonstrate avocado recipes and mingle with avocado lovers.

ways to eat them or feed them to her seven-month old baby Bodhi, as well as some of her key avocado ripening and storing tips.

Our stand was eye-catching and interesting with our bright blue branded benches and the walls full of our social media followers and friends of avocados social media pictures.

Our aim was to inspire and “wow” our visitors – we wanted to show them how sophisticated and on-trend avocado is!

Our recipes and samples were also trendy, tasty, simple and something you want to talk about. Tasters enjoyed avocado ice cream, avocado chocolate mousse, avocado crème fraiche filled tomatoes, avocado on toast with feta, salmon or tomatoes, avocado smoothies and avocado bliss balls. All of our samples were a huge hit and had people coming back for more – especially the avocado ice cream and avocado chocolate mousse! You can find the popular avocado ice cream recipe on page 57.

We had a lot of support from our loyal ‘Friends of NZ avocados’ – Vogels, NZ King Salmon, RealFoods/ PureHarvest, Beekist, Tatua, Whittakers and Breville.

For more images from the event, check out our Facebook page (NZ Avocado) and for the recipes we shared check out our website www.nzavocado.co.nz

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Orchard Analysis – Kauri Point survey Marisa Till, Research Manager, NZ Avocado marisa.till@nzavocado.co.nz

Reports

The Kauri Point Orchard Analysis project has paved the way for further research.

Avocados for Export is a major collaboration between

Plant & Food Research, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and NZ Avocado. The collaborative research programme continues to evolve, constantly driven by the importance of delivering value to growers and expertly guided by our technical working group.

One aspect of this programme is the orchard analysis project. To date, this project has collected in-depth data from a small area, Kauri Point just north of Katikati in the Bay of Plenty; using the data to investigate possible triggers of irregular bearing and ascertain how different management practices might be impacting production.

This area was chosen based on high density of orchards with a rapidly changing topography from coastal to more inland higher altitude.

The outcomes of this research project, although

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predominantly correlative rather than trial verified, have fed back into the Avocados for Export programme and had a significant impact on the direction of the entire programme.

Fruit size profiles effected by available water – contributing to the Avocados for Export Irrigation project.

The information gathered from the Kauri Point growers allowed an in-depth look at the management practices of different orchards in close proximity and any differences in the resulting production. This included whether an orchard had irrigation. Combining historic rainfall with fruit size profiles from different orchards showed a relationship between adequate available water and fruit size. Orchards that had irrigation showed a better size profile during dry summers than those without, whereas there was little difference in size profile during wetter

Fruit Sizes for Irrigated and Non-Irrigated Orchards percentage of packout

Average yield per season by Kauri Point growers classified as Best, Good or Standard

Figure 2

summers (Figure 1). The conclusion drawn from this was that adequate soil moisture is important for fruit sizing.

being addressed in another Avocados for Export research project. This specific project is looking at the effects of temperature on flower viability and fruit set. Initial results of this research have been published in Avoscene, including the key finding that flowers two days either side of opening are most susceptible to damage by cold temperatures.

This finding has been important in the development of the irrigation research project as part of the Avocados for Export programme. Dr Mike Clearwater and Teruko Kaneko from The University of Waikato are conducting on-going research into the water use of avocado trees and the effects of drought stress on the crop. The results of the first year of this research was published in two Avoscene articles in July and September 2016 and form the basis of the tree water use tables published in Avoconnect emails. Results from this research will continue to be relayed to growers as it becomes available.

Cold events major trigger for IB in Kauri Point– contributing to the Avocados for Export Temperature project

The data showed that in 2006 and 2012 the area as a whole had unusually low crops, lower than would be expected from biennial bearing alone (figure 2).

Discussions with growers around their thinking on possible causes, combined with interrogation of historical temperature data suggested both low crop seasons were preceded by significant cold events during flowering.

From these data it appeared obvious that cold snaps are detrimental to avocado crops, a sentiment shared by many growers, but this leads to more research questions – how cold does it need to be to have an impact? What is the extent of the damage? Why do some orchards appear not to be affected? These questions, and more, are

Reports

Figure 1

Pruning likely contributing to consistent cropping – contributing to the Avocados for Export Pruning to Balance project

Irregular bearing is a significant problem for the avocado industry, its impacts are felt by growers, marketers, exporters and right across all industry stakeholders. Bay of Plenty as a region suffers from the effects of irregular bearing, as many people are seeing at this very moment.

Historic data collected as part of the research showed the Kauri Point area as a whole tended to become more consistent (figure 2).

Through discussions with growers about the potential reason for this, many of them credited pruning for the increase in consistency. This was clearly seen on individual orchards that displayed extremely irregular bearing and have since become consistent following the implementation of a pruning programme.

These findings were important in developing the Avocados for Export - Pruning to Balance project, research aimed at characterising the impact of pruning on crop load across multiple seasons and as a tool to correct irregular bearing patterns. These results from the orchard

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analysis project also cross over into the work NZ Avocado do as part of the Primary Growth Partnership with the canopy management group.

Looking ahead‌

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The extensive orchard analysis project to date has focussed on a small region of the Bay of Plenty. We have attempted to use this data to perform Principle Component Analysis (PCA), to statistically look at what factors and combination of factors have the greatest impact on orchard performance. The results indicating that the scope of the data set is insufficient to generate meaningful results. Going forward we plan to extend our data set through an online survey that we will invite

growers from all regions to complete. The extended data set will then be used to explore trends and relationships between both environmental and management factors, to provide new insight into how best growers from different regions can improve their orchard performance.

Acknowledgements

NZ Avocado would like to extend a huge thank you to the growers of the Kauri Point area, who have given a considerable amount of their time to this project, without which none of this would be possible; and also to Alvaro Vidiella who was instrumental in the early development and execution of this work.

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Phosphonate and Phytophthora Phillip West, Research Officer, NZ Avocado Phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz

Phytophthora continues to be a constant foe of the avocado grower. While not always the sole contributor to a decline in avocado tree health, phytophthora root rot can have significant impact on the performance of an orchard.

Reports

The use of phosphonate to control phytophthora is now

widely practiced but there is variability when it comes to some aspects of its use (Figure 1). It’s interesting to note that many of the survey participants, as part of the workshops at last year's Grower Forums, are unsure about the effectiveness of their phosphonate application and there is a significant proportion that have changed or planned to change their application method.

It’s important to understand what some of this variability means in terms of tree health as well as time and expense for the grower. A lot of work has been done in Australia looking at persistence of phosphonate in the roots once applied.

The recommendations we use of 25mg/kg roots protective levels and four week post-injection root testing come from Australian researchers that are experts in this field.

The importance of injection timing and method suggests it’s worth understanding how our unique New Zealand conditions may influence the effectiveness of application.

We started with work trying to establish our own decay curves of root phosphonate levels following the most common application method of low pressure syringe.

Injection was carried out in mid-April in a Bay of Plenty orchard and in late April on an orchard in the Far North to fit in with other orchard activities and when root flush

Figure 1. Responses to survey carried out at the NZ Avocado 2015 Grower Forum.

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Reports

was more likely. Trees were injected with a 15% solution of phosphonate at a volume of 20ml per metre of canopy diameter; 20ml syringes were used, spaced evenly around trunks. Root samples were collected from the same sector of roots, in line with injection sites. The results obtained highlight some of the challenges growers face with phosphonate use and interpretation of root test results. In the Far North, root concentrations climbed from 40mg/ kg roots at 75% moisture up to 130 after 12 weeks. What made interpretation of these results difficult was that root concentrations in the control trees that weren’t injected also increased to around 100mg/kg at 75% moisture from 8-12 weeks’ post-injection. This was despite careful selection of roots to try ensure that the roots sampled actually came from the trial trees and not a neighbouring one. In the Bay of Plenty, root levels did not increase following injection out to 12 weeks. Leaf tests were carried out at 12 weeks to see if the phosphonate was in the canopy rather than roots.

Results showed the injected trees had twice the amount of phosphonate in the sampled leaves compared to the noninjected trees.Young leaves were present on the trees at the time of injection which may have acted as a sink for the phosphonate but there was no new active flush.

Another orchard in the Far North was injected on the 14/3/2016 with a 15% solution in 20ml syringes spaced 10cm apart. Regular root samples were collected for sampling and showed test levels fluctuating before climbing to 114 mg/kg at 75% moisture for sick trees after 21 weeks. Levels in healthy trees peaked at 57 mg/kg at 75%

moisture trees after 12 weeks (Figure 2). The difference in concentrations between the sick and healthy trees is likely explained by the difference in canopy and root volume between the two. Putting the same amount of product into the larger volume of the healthy trees leads to a greater dilution compared to the sick trees.

This trial will be repeated to try and pin-point what contributed to the unusual results obtained but here are some useful reminders and points that can be taken from the work: • Application timing is very important as phosphonate will flow to the strongest sink of carbohydrates generated by the leaves. This is generally whatever is showing active growth, including leaf flush, developing fruit or hopefully root flush.

• I t’s important to be consistent with root sampling and collect young white roots that should contain the representative concentration of phosphonate.

