Hort News 14 February 2023

Vege crops devastated!

“But we can’t do anything at the moment, it’s just slop.”

PUKEKOHE VEGETABLE growers fear up to 30% crop losses in the aftermath of recent heavy rain.

They say it came at probably the worst time of year. However, much of the damage won’t be apparent until crops are harvested in two to three months time.

“Everyone has been affected to some degree – some have been hit hard and some not,” Pukekohe Vegetable Growers’ Association (PVGA) president, Kirit Makan told Hort News

Rainfall had been variable throughout the area with over 200mm recorded in some areas in just a few hours.

“The potato crops on low-lying land are waterlogged and if it stays wet there will be rotting issues,” he says.

Growers were trying to get out on their land to carry out some crop spraying and harvest greens where they could. More cost would be involved in replanting crops which had been silted over. It was too early to say whether there would be supply issues on the local market.

“But if this weather sticks around, there could be shortages because things will be out of kilter a bit”.

The PVGA was working closely with Horticulture New Zealand to piece together a total picture of the damage which wasn’t an easy task.

It was also seeing where it could provide support for growers, by putting them in touch with Rural Support if necessary.

Masters Produce’ s managing director, Jayant Masters, says 225mm rain fell at their Bombay base, not as much as on growing land at Glenbrook, Patumahoe and Pukekawa.

A week later the weather was still overcast and drizzling meaning not a lot of photosynthesis for plant growth. Onions which had been harvested stayed intact on the top of the soil, but there was some superficial staining and could be problems with their storage.

How well the region’s soils held up was a credit to growers, who had changed their management practices and installed silt traps, he says.

“But it will literally create a whole lot of work that wasn’t planned and a lot of extra cost. That will mean extended work hours on top of an already very busy schedule.”

Hira Bhana director, Bharat Bhana, estimated that the damage could affect from 15 to 30% of crops. On one of their yet to be harvested onion blocks at Onewhero 230mm of rain had fallen.

“The plants’ tops were full of water. If they don’t dry out soon that water will go into the bulb. I can see problems ahead of us.”

The company exports around 80% of its onions but would need to make decisions at a later stage as to whether they were worth sending or not.

Potato crops could rot in the ground if they spent as little as two hours in water and some of the company’s lettuce paddocks would just have to be ploughed in.

Some growers who will need to rip up paddocks again where soil had been moved off by the rain before carrying out final tillage before sowing replacement crops.

Fertiliser applications might need to be repeated and more spraying required to combat diseases if the warm, humid weather continued.

BUSY MAN!

Canterbury veggie grower

Lance Roper

is one of New Zealand’s largest peeled onion producers. He says it’s busy farming 200ha, with peeled red onions his flagship product. They are a popular item on the country’s supermarket shelves under his own ‘Roper’s Ready To Go’ brand. Roper also grows pumpkins, beetroot, process peas and beans for Watties, maize for dairy support, wheat, barley, grass seed and, in spring, silage grass. – See full story page 4.

Glenys Christian

Taking the hard work out of picking fruit

PICKING KIWIFRUIT on orchards may be about to get easier.

The University of Waikato has developed an award-winning electronic fruit bin that assists in the harvesting of kiwifruit to help make picking lighter work.

The e-Bin is being validated in trial work this season and likely to be commercialised soon after.

The e-BIN human assisted harvesting project has been a collaboration with Zespri, the project sponsor. It has also involved students and academics from the university’s School of Engineering and industry experts.

Headed by engineering lecturer Nick Pickering, its aim is to enlarge the potential labour supply by creating technologies which reduce the physically-demanding aspects of Kiwifruit harvesting.

Pickering says he approached Zespri with some innovative ideas and then co-developed their on-orchard automation strategy.

Assisted harvesting was one of the opportunities identified as a stepping-stone to full automation.

‘’Watching videos and researching the challenge

during the October 2021 lockdown we quickly saw the demanding physical nature of the harvesting job with the majority of workers being under 30.

“At the same time we were hearing about unemployment in the regions. So we thought, let’s build something that expands the demographics of the picking workforce and try and kill two birds with one stone by creating augmented robotics that create jobs in our regions.’’

Pickering says successful innovation often requires hitting the ‘sweet spot’ of technical feasibil-

ity, user desirability and financially viability.