•B e careful handling root samples and get them to the lab as quickly as possible. Do not rinse soil off roots as phosphonate is very soluble; a simple shake to remove any soil is sufficient.

•R oot concentrations may take longer than the expected four weeks to peak following injection. If test results come back as low, it may be prudent to do another root test before thinking about re-injecting.

Industry opinions on Phosphonate We invited some growers and industry professionals to share their own thoughts and experiences with phosphonate use.

Jim Clark – Far North Grower

Figure 2. Phosphonate injection dates and root test results from healthy and sick trees in a Far North orchard.The same 6 trees for both healthy and sick were sampled at each time point. All trees were injected with a 15% solution of phosphonate. 20ml syringes were spaced 10cm apart around the trunk of the trees.

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“The use of phosphonate to protect avocado trees from root rot (Phytophthora cinnamomi (Pc)) was introduced by growers in the Far North in 1985. We imported a phosphorous acid, potassium hydroxide mix from Australia which was allowed entry as “fertiliser”. Prior to injecting our trees with this new solution, up to 20 percent of our planted trees were heavily infected with root rot. We had tested our sand derived soil prior to planting and discovered Pc. Our pine shelter belts also came from Pc infected ground and the grafted avocado plants were coming from nurseries that did not have sterile potting mixes. Not a good start for our fledgling local industry.

“We injected our trees using advice from the Queensland

Department of Primary Industry. Tony Whiley, Ken Pegg and Maria Piccone were in the forefront of international research on root rot at the time. The advice we were given was to inject 40 days after the start of vegetative leaf flush when the new shoots had leaves that were fully expanded and turning green (mid-summer). It was believed that the new leaves were switching over from being nutrient sinks to net exporters of photo-assimilates; hence the pathway for distributing the phosphonate from the injection sites to the leaves and then down to the roots. We used a 15% solution with holes drilled around the trunk at even spaces approx.

115 mm apart.

“The D.P.I. in Queensland assisted in the setup of a lab to assay the level of phosphonate in the roots, etc. of avocados and thousands of samples were tested. The results supported the recommendation that the roots should have a minimum of 25ppm phosphonate to provide protection from Pc spores. Around ten years ago Colin Partridge started sending some root samples away to the Queensland Lab. A few of us in the Far North were able to submit samples that way. The results coming back were confusing. After a couple of years Hills Analytical Services in Hamilton set up a new service testing avocado roots for phosphonate levels. We did a lot of testing. We were testing trees randomly as you do with leaf and soil samples. After a while we started testing more specifically.

“We tested healthy trees vs. sick trees and found that the sick trees usually had much higher levels of phosphonate than healthy trees - often twice as much. We had some very sick looking trees that tested at more than 600ppm phosphonate. How could a tree with really high phosphonate levels be so sick with Pc? It made no sense. Also, the leaves did not look the same as our trees when we had root rot early on. Instead of yellow, small, wilting leaves we had purple mottled leaves with tip burn and new shoot dieback.

In fact, the leaves looked more like the leaves that had been sprayed with Glyphosate (Roundup). An Australia DPI booklet I had on “Avocado Pests and Diseases” had a photo of leaves that looked just like those on our sick trees - the caption said “Phosphonate Toxicity”. For me the penny dropped. We had gone from one injection per year at 15% on pretty healthy trees to twice per year at 20% on trees with declining health. As the trees became sicker the injected phosphonate accumulated in fewer leaves and roots creating higher (toxic?) concentrations of phosphonate at the growing points. The trees got sicker, we injected even more, for most of us it was time to replant with clonal rootstocks.

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“The initial use of phosphonate was almost miraculous.

Most of the seriously sick trees recovered, became healthy and highly productive. However, after a decade or two of good results we began to have other issues. Other advisors suggested that injecting mid-summer was not the best time and most of us changed over to twice per year injections (March/August). That is twice as many holes in the tree.

We also increased the strength of the solution to 20%. This was in response to some of the trees looking a bit ragged.

The clear wood on the trunk was quickly filled with holes so we moved up the tree and into the limbs. Also, at the stronger concentration, the injection sites were not healing well. Much of the fluid from the syringes was either spilling out an old injection holes or the tree was not able to suck up the liquid from the syringe. In desperation quite of few of us started to use a one shot high pressure application where we drilled almost all the way through the trunk and then injected the 20% (or just a little more) solution into the wood using modified grease guns to create very high pressure. Still more and more trees went into decline.

Example of sick trees.

“Four years ago I stopped injecting my trees. After three years the phosphonate levels in the roots fell from 180ppm to under 10ppm. I tested the flowers and the new leaf flush in the spring and found concentrations twice those in the roots. Now I have flushes that do not die back, leaves that are not mottled or tip burned and even some roots! Most of the trees that were not too far gone are recovering well.

I did inject last year at 10% concentrate using the syringes into the trunks that had healed nicely. It is very clear that we need to use the phosphonate to protect our trees from Pc. It is also clear to me that we need to inject the right amount in the right way according to the results of our root testing.

“There is so much more we need to do to understand how to use phosphonate effectively. We do not know when to test

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the roots to determine levels of phosphonate. There is plenty of advice as to how long after injecting the roots should be tested. Our results suggest there is more work to do on this.

We need to test the flowers and the leaves as well as the roots until we can work out the best times to inject to avoid accumulating phosphonate in the canopy of the tree. We need to understand that phosphonate does accumulate in the tree if we inject more chemical than is taken up and removed by the leaves, flowers, fruit and roots. Obviously the sicker the tree, the fewer growing points to dilute the chemical and the more likely there will be increased accumulation. We know that this accumulated Phosphonate will re-distribute as we have results from trees that had not been injected for three years yet there were very high levels of phosphonate in the flowers and the new leaf flush (rather than the roots) during spring.

“Every year growers in the Far North test their soil and leaves for nutrient status. Decisions on fertiliser applications are based on these results. Every year we inject our trees (twice) based on nothing but how the trees look. Getting phosphonate levels right in the trees is just as important as getting your fertilizer programme right.You are messing with the health/life of your tree. Too little phosphonate and you are not protected against phytophthora. Too much and you could be poisoning the tree. We have a very good test now for levels of phosphonate in the tree. There is much more to learn about what and when to test and what the results are indicating also when and how much to inject.

Early days but I am very grateful to have the opportunity to test my trees for Phosphonate levels. It has made a huge difference to the orchard.”

Peter Woods & Louise Dinmore – Katikati Growers

“In 2013 we purchased an orchard that was severely affected by phytophthora. As new entrants to the industry at that time, the idea of root rots spreading throughout the remaining trees seemed very worrying, and we needed to be sure we could arrest and reverse this progression before making our decision to purchase. Our consultant, Lindsay Heard, recommended using low pressure syringes to apply Hi PK Phosphorous Acid evenly round the trunk of each tree. This advice was based on clearly demonstrated success in saving trees on other orchards, including Ross and Jill Fowler’s orchard at Athenree. Ross told us injecting alone won’t work, we needed to follow a programme of injecting, pruning, feeding and mulching. Now, three years down the track, you’d never believe this was a sick orchard, and we are

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Tree with phosphonate syringes.

very grateful for the good advice we received.

“We now inject all of our trees every year during late January to February, prior to pruning in autumn. Any showing stress get follow-up injections in August. It’s a long slog getting through the whole orchard but we’d never be tempted to skip a year or try an easier method. Having seen how trees can regress, we regard it as inexpensive and proven tree protection. We have to put up to 50 syringes in some of our biggest trees, but we like the way multiple injections give a good phosphonate uptake around all of the branches, and then roots. Once your trees get bigger you don’t need to be down on your knees, injections further up the trunk and branches is fine. Our neighbour, Brian Robinson (AVOCO top grower for 2016) has been injecting his trees for about 30 years and has maintained healthy, highly productive trees throughout this time.”

Jerome Hardy – Avocado Consultant

“My advice to growers under most circumstances is to inject all trees with phosphonate once a year using traditional low pressure syringes at an active ingredient rate of 15%. It is important to take a preventative approach to phytophthora control; decline happens a lot faster than recovery.

Key details: •T iming: March to June best (coinciding with main root flush), every year • C oncentration: 15% active ingredient i.e. three parts chemical to five parts water if using 400g/litre product such as Foschek OR one part chemical to three parts water if using 600g/litre product such as Perk Supa.

• R ate: Measure the diameter of the tree and increase by a third to half. For example, a tree that is 3m wide

requires 4 x 20ml syringes. A tree that is 6m wide requires 8-9 syringes etc.

resultant concentrations in the roots are inadequate. In these instances, the application is not effective.

“As concerns tree health; pruning carries the same importance as phosphonate treatment and both should be practiced with absolute regularity if growers want to maintain productive orchards. Removal of some canopy every year will maintain a greater root: canopy ratio, reduce excessive crop load and conserve starch reserves, all of which will promote root health.

“My advice to growers who have orchards with a high susceptibility to Pc is to implement the following integrated approach:

“Tree health can change quickly with couple of good consecutive crops and a wet winter, so make allowance for: • Soil type: There is greater root rot pressure, and less room for complacency in heavier, poorly drained soils • Yield and crop consistency: Regular, high-cropping orchards face greater root rot pressure and require constant attention.