“The industry is suffering serious labour shortages especially during harvest, so we’ve come up with this solution that can enable more people to do the job of picking kiwifruit.”

Pickering says the e-Bin aims to be technically feasible, financially viable and desirable for all stakeholders.

“The key factor is we needed something simple that can be commercialised quickly to help address the labour shortages we’re seeing.”

He says picking kiwi-

fruit can be physically demanding work, as people are required to carry a large bag that they fill as they pick. Once filled, it can weigh about 25kg and then it needs to be emptied into a larger bin.

The e-Bin takes the hard work out of picking the fruit.

Instead of each individual having to carry around a bag, a group of four pickers walk alongside the e-Bin, which is on wheels. As each kiwifruit is picked, it is dropped into a fruit catcher on the e-Bin. A net cushions and secures the fruit, before it

nology Peter McHannigan says there’s potential to solve many issues with assisted robotics but they

must make commercial sense.

“Through this project we are looking at the total financial cost-benefit assessment.”

Pickering says the e-Bin has been put to the test, first with 3D printed fruit and then out in the field, with researchers looking at a number of factors including productivity and fruit damage. The results are promising in terms of the e-Bin’s ability to reduce fatigue and safely operate in an orchard environment.

“It’s a basic concept and it links the desirability, financial feasibility and practicality in a very simple solution really – as all we have done is removed the weight.”

The e-Bin was recognised at the Fieldays Innovation Awards, taking out the Prototype Award and a cash prize of $10,000.

DAMPER ON NZ ONION EXPORTS?

THE RECENT wet weather in the Pukekohe area has added to pressures to get early onion export shipments away on time.

“We have a finite window for Europe which makes up 40 percent of exports so that’s quite important,” James Kuperus, chief executive of Onions New Zealand, told Hort News.

The first shipment was able to able to be sent in the first week of February with the focus now shifting to supplying the Spanish market.

“It will be tight but not impossible.”

While Hawke’s Bay had had a difficult season crops grown in the Manawatu and Canterbury were looking good for the peak of the export season which runs until May, counter to European production.

“It’s all about managing the quality

and expectations of what will be coming out of Pukekohe.”

It was too early to tell what the total damage to crops in the area was. Some of the flooding had been superficial but had added to quality concerns in what had already been a very wet season.

Kuperus says growers were aware of which of their onion blocks might be of lesser quality so would be working with exporters to send class two product to other export markets, which didn’t pay a premium for top quality, or for local processing.

The final returns for the season wouldn’t be known until September. In recent years, onion exports have sat around a value of $150 million annually with the crop, grown on over 2,000 hectares, mainly exported to Europe and Indonesia. – Glenys Christian

Sudesh Kissun sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

rolls down and comes to rest in the main bin.

Zespri Innovation Leader of Orchard Tech-

Waikato University has developed an electronic fruit bin that assists in the harvesting of kiwifruit to help make picking lighter work.

Recent flooding in the Pukekohe area has added to pressures to get early onion export shipments away on time.

billion in exports by 2035

A NEWLY launched government and industry strategy aims to grow the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035.

“We’re focused on long-term strategies that build on the yearon-year record revenue earned by our farmers and growers,” claims Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.

Last year, NZ’s primary sector export revenue was $53 billion, with horticulture contributing $6.7 billion. In 2023, horticulture exports are expected to hit a record $7.1 billion.

“The new Horticulture - Growing Together 2035 - Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan Strategy set outs the pathway to achieve what is an ambitious and achievable goal,” O’Connor said at the reports launch.

“Consumers here

and around the world continue to demand high quality and nutritious fresh fruit and vegetables to boost their wellbeing.

Food security is a growing issue globally and we

want to ensure New Zealanders have access to affordable food.”

O’Connor says the Growing Together 2035 Strategy’s vision is that New Zealand is

synonymous with worldleading healthy produce, which is grown with care for people and place, and is enjoyed by consumers around the world.

“New Zealand has

worked hard to build an excellent brand for quality. We’re fortunate to have one of the best climates and some of the most fertile soil in the world providing the

right foundations to grow world-class produce.”

The Strategy focuses on five outcomes:

• Grow sustainably

• Optimise value

• Māori are strong in horticulture

• Action underpinned by science and knowledge

• Nurture people.

Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Nadine Tunley said the plan deliberately focuses on outcomes and actions across the value chain where partners can collaborate to generate the most benefits.