• Tree Age: Larger, older trees are more susceptible to root rot.

• Weather: Just as a drier winter does great things for tree health, so a wet winter = greater risk of decline. Hard to predict a wet winter hence the need for a preventative program.

• I f irrigating, controlled use thereof is one of the most critical practises for managing Pc. Also, remember to modify irrigation on trees with a poor health rating or trees defoliated by frost, Pc or mites.

• I am watching - with positive interest - the use of both: o Foliar spraying (trees less than 15 years old) and o The Sidewinder system • On the basis of observation and personal experience I do not recommend the use of the Stemgun or metalaxyl prills.”

Erica Faber – Orchard Productivity Manager,

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Alternatives:

• F irstly, and probably the most important; if planting a new orchard or doing replants, use a rootstock that has a high tolerance to Pc e.g. Dusa, as this is the most effective control strategy.

• I ncrease organic matter e.g. mulches & composts to enhance biological suppression of Pc by creating an active and diverse microflora.

• S oils with poor water infiltration or compaction create an environment in which Pc thrives. Use soil amendments such as gypsum to improve drainage. If doing new plantings, consider planting on ridges to aid drainage.

• U se of biological fungicides such as certain Trichodermas, actively grow on roots and “protect” them from Pc • P romote healthier roots by good management practises as a healthy root is less susceptible to infection.

• M ost importantly, for effective use of phosphonates ensure that the timing and application methods are correct and that the use thereof is warranted.”

Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of New Zealand Avocado.

Just Avocados Limited

“I do support the use of phosphonate IF the use is justified and it is used judiciously as part of an integrated approach to the control of Phytophthora cinnamomi. It needs to be understood that phosphonate applications cannot eradicate the pathogen and that incorrect use thereof can have adverse effects. If timed incorrectly, phosphonates will concentrate in the organ with the strongest nutrient sink e.g. fast growing fruit and not in the roots. This could result in concentrations in the fruit exceeding certain market MRL’s.

Some research has shown that incorrect timing can even inhibit feeder root growth. Also, if not applied correctly the

Healthy roots.

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Spring/summer avocado review of water use Phillip West, Research Officer, NZ Avocado Phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz

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March provides an opportunity to reflect on the spring and summer that have contributed to the orchard’s current state and see what lessons might be learnt.

We all know trees need water, but how much or how

little can have significant impacts on orchard performance in both the short and long term. All growers rely on rainfall to maintain healthy trees, so reflecting on what rainfall has occurred and how your irrigation management fits into your total water management plan may provide valuable insight into your orchard. Soil moisture levels influence tree health, fruit size and quality, and fertiliser uptake and retention in the root zone.

Having an understanding of how much is enough but not too much for your trees can pay big dividends come harvest. Insufficent water can lead to your trees working harder to extract it from the soil; energy they could be using to improve the yield. Too much water will encourage phytophthora root rot and the roots may begin to suffocate, also reducing yield in both the short and medium

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term. Excess soil moisture drains through the soil to depths away from the main root mass of avocados, taking valuable nutrients with it. If you look at your fertiliser bill, I’m sure you’ll agree you want your trees to make the most of those dollars you’ve spent.

So how much is too much and how much is not enough?

A great place to start is with understanding some basic properties of soil. The proportion of sand, silt and clay has a large influence on how much water your soil can hold and how easy it is for a plant to extract it. Sandy soils don’t hold much but what there is, is easy for the tree to extract. Clay soils can hold a lot but they hold onto the water tightly, making it difficult to extract. Loam soils are somewhere in between and hold a good amount of water that the tree can easily extract.

The “full point” of a soil is referred to as “Field capacity

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Figure 1. www.irrigationnz.co.nz - Understanding soil water terminology

- FC” and the point where a plant can’t extract any more water is referred to as “Wilting point – WP”. The difference between FC and WP is termed the “Water Holding Capacity – WHC” or “Plant Available Water – PAW” and refers to how much water a soil can hold that is available to a plant.

Yield becomes negatively impacted before soils dry out to their Wilting Point so an additional point that defines this is called the “Stress Point – SP”. To maximise tree performance ideally we would cycle soil moisture levels between Field Capacity and the Stress Point. Exceeding Field Capacity means nutrients are being lost and roots become water logged. Drying beyond the Stress Point means the tree is wasting energy on extracting water.

Cycling between the two allows good aeration in the soil, which is important for root and tree health.

New Zealand has highly variable soils and across an orchard you may find several types. Soil type also normally changes at different depths and these different layers are called horizons. To work out what soil you have, IrrigationNZ has

a textural assessment method on its website that provides a decision tree based on the feel of the soil. Sieving and mixing soil with water and some detergent can also give an indication of the proportions of sand, silt and clay you have; sand will settle to the bottom very quickly, silt will take hours and clay will take 24 hours or more. Protocols for this can also be found online.

As a very broad generalisation we could say the Far North has sandy soil, the Mid-North has clay soil and the Bay of Plenty has loam soil. Making these assumptions, we can start to look at the weather we’ve had and how it might relate to the soil moisture levels we’ve experienced.

If we only look at the top 30cm of soil, where the majority of avocado roots can normally be found, and assume it’s all the same type, then sand soil has a Water Holding Capacity of about 45mm/30cm, loam = 66mm/30cm and clay = 54mm/30cm. Combining these assumption about our soils with weather data and avocado water use information generated from both young and mature trees in the Bay of Plenty, we can start to look at how soil moisture levels

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may have fluctuated through spring into early summer if no irrigation was applied. These calculations make a lot of assumptions, so it’s important to put this information in the context of your own orchard and irrigation experience.

Soil moisture levels in the Far North (Figure 2) started to consistently drop around mid to late November, suggesting this would be a good time to start paying closer attention to soil moisture and rain forecasts.

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Figure 2. Soil moisture balance for the top 30cm of a sand soil located near Kaitaia.

Stress point is assumed to be halfway between field capacity and wilting point.

Mature tree balance is based on water use by nine year old trees in the Bay of Plenty andYoung tree balance is based on three year old tree water use in the Bay of Plenty.

Figure 3. Soil moisture balance for the top 30cm of a clay soil located nearWhangarei.

Stress point is assumed to be halfway between field capacity and wilting point. Mature tree balance is based on water use by nine year trees in the Bay of Plenty andYoung tree balance is based on three year old tree water use in the Bay of Plenty.

Small amounts of rain kept the soil moisture balance in the desired zone between Field Capacity and the Stress Point until early December for mature trees (nine year old trees). Soil moisture levels were likely adequate for young trees (three year old trees) through to early January. From the start of irrigation through to the end of January, irrigation equivalent to around 80-100mm of rain, appropriately spaced should have kept levels topped up for mature trees.

About 20mm may have been enough for young trees.

Whangarei soils started drying in mid-October (Figure 3) with irrigation of mature trees possibly starting in early November. However, if the heavy rain that arrived in early November was well forecast then growers may have held off irrigating until the first half of December for mature trees and early January for young trees.

From the start of irrigation through to the end of January, irrigation equivalent to around 100-120mm of rain, appropriately spaced should have keep levels topped up for mature tree. About 20-30mm may have been enough for young trees.

As mentioned previously, the assumed loam soils of Bay of Plenty provide a good buffer for soil moisture levels, able to store a relatively large amount of water that is available for the tree to draw on with relative ease.

Figure 4. Soil moisture balance for the top 30cm of a loam soil located in the Bay of Plenty. Stress point is assumed to be halfway between field capacity and wilting point.

Mature tree balance is based on water use by nine year trees in the Bay of Plenty and Young tree balance is based on three year old tree water use in the Bay of Plenty.

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Based on the assumptions, soil moisture levels have stayed pretty much between Field Capacity and the Stress Point right through to the end of January for both mature and young tree,s with the mature trees dropping below the Stress Point briefly towards the end of January (Figure 4).

While the graphs make a lot of assumptions, by applying the same principles you can develop an irrigation management plan which may help improve orchard performance.

An early spring system check is a good idea while also calibrating a random selection of sprinkler heads at different distances from your pump and at different heights on any slope you have.

The graphs don’t show periods where Field Capacity were exceeded leading to drainage and/or surface run-off but poorly timed irrigation or heavy rain can definitely cause this. If you know there is a time of year when rainfall is high and likely to cause Field Capacity to be exceeded, you can make additional management decisions, such as more frequent applications of lower doses of fertiliser to avoid leaching and trying to reduce machinery in the orchard to avoid soil compaction.

This can be as simple as holding the sprinkler head in a bucket for a certain length of time and then calculating the flow rate based on the amount of water in the bucket.

This will help you ensure that your irrigation is delivering the amount of water you expect, consistently across the whole orchard.

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If you do have an irrigation system, it’s recommended that you carry out regular checks and maintenance to avoid any breakdowns or issues when they are needed most.

NZ Avocado is now regularly publishing weekly soil moisture balance tables in Avoconnect. We hope you can utilise these tables to review your irrigation and soil moisture management to identify any room for improvement. The tables combined with some knowledge of your soil can help you establish your own soil moisture budget to improve your orchard performance.

Spotted anything unusual?

Early reporting of unusual insect pests or plant symptoms helps to protect the avocado industry.

Calls to MPI’s pest and disease hotline 0800 80 99 66 are confidential and ensure industry pests are discovered early before they spread.

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Avocentric – Neil and Steve Thompson Elaine Fisher, Journalist

elaine@thesun.co.nz

Avocado orcharding represents a dramatic change of career path for brothers Neil and Steve Thompson, but it’s one they are thoroughly enjoying.

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Photo: Rochelle Lewis, Little Rock Photography.

Neil Thompson.

Neil, an electrician in the Far North, convinced his builder brother Steve of Maungakaramea to join him in developing an orchard from scratch 12 years ago.

“Alma and I had sold our house at Pukenui and wondered what we were going to do next,” says Neil.

“I was doing electrical work for a number of avocado growers and decided I wouldn’t mind giving orcharding a go, so we asked Steve and his wife Suzanne if they would like to partner us in developing an orchard.”

Together they bought a 9.2ha block at Motutangi, just south of Houhora. The land had been subdivided for horticulture and planted with Leyland Cyprus shelter but was otherwise undeveloped.

“We brought in a 20 tonne digger to rip up the soil and only found one corner with a hard pan underneath. The soil here is good, mostly deep sandy peat. We contoured the ground and planted the trees on the hump,” says Neil.

Hard pruning

The trees were initially planted at 8m x 4m intervals but this is now too close.

“We have been cutting out every second tree but now we’re trialling hard-pruning the north-east half of the tree to see how that works. The trees have got too big and we have also stag-horned in a couple of rows to let more light in.”

As well as developing the block, Steve and Neil built a house for Neil and Alma, who now live on the orchard while Steve and Suzanne continue to live at Maungakaramea.

Although the brothers admit to knowing very little about avocado orcharding when they started out, they were keen to learn.

“I keep my ears open, listen to what others are saying and learn from that. We have Jerome Hardy as our consultant and we follow his advice closely,” says Neil.

Jerome bases fertiliser recommendations on annual leaf and

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soil tests and Neil applies the hard fertiliser using a spreader.

The orchard has irrigation from its own bore, which has been a bonus during this summer’s prolonged dry weather.

Phytophthora root rot has not been a problem on the Thompson orchard: “Until the last four to five years we didn’t inject trees at all but do so now as a preventative.”

Helicopter spraying

Pest monitoring is carried out by FruitFed and in the last couple of seasons, sprays have been applied by helicopter.

Reports

“Now the trees are so big, the helicopter gives better coverage, especially at the top of the trees because if you’ve got one bug at the bottom of the canopy, you can be sure they’ll be at least 10 at the top.

“Using a helicopter isn’t that expensive as it doesn’t take long and it’s effective.”

The orchard now has 5.5ha planted in avocado and its production has increased year on year.

“We’ve never had an off year.” This season 20,000 tray were harvested, although Neil is not so sure next season’s crop will be bigger.

“This season we didn’t finish harvesting until mid-January, as requested by our exporter Avoco to meet the markets.

Normally we’d be finished by October. I think it’s hard on the trees to carry a crop for that long as well as setting the

next season’s fruit. We have also had more rejects because of wind-rub.

“I would prefer to get the fruit off and pruning done before flowering. However, we’ll have to wait to see what the impact of hanging fruit so late is on next season,” says Neil, who understands the need for late fruit to meet market demands.

Despite the challenges, occasional setbacks and hard work involved in avocado orcharding, the Thompsons have no regrets about their decision to embark on a new challenge.

“However, we are getting a bit old and are due to retire, so are considering selling the orchard,” says Neil.

Photographs: Rochelle Lewis, Little Rock Photography.

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‘Go Global’ Primary Growth Partnership receives positive review An independent review of the NZ Avocado Go Global PGP programme has acknowledged the major contribution the programme has made to the industry. Completed by Vantage Consulting in December 2016, the report confirmed that the additional leverage provided by PGP investment has facilitated important steps for industry research and collaboration.

The review interviewed

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35 industry participants involved in the governance, management and execution of the programme and confirmed that the Go Global initiatives reflect industry priorities and should continue to be finetuned with the support of industry stakeholders.

Below is the executive summary from the report.

The full review is on the NZ Avocado website.

The New Zealand avocado industry has achieved a remarkable step change in its modus operandi over the last two to three years. It has changed from a less disciplined and more compliance driven industry to one that is much more professional, collaborative, cohesive and smoothly operating. It now has a much higher profile, both within New Zealand and in export markets.

While some of the changes commenced from perhaps two years prior to the implementation of the Primary Growth Partnership’s Go Global Programme, there is unanimity within the industry that the PGP programme has been a major positive factor in achieving and accelerating the step change.

The change has been achieved by strong leadership within and a reorientation of the operations of New Zealand Avocado - an entity combining the Avocado Industry Council and the New Zealand Avocado Growers Association. New Zealand Avocado has been the contracting entity responsible for the implementation and execution of the Go Global programme. There has been little expansion in staff numbers. The very good progress made since the inception of the programme has occurred because of the energetic and passionate driving force of the CEO, the highly competent, efficient and hard-working

team members, sound governance and some important functional changes within New Zealand Avocado. The advances have occurred with good effect across the major growing regions, notwithstanding the geographical and communication challenges involved, important orchard size and ownership differences between Bay of Plenty and Northland, and the inevitably political nature of industry organisations.

For several years prior to the planning and execution of the PGP programme, New Zealand Avocado was strongly focused on research and development. Since about 2012, research has been largely outsourced, placing the organisation in a strong position to be able to execute the wider functions represented by the Objectives of the Go Global programme. These most notably encompass export diversification, improved and more consistent yields from orchards, supply chain efficiencies and improved information systems and dissemination. While advances in achievement of each of the Objectives have varied, the overall progress and the industry impact have been very good.

In addition, the organisation has moved from a more policing-based approach to compliance to a more

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proactive, supportive and collaborative approach. This has been important in facilitating stakeholder acceptance of, participation in and support for the PGP programme.

New Zealand Avocado staff have also been proactive in seeking information to develop and execute the PGP programme from a wide range of sources beyond immediate avocado industry stakeholders, e.g. government agencies, other PGP programmes, other horticultural industries and commercial bodies, research institutions and overseas horticultural logistics and marketing organisations. This eclectic approach has provided a sound information base for decision-making on how best to structure and execute the programme.

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Lifting an industry by its bootstraps to a more professional, collaborative and cohesive dimension inevitably involves numerous unknowns. In many ways, the Go Global programme is an “action learning programme� with inherent mistakes and important information feedback loops informing future decisions and strategies as the programme proceeds. A particularly important aspect is how best should New Zealand Avocado staff interact and work with growers, packhouses and exporters. In this context, occasional mistakes become events to be learned from and in turn contribute to eventual success.

Spillover to other industries is an important aim of PGP programmes. It is evident that the step change achieved by the avocado industry has been observed by other horticultural industries that have consulted New Zealand Avocado on how to make similar gains. New Zealand Avocado staff, with the CEO setting a notable example, have been helpful to these other industries on several occasions.

Perhaps the greatest direct risk to the programme is the turnover of staff within New Zealand Avocado. It is important that the Programme Steering Group and the board of New Zealand Avocado monitor both organisational stability and culture, particularly in a regional and industry context where other attractive external positions may be readily available for a talented staff. Indirect or disruptive risks could include a price collapse in Australia resulting from large volumes of Mexican or Western Australian avocados coming on stream and the apparent inevitability that the much anticipated Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) with associated tariff reductions in Asian markets will not eventuate. (The TPP could potentially help New Zealand by making it more difficult for central and South American exporters to access the Australian avocado market.) On

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balance, the staff stability risk is considered manageable, and the market related risks represent an environmental shift to which the industry should be well capable of adjusting given the goodwill generated and progress achieved through Objective 1.

It is difficult to estimate in quantitative terms the value for money of the PGP programme. Results have yet to be fully realised, and the application of any formal cost benefit analysis at this stage would be a highly questionable. The problems are exacerbated by the qualitative nature of the gains achieved. What is clear is that industry stakeholders are unequivocal about the improved status of the industry in terms of collaboration, cohesion, discipline and operational efficiencies, particularly since the inception of the PGP programme. The industry is likely to have gross revenues of some $130 million in 2016/17, and is well on target to achieve its PGP based target of $280 million by the target date of 2023. The total cost (including in-kind assistance) of the programme is about $1.6 million per year, provided 50/50 by industry and government. The additional industry profitability, other private sector value add multipliers and additional taxation arising from the much better performing industry are likely to very substantially exceed the costs of the programme, implying that it represents a sound return on investment. Based on a brief scan of other PGP programmes, the relative costs and benefits appear especially favourable.