“Its outcomes are supported by a series of actions that will work together to grow the overall sustainability and value of NZ’s horticulture sector,” she explained.

Tunley added the actions range from identifying energy-intensive areas of the horticulture

value chain and supporting conversion to systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions; to improving crop management and protection, developing pathways to increase Māori participation, increasing capability; and better understanding consumer needs and channels to market.

She says during this year, the action plan will be driven forward by a dedicated programme manager who will find opportunities to existing work and bring partners together to develop new projects.

O’Connor says the Growing Together 2035 Strategy aligns with the Government and sector roadmap, Fit for a Better World and the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land, and builds on the sector’s Horticulture Post-Covid Recovery Strategy.

The new government and industry strategy aims to grow the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035.

Canterbury veggie grower aiming to be a leader not a follower

“WHY FOLLOW when you can lead?” is the motto of Canterbury veggie grower Lance Roper.

Roper takes an innovative approach that has seen him recently install solar panels on the roofs of several of the buildings on his base, just south of Lincoln. When fully commissioned, the 263 solar panels are expected to run the packing line and irrigation system “100% when the sun’s out” and will reduce the farm’s carbon footprint by 14,000kg a year.

Roper farms 200ha (including 80ha of leased land at Darfield), with peeled red onions his flagship product. They are a popular item on the country’s supermarket shelves under his own Roper’s Ready To Go brand.

One of New Zealand’s largest peeled onion producers, at least for the domestic market, he runs a 300t capacity coolstore. This allows him to store and supply fresh onions throughout the winter.

Roper also grows pumpkins, beetroot, process peas and beans for Watties, maize for dairy

support, wheat, barley, grass seed and, in spring, silage grass.

“It’s always pretty busy,” he told Hort News

Roper has progressively built up the business after starting with 7ha of leased land at Halswell in 1991. He began in the industry at the age of 17 by working for a market garden in the district.

However, after 12 years the owner encouraged him to lease some land and go into business in his own right.

“Now he’s one of our

MASSIVE CHANGES

THE BUSINESS has changed “massively” in the last 10 years, Roper told Hort News

For environmental reasons, he has recently installed a pivot to replace an outdated irrigation gun, and planted over 2,000 native plants in three-meter wide buffer strips along the boundaries.

Ducks swim in a small pond surrounded by native plantings which takes the wash water from the processing line and filters it before it reaches the drain.

He has also invested “a lot of money” into strip tilling to minimise soil disturbance, cultivating only 26% of the paddock with some crops.

“The worms aren’t disturbed, you’ve got better retention of organic matter and soil moisture levels, less dust from cultivation and more accurate placement of fertiliser,” he explains.

“We’ve also noticed that weed control with the strip-till system is far superior compared with conventional tillage methods resulting in positive impacts to farm working expenses.”

Roper is also seeing promising results from liquid fish and seaweed, which he

believes is better absorbed than hard fertiliser.

“You put it on in the evening or early in the morning and it can be absorbed by the plant within six to twelve hours. Where a hard fertiliser could take three or four days. Then it might need irrigation to be activated.”

Moisture probes are installed that send readings straight to his phone, and regular soil and leaf testing tell him precisely what the crops require.

“It’s got to be hi-tech to stay in business really,” he says.

Roper has had some machinery custom-built to his own specification, including an onion planter that injects sub-surface liquid fertiliser as it goes. There is also a device that uses compressed air to chop pumpkins into 10 segments to be wrapped ready for the supermarket.

The onsite coolstore is another inventive solution. Roper took the opportunity to buy a defunct neighbouring chicken farm and converted the chicken sheds with a thick coating of spray foam insulation on the inside. Now sporting the new

valued contract growers who supply us with onions because we need to diversify our production location in case of a severe weather or biosecurity event,” he told Hort News

“We’ve got a couple of growers that we work with in the North Island and three in the South Island, plus us.”

Roper does three plantings a year of red onions and is currently busy harvesting the 2022 over-wintered crop.

In the off season, he will also import onions

solar panels, which Roper expects will completely meet their significant power needs. The sheds replace leased coolstore space at Hornby, which Roper says was expensive and entailed a lot of trucking.

They can accommodate up to 300 tonnes of onions, kept at just 3ºC through the winter.