In summary, there is good evidence that the leadership, commitment and teamwork of New Zealand Avocado, aided by the resources and progress of the PGP programme, have greatly increased the across-the-board performance and the profile of the avocado industry and its product in New Zealand media and almost certainly amongst consumers. The PGP programme’s contribution has occurred in parallel with increasing domestic and international demand for avocados and correspondingly strong prices. While advances in achieving each of the Objectives have naturally varied, both the overall progress and the industry impact have been very good indeed. Whether such changes could have occurred without the investment in the PGP programme is indeterminate, but the reality is that the programme has enabled new investment that has been targeted towards agreed key issues. On balance, the strong conclusion is that the leverage provided by the PGP investment has facilitated major changes in the approaches taken by the industry body which have already proven effective.

apply gypsum now

improve soil structure, drainage & reduce compaction of in row traffic “I have observed the benefits of annual Gypsum applications over many years in a range of soil types and I will continue to recommend Gypsum in fertiliser programmes for Avocados” Lindsay Heard, Brenmark Horticultural Consultants Gypsum improves Soil Structure by adding calcium which is needed to flocculate clays in acid and alkaline soil.

Gypsum Suppresses Soil Borne Disease which are often present in anaerobic soil conditions.

Gypsum Helps Reclaim Sodic Soils by decreasing exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) for soil improvement and better crop growth. The calcium replaces the sodium in clay-binding sites which can then be leached from the soil as sodium sulphate. Without Gypsum, the soil would not be leachable.

Gypsum Decreases Swelling Clays and the cracking associated with levels of exchangeable sodium on the montmorillonite-type clays. Less swelling means less clogging of the pore spaces through which air, water and roots move.

Gypsum Prevents Crusting of Soil & Aids Seed Emergence resulting from raindrops or from sprinkler irrigation on unstable soil. Gypsum and lime can prevent crusting that forms in acid soils.

Gypsum Improves Low-Solute Irrigation Water from rivers that no longer contain leachable salts which can inhibit penetration into soil or causes soil particles to degrade. The problem can be corrected with surface applied gypsum or application to the irrigation water.

Gypsum Multiplies the Value of Other Inputs including fertilizers.

Gypsum Prevents Waterlogging of Soil where a combination of high sodium, swelling clay and excess water result in drainage issues.

Gypsum Increases Water-Use Efficiency of crops with improved water infiltration rates, hydraulic conductivity of soil and better water storage in the soil all leading to deeper rooting and better water-use efficiency. 25% –100% more water is available in gypsum treated soils than in non-treated soils, important in areas and times of drought.

Gypsum as a Fertiliser CaSO4-2H2O is a pH neutral source of readily available calcium and sulphur.

For further information call 0800 100 442 or visit www.gypsum.co.nz

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The proven method for controlling Phytophthora Built-in resistance for ease of measurement Low Pressure System Strong Design for use in multiple seasons UV Light Stabilised Suitable for all tree types

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Small syringe tip ensures minimal entry wound Easy grip handle

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+64 7 552 0916 enquiry@coolstore.co.nz www.coolstore.co.nz

Producing better fruit by innovation

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Pest & disease watch: What is avocado sunblotch?

Brad Siebert, Biosecurity and Programme Manager, NZ Avocado brad.siebert@nzavocado.co.nz

Avocado sunblotch is not present in New Zealand yet is a serious disease of avocados in many other countries, including Australia. Caused by the Avocado Sunblotch Viroid (ASBVd), affected trees suffer from significantly reduced yields with additional production losses via the downgrading of disfigured fruit. Like many other exotic pests, the most dramatic impact of this disease being discovered in New Zealand would be maintaining market access - especially to Australia.

What should I look for?

The most recognisable symptoms are yellow to pink sunken scars on deformed fruit and yellow streaks on young shoots and new flush. Infected trees can be either symptomatic (with visual symptoms) or asymptomatic and exhibit no obvious signs of disease other than significantly low or no yields. Disease symptoms may also emerge on previously asymptomatic trees following significant tree stress.

How is it spread and controlled?

The disease is transmitted through infected seed used to propagate rootstocks and via infected grafting material.

Sunblotch can also be mechanically transmitted through the orchard by cross-contamination from pruning and harvesting blades as well as injection equipment. Although ASBVd can be transmitted in pollen, interestingly only the individual flower and subsequent fruit will be infected as the disease will not move back into the tree. Once trees are infected there is no control for the disease and infected trees and much of their root system would need to be removed to avoid infecting further trees.

How is the risk being managed?

Propagation material being brought into New Zealand must remain in quarantine for 12 months to allow for

On the Orchard

Importantly, symptoms of ASBVd are irregularly distributed throughout an infected tree and can include: • Young trees that are stunted and have a sprawling growth habit • Twigs that have a yellow sunken streak which follows the length of the branch • Fruit that has yellowish depressed longitudinal lesions • Leaves that display yellow/bleached areas and are sometimes distorted • Bark on mature trees that has a cracked or crocodile appearance.

the detection of ASBVd symptoms, along with additional molecular/DNA testing. Fruit being imported into New Zealand must be sourced from tested trees or areas of ASBVd freedom. Past ‘false alarms’ for the industry where ASBVd was incorrectly diagnosed lead to the development of rigorous surveillance and testing protocols. These plus national surveys, funded by industry, allowed the Ministry for Primary Industries to confirm country-freedom from ASBVd and ensured an enduring disease testing programme could be integrated into the industry’s nursery High Health Scheme.

For nurseries, the most important control measure for sunblotch is the careful selection and testing of pathogenfree budwood and seed that is used for propagation. For growers, it is important to source certified plants from nurseries which are adhering to the industry High Health Scheme.

Who can I call?

Any unusual plant symptoms or plant pests you have noticed on your orchard can reported in confidence to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) on 0800 80 99 66 info@mpi.govt.nz

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Synchronisation of female Hass flowers with male flowers of Hass, Ettinger and Zutano Nick Gould and Nicola Haisman from The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Te Puke with David Pattemore from The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Ruakura nick.gould@plantandfood.co.nz

On the Orchard

Each avocado flower has both female and male organs, but the maturity of these organs are separated in time, which results in distinct female and male phases.

Figure 1. Hass avocado female (left) and male (right) flowers.

Each flower opens first as a female with a receptive stigma to collect pollen. The flower then closes, before reopening as a male with prominent anthers which open (‘dehisce’) via small flaps, thus releasing the pollen (Figure 1).

Avocado cultivars are grouped into “type A” or “type B” depending on the timing of this female to male sequence.

Hass are type A, which typically open as a female in the morning, then close and re-open as a male in the afternoon of the next day or the day after. There is usually a period of crossover in the middle of the day because new female flowers close around the same time as newly male flowers (which were female the previous day) start to open.

Pollination from male to female Hass flowers (called ‘selfpollination’ regardless as to whether pollen is from the same or different Hass trees) can occur in this crossover period if the male flowers release pollen before the female flowers close.

Cross-pollination can be maximised using pollinisers of type B cultivars (e.g. Bacon, Ettinger, Zutano). These cultivars are described as typically opening as a female in the afternoon then as a male the next morning. As a result, type B cultivars are generally open as male and releasing pollen when female Hass flowers are open and receptive. Inter-

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planting type B cultivars with Hass, therefore, provides an opportunity for cross-pollination (which can confer benefits in terms of reduced fruitlet drop; Degani et al. 1997) as well as overall potentially increasing the amount of pollen transferred to female Hass flowers. However, this typical flowering pattern is altered by temperature, which makes the simple story much more complicated. Research by Plant & Food Research in the Bay of Plenty has demonstrated

Figure 2. Relationship between the overnight minimum temperature and the mean time of day (+/- standard error) that female Hass avocado flowers opened in Bay of Plenty orchards in 2011 and 2013.

Figure 3.Timing of flowering of ‘Ettinger’,‘Zutano’, and Hass avocados at the Plant & Food Research Orchard,Te Puke, 2016.

that overnight minimum temperatures are correlated with the timing of flower opening; as temperatures decline, the opening of female Hass flowers is delayed (Figure 2). As a result, Hass female flowers in New Zealand are often open in the afternoon or evening rather than the morning. The effect of lower temperatures on type B polliniser flowering was not as clear. We therefore wanted to understand how our conditions here affected the overlap of male pollinisers with female Hass and how this related more widely to the overlap in flowering period of these cultivars, particularly given that New Zealand has changeable spring conditions.

Interestingly, very few Ettinger or Zutano female flowers were observed during the flowering period. When they were observed, they always occurred in the morning, and the presence of female flowers did not seem to be related to the minimum temperature of the previous night. Female flowers were observed only on six days out of 28 days in Zutano, and four days out of 28 days in Ettinger. In contrast, female flowers were observed in Hass on 15 of the 16 days on which we visited. The single day without Hass female flowers (1 November 2016; Figure 4C) followed two consecutive nights in which the temperature had fallen to 3.8oC and 4.5oC respectively.

On the Orchard

During spring 2016 we monitored female and male flower opening and closing times of Hass and two popular polliniser varieties, Ettinger and Zutano, at the Plant & Food Research Orchard, Te Puke. Although there are other pollinisers, Ettinger and Zutano were chosen as two type B pollinisers that were available at the Te Puke Research Orchard. Flowering of five Ettinger, four Zutano and ten Hass trees was monitored throughout the flowering period.

Temperature data in the orchard were collected over this period.

The flowering periods of Ettinger and Zutano were similar, starting from the beginning of October until 10 or 11 November. During this period we visited the trees on 28 separate days and the flowering stage was noted throughout the day. Hass trees started flowering later than the pollinisers, on 18 October 2016, but finished around the same time, on 10 November (Figure 3). Hass trees were visited 16 times during this period.

Figure 4. Chart showing dates and times when periods of male flowering of A) Ettinger and Zutano, and B) Hass avocado trees coincided with periods of Hass flowers open in their female form. Zutano and Ettinger were grouped as there was no difference between the cultivars in overlap with Hass female flowering.

Observations were recorded on 16 days between the Hass flowering period of 18 October to 10 November 2016 at the Plant & Food Research Orchard, Te Puke.The minimum night time temperatures the night before each observation are shown.

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We noted periods of time when male flowers of Ettinger, Zutano and Hass overlapped with female flowers of Hass (Figure 4). During the observation period of 16 days, both Ettinger and Zutano had 71.5 hours of male overlap with female Hass flowers. In contrast male/female Hass overlap only occurred for 34.5 hours (Figures 4 & 5). The mean duration of overlap of polliniser males with Hass females (4.8 hrs +/- 0.25) was more than double the mean duration of male/female Hass overlap (2.3 +/- 0.37; P<0.001, unpaired T-test).

As well as having less overlap time overall, the overlap time between male and female Hass flowers tended to occur later in the day than overlap between polliniser males and female Hass (Figure 5).

It should be noted that only opening of male flowers was recorded, not the timing of pollen availability, so the actual period of potential pollination would have been shorter than indicated by these figures.

Key findings:

•U nder orchard conditions, the type A flowering pattern was disrupted by colder night time temperatures.

•O verall, male flower overlap with female Hass flowers occurred twice as often for both Zutano and Ettinger than for Hass, and within Hass , overlap tended to occur later in the day.

•O verlap between polliniser male flowers and Hass female flowers lasted significantly longer than between Hass males and Hass females.

• The actual potential period for pollination to occur is more limited than these data show, because male flowers do not release pollen straight away and sometimes there can be a 1-2 hour delay before the anthers dehisce, which could have reduced the number of days of male/female Hass overlap considerably.

Implications:

On the Orchard

Climatic conditions in New Zealand do not consistently promote a typical “type A” flowering pattern in Hass avocado. Male/female flower synchrony can be reduced, because female flowers often open later in the day (and sometimes not at all), reducing the opportunity for pollen transfer from male Hass flowers. During spring 2016, we found that male flowering in the type B pollinisers Zutano and Ettinger consistently overlapped with Hass female flowering independently of the minimum overnight temperature. Increased overlap of flowering could potentially increase the chance of pollen transfer to Hass females; however, further work on the precise timing of polliniser pollen release and viability would be needed to confirm this.

Figure 5. Distribution of observations of male/female flower overlap over the day for Ettinger and Zutano (black bars) and Hass males (grey bars). Observations were recorded on 16 days during the Hass flowering period of 18 October to 10 November 2016 at the Plant & Food Research Orchard,Te Puke.

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Reference: Degani C, El-Batsri R and Gazit S. 1997. Outcrossing rate, yield, and selective fruit abscission in ‘Ettinger’ and ‘Ardith’ avocado plots. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 122, 813–817.

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To book advertising space in the next issue of Avoscene please contact Suzy King at SunMedia Ltd. Booking deadline for the next issue is April 7th, 2017.

Contact Suzy on 021 769 831 email suzy@thesun.co.nz

Spotted anything unusual?

Early reporting of unusual insect pests or plant symptoms helps to protect the avocado industry.

Calls to MPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pest and disease hotline 0800 80 99 66 are confidential and ensure industry pests are discovered early before they spread.

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Last of the summer sun Marisa Till, Research Manager, NZ Avocado marisa.till@nzavocado.co.nz

For many growers, it is nearing the end of a very busy harvest season, so they will now be looking at what the next crop looks like, as well as other things they need to be doing around their orchards.

Summer flush is likely pushed through following fruit On the Orchard

set and many orchards will be going into an off year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; however, if you have trees with a heavy set, it is important to try to facilitate adequate summer flush to provide protection for the fruit from potential sunburn. Adequate fertiliser and irrigation, especially through the dry months, will help maximise the flush and push it through to maturity quicker.

There are many trees out there with little or no fruit set following the huge season we have just had. For those orchards, this is the ideal time to think about structural pruning of these trees; a low crop load means less fruit will be lost when limbs are removed. The canopy management section of the NZ Avocado website (NZ Avocado Industry site >> Orchard Mngt>>Canopy Management) provides valuable tools to help guide canopy management strategies for those wanting information about pruning.

The quality of the flush and canopy density are good indications of the general tree health. The size and colour of the leaves can indicate both nutrient status and root health within the tree and could be an early indication of declining tree health. Small mature leaves can be an indication of poor root health. The cause of this could be phytophthora, waterlogging or nutritional. Adequate mulch along with good soil moisture management will also help maintain and promote root health.

Now is a good time to start assessing the size of next

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seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crop. Although trees may still continue to drop fruit, it is possible to get an idea of the crop your trees will be carrying. This is an important factor when developing your fertiliser programme, basing your plan on a light or heavy crop or, in some cases, no crop.

Fruit distribution within the canopy can be assessed at this stage, as clusters of fruit can make it more difficult for effective leaf roller and thrip treatment. Fruit that has set low on trees may end up touching the ground as the fruit sizes up. Fruit touching the ground is not suitable for export and can be removed to allow the tree to put more resources into fruit on the rest of the tree.

Best practice recommends treating avocado trees with phosphonate regularly as a preventative and curative measure against phytophthora root rot. Autumn, after summer flush has matured, is an ideal time to treat trees.

It generally results in good delivery of phosphonate to the root system, along with good retention. Growers are encouraged to root test approximately four-eight weeks following injecting. NZ Avocado would appreciate growers sharing their results with the research team by not ticking the box at the bottom of the testing submission form.

Pest management is important to protect the growing crop. Regular monitoring by your Avogreen monitor will give you the best chance of identifying a problem early; the earlier the problem is identified and addressed the better chance of minimising fruit damage or damage to trees.

Fruit Rots Marisa Till, Research Manager, NZ Avocado marisa.till@nzavocado.co.nz

Anthracnose is a term used for a fungal infection that causes dark sunken lesions on fruit.

Generally the term is specific to the fungus Colletotrichum sppsp. However, it is common that any body-rot in avocado is termed anthracnose regardless of causative species.

In avocados, fungal rots cause the most issue commercially when these lesions appear on fruit after harvest and prior to consumption, leading to poor customer experience and research has shown this has an effect on repeat purchasing.

The five key pathogenic fungi affecting New Zealand avocados are Colletotrichum acutatum, Colletotrichum gleoesporoides, Phomopsis species, Botryosphaeria parva and Botryosphaeria dothidea.

Pathogens responsible for rots and anthracnose can infect leaves and wood within an avocado orchard, including dead plant parts such as sticks leaves and mummified fruit in the canopy or on the ground. The spores live in little gummy masses, resistant to drying out, that are dissolved by water.

Droplets from rain or irrigation will dissolve the gummy matrix and help disperse the spores throughout the orchard.

This dispersal is not limited to the lower parts of the tree.

The New Zealand avocado industry works hard to ensure post-harvest handling and cool chain integrity are of the highest standard to minimises rot expression. Because fungal infection happens on orchard, this is the optimal place to target reducing avocado rots. If fruit is harvested with a low level of fungal spore,s there is a better chance of it remaining a quality piece of fruit right through to being consumed.

Effective control of anthracnose starts on orchard, with both chemical and orchard management tools.

Copper thoroughly sprayed on healthy tissue can prevent infection. It is important to maintain a sufficient

Severe external body rots.

On the Orchard

Fungal spores infect avocado fruit while they are growing on the tree, however the rots or anthracnose typically donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t express until after harvest; this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;down-timeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is referred to as latent infection. Latent infection occurs because avocados have developed ways to protect themselves, both physically and biochemically, from the invasion of fungal spores. As well as their tough skin, avocados produce a compound called diene, an effective antifungal compound concentrated in the outer layers and skin of the fruit. Levels of diene reduce as the fruit reaches maturity and starts to ripen. As the diene levels drop, the opportunity for the rot to express is increased.

Collapsed spore with appressorium attached to surface of fruit.

concentration of copper on the surface of fruit to ensure effective protection.

Regular pruning of dead limbs, twigs and mummified fruit is encouraged as best practice. These are the sites that can harbour the fungi and add to the inoculum level within an orchard. If there are many dead leaves entwined in the canopy, knock them out of the tree.

The amount of available calcium in relation to the potassium and magnesium is known to have an effect on fruit quality.

Calcium uptake is very important during fruit set and early fruit growth as it is essential in building cell walls.

Harvesting only during dry conditions will minimise fruit contamination. Rain will cause spores to be splashed around the orchard, increasing the potential for fruit to be infected.

Rain also alters the tugidity of the fruit and increases the potenital for damage during harvesting and packing. Peel damage can provide an additional route for fungal infection.

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Industry matters Rot prediction project – AGMARDT funding Late 2016 we received notification we had been successful in securing AGMARDT funding for a trial of the Rot Prediction Tool. This research, in collaboration with Plant & Food Research, Hill Laboratories and the Avocado Exporters Council (AVEC), will determine the commercial viability of using the rot prediction tool as part of an orchard and

exporter management tool.