The operation is also a family affair. Roper’s elder son, Lincoln, 22, has completed a Future Leaders course and studied agribusiness and food marketing at his namesake university. He is now working for an accounting firm to hone his business skills before returning to the farm fulltime.

Douglas, 15, is still at school but is happiest working the farm at weekends and has a similar future planned.

The company name is officially “Roper & Son” but some of the produce bins have already been mistakenly stencilled with “Roper & Sons”. It’s only a matter of time.

“I started from leased land and a $1,000 tractor 30 years ago,” says Roper. “It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of 80 to 100 hour weeks to get here.”

THE CHALLENGE OF URBAN SPREAD

ROPER KEEPS one eye on the steadily encroaching Lincoln township, where new subdivisions are creeping closer.

While recognising that growth is inevitable, he realises it could bring problems for his operation.

“We’re likely to get complaints about farming, mud on the road, spraying, harvesting at nighttime,” Roper told Hort News.

“We’ve been working with the council and shared our concerns, and perspectives of what could happen in the near future. It’s in their best interest to work out what’s best for the wider area.”

One suggestion he believes would be to ensure buffer zones of lifestylers who have some understanding of rural life, between the commercial farms and the fully urban residential areas.

from America if necessary to meet supply commitments. It was an unusually large amount last season because domestic production was hit by bad weather both for his Pukekohe suppliers and in Canterbury.

“It rained almost every day of January and every second day in February and the onions were just so weak.

“They didn’t cure and didn’t keep.”

This summer, he is lamenting a lack of sunshine.

“The onions took around three weeks to germinate and get going. So, when they’ve taken that long to get out of the ground, they’re not as good a crop at the end,” Roper explains.

“And then we’ve had

dull days and a bit too much rain. Change is here. It’s happening and we’ve got to change, right? Today, it’s not a good day. It’s humid and damp. There’ll be mildew pressure today,” he adds.

One of the innovations Roper has put in place to deal with changing conditions is to plant the onions in raised 1.2m wide beds to help keep them warm and guard against wet feet.

The beds are constructed by a machine towed by self-steering GPS-enabled tractors.

Cultivating and planting is done with precision Ag, which he first adopted about eight years ago and he says is progressively getting better.

Nigel Malthus

Lincoln vegetable grower Lance Roper with some of the solar panels recently installed atop many of his buildings to power his processing and coolstore plants. NIGEL MALTHUS.

The red onion packhouse at Lance Roper’s Lincoln vegetable farm where onions are topped and tailed and peeled with high-pressure air jets. NIGEL MALTHUS

Demand for food safety

us another string in our bow,” he says.

THERE IS a strong demand for food safety auditing services coming from New Zealand’s horticultural sector, particularly fruit packhouses required to meet export food safety regulations.

To boost its offering to the hort sector, Hamiltonbased Hill Laboratories has signed a joint working partnership agreement with Merieux NutriSciences, global leaders in food safety, quality and sustainability.

Hill Laboratories chief executive Dr Jonathan Hill says his company already does a significant amount of testing for the horticultural sector.

“The ability to now offer our packhouse customers and other horticultural clients this top-quality, independent auditing service gives

A growing number of retailers and manufacturers worldwide require food suppliers to demonstrate their commitment to food safety and quality standards through global food safety programmes, such as those benchmarked and recognised by the  Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

Merieux NutriSciences provides certification and food auditing services that confirm the highest safety and quality levels across the whole food value chain. The company is accredited through the  Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) Hill says the partnership was established in response to increased New Zealand customer demand for high-quality food safety auditing services for export.

“Partnering with Merieux NutriSciences allows us to offer our customers a world-class independent auditing service alongside our existing world-class analytical services.

“Hill Labs’ expertise in food, agricultural and environmental testing perfectly complements Merieux NutriSciences’ expertise in auditing Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) programmes.

“The Hill Laboratories team will work together with the Merieux NutriSciences team of experts to provide comprehensive solutions for New Zealand food businesses which will encompass

both food safety testing and auditing services.

“The end result is that we will be better able to support our customers’ full suite of export certification compliance needs.”

Both Hill Labora-

tories and Mérieux NutriSciences are family-owned: Hill says the two companies share very similar values, especially the shared focus on quality.

“Merieux NutriSciences approached Hill Laboratories as its preferred New Zealand partner. Both of our companies have a shared ambition to help local food growers and manufacturers to meet international food safety and quality standards,” says Hill.