The project will test fungal inoculum levels on tree leaves within an orchard, throughout the year, and then test the fruit quality and rot levels on fruit from the same orchards at discrete points within the export harvest window.

Health & Safety tips for the New Year The New Year is a great time to start reviewing your health and safety processes. Do you need a quicker way to prepare your risk assessments, keep on top of changes in legislation, or encourage your workers to take responsibility for health and safety?

Here are some tips to get started.

How was 2016?

Look at any incidents that occurred in 2016. Were they preventable? Have you taken action to make sure a similar incident won’t happen again? Once you’ve identified risks you still face, you’re in a good position to think of ways you can provide a safer workplace for your team.

Create a health and safety culture

Communicate

It may sound obvious but the first step to all staff feeling responsible for health and safety is to talk openly and consistently about the potential daily risks you all face. Plan regular team meetings to make sure health and safety is always on your agenda.

Teach, don't preach!

Rewarding your team for good practice - such as preventing accidents, reporting near misses etc. This demonstrates that their attention to detail is appreciated and important to the company.

Keep up-to-date with legislation

Complying with legislation is key for companies of all sizes. It's easy to keep yourself up-to-date by signing up to specialist, online newsletters which are ideal for sharing with staff to keep the safety conversation going.

Track your progress

Keeping a close eye on your health and safety performance means that you can look back and see how you have improved.

Records don’t need to be complicated, making simple notes in a diary will show that processes are in place.

Newsroom

Creating a health and safety culture doesn’t have to be a lot of work. It’s all about making sure you and your staff understand that health and safety is everyone’s job. For a better working environment it must be taken seriously by everyone in the business. There are 3 simple steps to achieving this:

Reward your staff

Maintain your health and safety folder

Filing your health and safety documents in one easyto-reach folder will prevent you from losing important information.

It’s a good idea to keep the following items together: Risk Assessments, Safe Work Procedures, and records such as PPE issued and equipment inspection forms.

AGSafety Limited has changed its name to Safe Business Solutions Limited. We offer Health & Safety and HR services NZ-wide and can be contacted on freephone 0508 424 723.

Regular training is key to improving health and safety awareness at work. Staff should be given specialist training for your industry when they join you, and ongoing training On behalf of the team at Safe Business Solutions Limited, to keep up-to-date with best practice and legislation changes. we wish you a safe and successful 2017.

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Recommended reading

By Phillip West, R&D Officer, New Zealand Avocado

phillip.west@nzavocado.co.nz

Is your orchard a tortoise or a hare when it comes to crop load? If you have a “hare” of an orchard that produces like crazy before taking the next season off, you are most likely looking down the barrel of a light set this year. If you have a “tortoise” of an orchard, your set is hopefully not looking too bad. Going into a season where there likely won’t be as many fruit around and demand is expected to stay the same, or grow, I know what type of orchard I would prefer to have.

entitled “On Avocado Fruit Size I: Parthenocarpic Fruit”, which can be found by doing a Google search for the title.

Parthenocarpic refers to cukes that haven’t been pollinated but the article also includes Stenospermocarpy, which is the more common form of cuke where pollination has occurred but the embryo has failed to fully develop.

Understanding the factors that contribute to fruit set can help manage some natural tendencies of avocado trees, maximising your financial return. Many growers manage their crop load to achieve a similar yield year-on-year, whereas other growers face the difficulty of dealing with heavy and light crops from one year to another. This year there have been reports from a number of growers that their trees have set a high proportion of cukes (small seedless avocados). Understanding some of the factors contributing to fruit set can hopefully go some way to explain why you have the fruit set you have.

The summary talks about the different factors contributing to fruit set in Israel, including winter rain, root condition and temperature. It goes on to look at why fruit set isn’t continuous through the flowering period, using fruit size as an indicator of when the fruit was set. It suggests temperature is a major factor of fruit set timing, which isn’t surprising considering we know it affects flower timing, pollen tube growth and bee behaviour as well as numerous other metabolic processes within the tree. The final paragraph of the discussion is also very important, as it brings in the resourcing of developing fruit.

This issue’s recommended reading is a paper from D. N. Zamat published in the California Avocado Societies 1996 yearbook

If the tree, flowers and developing fruitlets don’t have enough of everything they need, then crop load will surely suffer.

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:

Newsroom

• March: Canopy density, pages 30-31 • March to April: Summer flush, pages 16-17 • March to April: Roots, pages 28-29 • March to May: Quality of flush, pages 18-23 • April to September: Flower buds, pages 6-8 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.

The Avocado Problem Solver Field Guide The Avocado Problem Solver Field Guide is available to purchase from the Avoshop section of the NZ Avocado industry website.

This guide has been produced to assist avocado growers and others involved in the avocado

supply chain to identify the wide range of pests, diseases, nutrient deficiencies and toxicities and other disorders that may affect orchards and the quality of fruit reaching the consumer.

Calendar of events NZAGA & AIC Board meetings • 23 March • 27 April 50

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Northland Field days • 4 & 5 April Details will be advertised in Avoconnect

Bay of Plenty Field days • 10 & 11 April Details will be advertised in Avoconnect

Industry news Inspiring the next generation of avocado lovers Leading nutritionist Claire Turnbull is encouraging Kiwi parents to introduce avocado into their children’s diets as soon as possible and invented an amazing new range of recipes to tempt young taste buds over the school holidays.

The popular nutritionist, author, speaker and Healthy Food Guide contributor says encouraging your children to eat avocado will help set them up with healthy food habits for life.

The delicious fruit is also low in sugar and sodium and high in fibre, which we all know is important, and helps to keep small tummies feeling fuller for longer.

To foster a life-long love of avocados, Turnbull has developed a range of kidfriendly recipes including purees, icecreams and a loveable ‘morepork’ made entirely of fruit and vegetables which almost looks too cute to eat! These fun and creative recipes will keep your kids well-nourished and well-entertained during the upcoming school holidays.

When it comes to dessert, Turnbull has perfected two delicious ice-cream recipes – chocolate avocado ice-cream and white chocolate avocado ice-cream.

Alternatively, these recipes can also be made into popsicles for a great mid-afternoon snack.

Turnbull’s own young son, Zac, loves moreporks and is the inspiration behind her adorable ‘avocado morepork’. Using half a peeled avocado for the body, you can use mushrooms, carrots, celery, capsicum and apple to finish off your delicious creation that kids won’t be able to resist.

“My little boy loves moreporks and he enjoyed eating his very own avocado one with some homemade brown rice sushi with salmon, avocado and veggies. If you can make meals fun to eat in this way, you’re more likely to convince fussy eaters to give something new a try. Getting kids in the kitchen creating their own moreporks is also great fun,” she explains.

NZ Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular is thrilled with Turnbull’s new recipe suggestions which give parents plenty of inspiration without making life too difficult.

“Every parent knows time is precious, so whipping up these quick purees and ice-creams is a great way to create a nutritious meal or treat in a short space of time,” Scoular says.

Avocado is a perfect first food for babies.

“It can be made incredibly smooth initially when babies are just starting to learn to eat, and then lumpier as babies progress and are able to manage this texture,” Turnbull explains.

Newsroom

“Children love sweet treats but a lot of treats are packed with sugar and unhealthy fats. Avocados are the perfect base for super healthy desserts and treats for kids. Full of healthy fats, their creamy rich texture makes them an ideal ingredient to make ice-cream.”

Claire Turnbull with her son Zac. Left: Zac's fun avocado Morepork.

“Avocado’s smooth, creamy consistency and excellent nutritional content make it an ideal first food. They’re packed with almost 20 vitamins and nutrients, are full of healthy fats, are great for energy and the development of your little one’s immune, brain and nervous system.”

Avocado blends easily with other fruits and vegetables to make delicious puree mixes such as avocado and mango, avocado and broccoli, or avocado and pea baby food.

“We all want our children to grow up eating a healthy diet and avocados pack a big nutritional punch. The sooner you can introduce this delicious-tasting fruit into their daily diet, the better. We hope New Zealand parents enjoy giving these new recipes a try.” says Scoular.

Find all of Claire’s recipes on the NZ Avocado website www.nzavocado.co.nz under the “Mums & kids” category.

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Trevelyan’s steps up support for Bay avocado growers as industry surges ahead Unprecedented growth in the avocado industry is prompting one post-harvest operator to launch its own avocado nursery in the Bay of Plenty and begin selling the super fruit online direct to the public.

Trevelyan’s will soon begin grafting avocado plants near its main Te Puke packhouse and coolstore operation to boost supply for local growers. They hope to have between 20003000 available for sale by next spring.

Trevelyan’s avocado manager, Daniel Birnie, says New Zealand’s main avocado nurseries are in Whangarei and Gisborne, and growers can wait two to three years before plants are available to purchase.

“We see an advantage in being able to assist local growers in accessing plants so they can either develop new blocks or replant existing blocks. We’re really excited about starting our own nursery and it certainly shows the growth the industry is experiencing at the moment.”

avocado consultant, Jonathan Cutting, to work with Trevelyan’s growers and offer high-level technical advice on issues such as nutrition and pruning.