Merieux NutriSciences Australia managing director Kevin Goddaer says the strategic partnership with Hill Laboratories expands its auditing services for the first time to New Zealand.

“This allows us to better serve the growing Pacific market.”

@rural_news

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onion sector is extremely grateful for the hard work of New Zealand’s negotiatorsanddiplomatswhohaveworked tirelessly to conclude this agreement. “The New Zealand team has had toatjoinZoomcallswiththeircounterparts night,extremelyinconvenienttimesofthe for example.” The conclusion of this agreement willbenefitoniongrowersandregional communities, from Pukekohe to Can- terbury. Onions are an important rota- tion crop for many vegetable growers. Having onions in a rotation allows growers to rotate between other crops such as lettuces, potatoes, carrots etc, which helps to control pests and diseases. In 2019, the

NewZealandonionindustrywasworth $200 million back to the grower, 85% of which came from exports.   MeandealwhileApicultureNewZealandsaysthe industrywillbeagreatoutcomeforthebee andwillimprovecompetitivenessinoneoftheirlargestexportmarkets. The UK consistently ranks as one of top three export markets for New Zealand honey and is worth $70 mil- lion annually. “We have strong

HORTNEWS ties with UK customers, with a long his- tory of exporting high-quality honey products there. However, the current in-quota tariff rate of 16 per cent hasbeenasignificantbarriertotrade,”says KarinKos,chiefexecutiveofApiculture New Zealand. Sudesh Kissun sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz GETTING READY! MANGAWEKAASPARAGUSmanager SamRaineyoverseesan80hectare asparagusinthecentralNorthIsland. WhenHortNewsvisitedtheproperty inlateSeptember,Raineyandhisstaff wereinthefinalstagesofpreparing fortheharvest.Thepackhousewas beingsetupandatthesametimethe firstspearsofasparaguswerestarting toappear.Whilethetotalsizeofthe propertyis80hectares,theywillpick just65hectaresthisseason–which equatestoupto250tonnes. Seestorypages4and5. Replacement Spray Pumps & Spray Kits Webbline Agriculture is a direct importer/reseller of a full range of pumps from market-leading manufacturers, along with service kits and accessories. Large range in stock. Dealer enquiries are welcome. View online - www.webbline.co.nz Contact Ben 021 819 482 | ben.boakes@webbline.co.nz WAIKATO •CANTERBURY • SOUTHLAND branches NOW PUBLISHED MONTHLY! To book your advert contact your local sales rep

Summerfruit’s mixed bag

Peter Burke

THE LA Nina weather pattern has played a role in determining the fortunes of the summerfruit sector this season.

Chief executive of Summerfruit NZ Kate Hellstrom says the weather has delivered different experiences to different regions. This has meant that cherries have done well in the South

Island, while the cherry and stonefruit crop in Hawkes Bay has been severely impacted.

She told Hort News the La Nina reduced sunshine hours leading up to the harvest in Hawkes

Bay resulting in the yield being significantly down on previous years.

“Yields in some cases there are 50% down on the previous year with low sunshine hours and wet weather taking their

a 5,000

toll on the crop,” Hellstrom explains.

“For most Hawke’s Bay growers, it will be a tough financial year. Because of the weather there have been less early apricots in supermarkets this year.”

She says Blenheim also had a pretty wet time leading into their harvest. Hellstrom adds that the financial problems have been compounded by increasing labour and logistic costs.

But in the South Island the weather has favoured growers with good yields and high quality fruit coming off the trees.

Cherries are the main summerfruit export crop and Kate Hellstrom says it’s been a good year for growers.

“Although forecasting is quite challenging because there are so many variables, our pre-season forecast estimated a 5,000 tonne cherry crop,” she told Hort News. “Last year, we had 3,200 tonnes of export cherries – so that would be quite an increase if in fact it does play out as predicted.”

Hellstrom says the season in the south was delayed slightly by the weather and it was a ‘bit of rush’ getting cherries to China for the Chinese New Year. But she says the climatic conditions in Central Otago in January were really good with hot dry weather, which is ideal for the harvest.

She adds that cherry growers are still seeing the effects of the Covid lockdowns in China, which means that people are

consuming fewer cherries than would normally be the case.