“There are a lot of new entrants in the industry who are looking for technical assistance and one point of difference at Trevelyan’s is that level of support we give to our growers to help them get the best results and returns from their orchard.”

Birnie says the industry is in great shape and he expects more avocado orchards to be planted across the Bay of Plenty in future.

Newsroom

To further support growers, Trevelyan’s has also hired a new staff member to offer more dedicated technical support. Danni van der Heijden, a former research associate at NZ Avocado, will join Birnie and experienced

Johnathan Cutting, Danni van der Heijden and Daniel Birnie from Trevelyans.

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Moving the industry forward

By Alison Brown, AVOCO communications

alison@blinkpr.co.nz

As NZ Avocado carries out research to better understand the factors influencing production on New Zealand orchards, technology and in particular GIS mapping has become a critical tool to help it fulfil its objectives.

Data collection is at the heart of all NZ Avocado research projects and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) not only make the job easier, it is also leading to a deeper understanding of avocado orchards in New Zealand.

The technology NZ Avocado is using has been around for a long time but it was costly and a lot less user-friendly than it is now. NZ Avocado is now using free, open source software, so its team can generate pictures of an orchard very quickly and with greater accuracy than ever before and this creates opportunities to learn a lot about orchards and the conditions in which they thrive best.

GIS is a computer system for capturing, storing, and displaying data related to positions on Earth's surface.

GIS can show many different kinds of data on one map or “shapefile”. This enables people to more easily see, analyse, and understand patterns and relationships between various datasets.

The shapefiles generated by GIS software reveal helpful information related to slope, elevation and an orchard’s distance from the coast. This type of topography data is being generated very quickly compared to previous methods used by the NZ Avocado team.

In the orchard analysis projects, the research team use the mapping in conjunction with other data sources to build a picture of an orchard or region. At the click of a button, they can select orchards for research trials that meet specific geographic parameters and over time, use the layers of GIS information to create a profile of a particular growing area.

This informs the research team’s understanding of where growers are and the environmental conditions their fruit grows best in.

It’s also possible to use the technology to generate and

Biosecurity and resource management

NZ Avocado also uses GIS software when working with regional and district councils as resource management issues arise. The industry body can easily provide councils with the information they request and quickly identify orchards in a given area.

This was the case earlier this year when the Whangarei District Council needed NZ Avocado to identify orchards situated on a shield volcano that was now being listed as an outstanding natural feature. Brad Siebert, NZ Avocado’s Biosecurity and Programme Manager, says this has the potential to change existing resource management rules for growers.

Newsroom

At NZ Avocado, it’s been used to create GIS shapefiles of almost all 1800 registered New Zealand avocado orchards to give a better understanding of the total hectares planted in avocado trees. These maps give the NZ Avocado team and growers a bird’s eye view of an orchard – sometimes a perspective which offers insights into production limitations and opportunities for further growth.

display information at an individual tree level. This can help to shed light on potential reasons certain trees are not performing within an orchard, perhaps based on the orchard topography or elevation. The data can be combined with data from other orchards to create a much bigger picture of trends which influence orchard performance.

”The ability to identify the information accurately meant we were then able to easily contact affected growers and support them through the council submission process.”

The same process can be applied to the industry’s response to a biosecurity incursion. On the first day of a biosecurity event, MPI asks NZ Avocado to identify and contact growers, post-harvest facilities and any nurseries within a certain containment zone.

“We can access the information we need much quicker using GIS, which speeds up our response to an incident to better contain the threat and minimise the incursion’s overall impact and expense to the industry,” Brad says.

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Avocado news from the world Mexican avocado endangered by Trump's 20% tax Trump's threat to implement a 20% tax on Mexican products has avocado lovers in the United States shaking in their boots.

On Wednesday, Sean Spicer, the spokesman for the White House said that President Donald Trump intended to implement a 20% tax on all imports from Mexico to pay for the wall that he wants to build at the border. The information came after the president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, cancelled his meeting with Trump on January 31.

Social network users linked the news with avocados immediately. Mexico is the biggest producer of avocados in the world.

The first thing they thought about was rising prices. Some even suggested buying hundreds of avocados and freezing them before the tax is implemented. Naturally, many thought of how the Super Bowl would be without guacamole. It's worth noting that the 'Avocados from Mexico'

brand has ads in the Super Bowl. According to one consumer, an increase in the price of avocados is reason enough for California to secede from the United States. On the other hand, a lower demand for avocados would be good for the environment as there would be less deforestation in Mexico.

Who benefits?

Fewer imports of avocados from Mexico would benefit producers in California and Florida.

However, they can't guarantee to meet the country's demand. It's also unclear who would be responsible for planting and harvesting the crop, as this usually relies on Mexican workers.

Chile, Peru, and the Dominican Republic would increase their exports, but they might also be unable to meet demand.

Source: http://www.freshplaza.com/article/170110/ Mexican-avocado-endangered-by-Trumps-20-procent-tax

Australia closer to Japan/Thai access

Avocados Australia chief executive John Tyas is hopeful avocado exports from Western Australia (WA) will begin for the coming harvest in September, Sunfresh said in a press release.

Tyas said the main concern for both countries was Australia’s fruit flies, but negotiations over an export protocol for the flies had taken significant steps forward.

“Later this month I understand there will be some audits undertaken by the Japanese Government of pack houses in WA, so that’s a really good sign that

things are progressing,” he said.

Newsroom

The Australian avocado industry says it is the closest it has ever been to securing new export agreements for avocado markets in Thailand and Japan, reports Western Australian grower cooperative Sunfresh.

“Our government is in negotiations with the Japanese Government around a suitable protocol based on what we call conditional non-host status for hard green avocados.

“What that means is when the avocados are in their hard condition picked from the tree they’re actually not susceptible to fruit fly. It’s only once they start to soften that fruit fly can infest them.

“The protocol that we’re working on for Thailand has been presented to Thailand and there’s been feedback on that.”

So far, discussions have centred around how to manage WA’s Mediterranean fruit fly, but Tyas said the industry was hoping a successful WA export

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industry would pave the way for fruit from states with Queensland fruit fly.

avenue that we can to get new markets for this increased supply.”

With the West Australian avocado industry expected to increase production significantly, Tyas said new markets were essential for the industry.

Tyas said he would like to see Australia’s avocado exports grow from 4 per cent to about 10 per cent in coming years.

“It is a concern and there are new plantings going in all the time, so it’s essential that we open new markets,” he said.

Sunfresh Marketing Co-Operative is a Sunshine Coast based marketing co-operative that represents growers from the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland through to the Wide Bay-Burnett regions of Bundaberg, Childers and Gympie, the Sunshine Coast and right down to the tri state producing not only avocados, but a wide range of subtropical fruit.

“There are other markets that we are trying to open.

China is another one that we’d love to have access to, and there are other markets throughout Asia in particular that don’t have protocols.

Reports

“Most of our export fruit goes to Singapore and Malaysia at the moment and those markets don’t require protocols. We need to keep pushing every

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Source: http://www.fruitnet.com/asiafruit/ article/171237/aus-avocados

Recipe Avocado ice cream Recipe by Sachie Nomura

Method:

The combination of the creamy avocado with condensed milk is simply amazing - you won't be able to resist it.

1. Add avocado, condensed milk, lemon juice and salt in a blitzer or food processor and blitz/blend into smooth puree.

Ingredients

2. In a separate bowl, whip the cream with a whisk until hard peaks form.

2 medium size avocados (226gm total pulp) 1 tin (395g) of condensed milk (sweetened) 2 Tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon) 375ml full cream pinch of salt Garnish with ½ - 1 avocado, sliced, Condensed milk and Crushed pistachios

3. Mix avocado puree and half of the whipped cream to combine well.

4. Add remaining whipped cream into the bowl and fold in gently (make sure you don't over mix here).

5. Put the mixture in a tin/container (a 1.3 litre tin was used when creating this recipe) and freeze for at least six hours or overnight.

6. Scoop the ice cream in a bowl and serve with sliced avocado, condensed milk and crushed pistachios on top!

Nourish

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Out and about

Out & About

Ashby Whitehead, NZAGA and AIC Chair, presenting Helen Sillars with the NZ Avocado Industry Service Award. See the full story in the November 2016 issue of Avoscene on page 21.

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Ashby Whitehead, NZAGA and AIC Chair and Jen Scoular, NZ Avocado CEO, attended and exhibited at the China Fruit and Vegetable Trade Fair in November last year.This event is a political tradeshow for the produce industries with representatives of Chinese authorities, AQSIQ and CIQA, attending.

Katikati A&P show

BOP Young Fruit Grower of the Year competition 2017

Just Avocados avocado ice cream proved to be a popular addition to their stand at this years Katikati A& P show.

Danni van der Heijden, winner of the NZ Avocado tree planting challenge at the BOP Young Fruit Grower of the Year competition.

Avanza stand at the Katikati A& P show - punters enjoyed avocado beer, avocado history and their annual woodchopping competition.

PhillipWest, NZ Avocados Research Officer, at the BOP Young Fruit Grower of the Year competition which was run in conjunction with Te Puke A&P show on 11 February.

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Avoscene March 2017

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Out & About

Avoscene March 2017

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Avoscene March 2017