Hellstrom says this has meant that exporters have had to diversify into other markets and keep positioning the NZ cherries as a premium product. Taiwan is NZ’s main cherry market and China is number two.

“We do rely on airfreight for cherries with sea freight being pretty challenging because of the shelf life of cherries,” Hellstrom explains. “Despite all the challenges, cherry exporters have been able to get their fruit away but this is because they all worked together.”

She says while there are still logistical challenges the situation has been better than previous seasons because there have been more flights coming in and out of NZ.

“But there is still that global supply chain issue that is lingering post Covid and I think it will take another few years to sort that out,” Hellstrom adds.

Back in the South Island, the stone fruit harvest is beginning in Central Otago and Roxborough.

Hellstrom says the fruits look really good quality wise and the weather is holding out nicely. She says while there is still a lingering labour shortage, the good news is the return of the backpackers from overseas and the recovery of the tourist industry in the South Island.

peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

Summerfruit NZ chief executive Kate Hellstrom says the weather has delivered different experiences to different regions.

“Although forecasting is quite challenging because there are so many variables, our pre-season forecast estimated

tonne cherry crop.”

NZ apple growers can look forward to a brighter year ahead

Peter Burke peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

THE CHANCES for a better season for the country’s apple growers is looking good.

That’s the view of Apples and PearsNZ chief executive Terry Meikle who says they are expecting higher volumes of fruit, with the quality of the fruit an improvement on last year which was a terrible season.

Meikle told Hort News while spring conditions in Hawkes Bay and Gisborne have been wet, coming into the season it’s going to be manageable for growers. He says this is assuming that the weather in February and March will be ‘kind’.

“We are forecasting this season’s crop to be up by between 7-8% on last year’s poor season,” he says. Despite some problems in the North Island,

MOODS IN THE MARKETS

While last year, much was made of the FTA with the EU and the promise of tariff free entry for apples.

But, over the years, the sector has looked at markets closer to home such as China, Taiwan and Vietnam. Meikle told Hort News it’s great to have the EU FTA as it is to have any deal that frees up markets.

“Is it going to mean that we will switch back to the EU today, tomorrow, next year?” Meikle asks. “I doubt that. But in time,

who knows what might happen politically around the world and it is fantastic to have those FTAs in place.”

He adds that in terms of markets, the NZ sector’s focus over the past decade has moved from the dominant European variety of apples to those that meet the demands of Asian consumers.

It’s looking, in collaboration with government, to get

They are also dealing with issues in Japan and Pakistan that, if resolved, these could become good markets for NZ apples.

Like other groups in the primary sector, Meikle says Apples and Pears is investing heavily in research and development to preserve their market position.

For example, they are 50/50 partners with MPI on $14 million project looking at range of issues

Meikle says in other apple growing areas – Nelson, Central Otago and Canterbury – growing conditions have been good.

He believes one thing that is working in favour of the sector is that there will be more people available for the harvest and post-harvest. He says the backpackers have come in for the summerfruit season and they will be around for the apple season, which is really positive.

Meikle says there will also be more RSE workers available which again will improve things.

“Having more workers is for us a big part of the solution. Last year, we are so short of labour that there were different picking patterns, and a lot faster picking was taking place and decisions were made on what to and not to pick,” he explains.

“Whereas, this year –

implement a spray free vision, a life cycle assessment and developing new orchard systems.

Climate change is also high on their R&D agenda and Meikle says the recent horrific floods in the upper North Island are clear evidence of the need to have more resilient systems.

“I am also hearing from some researchers in the South Island that with climate change, the Canterbury region may become

if we get what we think will be pretty close to a decent labour force –then I think we do stand a better chance of getting a better pick and improved quality.”

But Apples and Pears NZ are taking nothing for granted and are using the time before the harvest to train staff and ensure they are up to speed for the harvest and post-harvest.

Meikle says his team has been holding special seminars in the apple growing regions on such subjects as pests and disease and apple washing best practice so ensure that the quality of the fruit picked is high.“Growers are realistic and are forging ahead, and assuming that the weather holds nicely in February and March they will be better off than they were this time last year.”

Meikle says he’d like to see banks get involved and offer growers low interest rates for projects that will drive efficiencies and innovation in the sector. He says the overall mood of apple growers is one of resilience. Meikle adds that there are still challenges getting product to market, but the situation is better than it was with freight costs coming down, although not to pre Covid levels.

Apples and PearsNZ chief executive Terry Meikle says they’re expecting higher volumes of fruit, with the quality of the fruit an improvement on last year’s terrible season. - CREDIT PAUL SUTHERLAND PHOTOGRAPHY

to focus above all on quality.

In recent years there has tended to be an emphasis on increasing the volume of kiwifruit grown.

However, Mathieson says – as a prominent grower told him –the sector has to stop growing for money and start growing for quality again.

He says good money will follow good quality.

Mathieson adds that kiwifruit is an amazing product aimed at high end

A major market for NZ kiwifruit is China and, despite some problems, they have been generally pleased with the outcome. Sales dropped by about 20% during one of China’s lockdowns but recovered quickly when this was lifted.

customers and consumers and is regarded as a premium product.

“But we need to deliver quality, because if you are playing at that end of the market, the expectations are so much higher [so]

if you drop the ball it can have a detrimental impact and that’s what we saw in 2022.”

Mathieson says he spent two months last year visiting all of NZ’s major markets and

explaining what happened in NZ to cause the problems. He says while they were understanding about what happened in 2022, they want to see a change this year.

Mathieson believes

that because of NZ’s good reputation, overseas buyers have stuck with us, “but they need good quality fruit to drive value for their own businesses”.

A major market for NZ kiwifruit is China and, despite some problems, Mathieson says they have been generally pleased with the outcome. Sales dropped by about 20% during one of China’s lockdowns but recovered quickly when this was lifted.

He adds that they encountered problems

when the port of Shanghai shut down because of Covid, but they quickly diverted their charter vessels to the port of Taizhou to service the Chinese market.

Mathieson says this situation highlighted the need for Zespri to have options available not just in China but in other parts of the world as well.

“I think uncertainty and volatility is part of our future and we need to build resilience into our operations with more options to deal

with things that could go wrong and preparing the scenarios to cope with that to protect our industry as it continues to grow,” he told Hort News Mathieson says he’s really heartened, at a time of crisis, how the whole industry has come together and constructively collaborated to find solutions in 2023. He adds that 2023 is going to be ‘a tough year’.

“We need to make sure we are fitter than ever for 2024 and the growth that is ahead.”

Zespri’s message to NZ growers is to focus above all on quality and not so much on quantity of fruit picked.

Managing the ups and downs of the good life

Nigel Malthus

GROWING A wide range of fruit varieties is the key to handling the vagaries of weather and climate for North Canterbury

orchardist Paul Tapper.

Tapper and his wife

Aree run Tram Road Fruit Farm at Swannanoa, primarily as a pick-your-own operation, but they also sell from their shop and at a select few farmers’ markets.

There are about 8 acres on their 12 acre block currently planted in fruit, including about 800 cherry trees.

While the cherries have now finished, there’s another paddock which is made up of all kinds of plums, heritage plums, peacherines, nectarines, and peaches.

“There’s a whole range. There’s probably another five or six hundred trees out there. So that’s where the focus is at this time of year,”

Tapper told Hort News

The Tappers also have one-and-a-half kilometres of raspberry canes, where the season is also winding up. The last pickyour-own weekend for raspberries was late January, although they continue to pick a few for the shop.

It’s that broad range of fruit that keeps the business running – even if one variety fails for any reason.

Tapper says cherries had a poor season, first with late frosts that effectively destroyed the entire crop of one early variety.

RUNNING AN orchard as a pick-your-own operation has its challenges – including managing without chemical sprays.

Tapper doesn’t want to have to close off sections of any variety because of a withholding period on a neighbouring variety.

“We don’t do any spraying of any consequence and so people really like that.

You can actually pick something and eat it,” he explains.

“Like any other orchard

“Never before have I had cherries frosted after I’ve had a fruit set,” he says.

December rain, and cool damp days into January affected others.

“The last three years we’ve had this confounded weather lead-

we’re trying to sell fresh fruit but we’re trying to sell something else. We’re trying to sell an experience.”

But Tapper has developed a keen sense of who is there to abuse the system.

“Some people think it’s a game. They think that it’s a challenge to come and see how much they can thieve off you,” he told Hort News. “Go out there and have a bloody good feed and come back out with nothing.”

Tapper says someone recently turned up saying they

ing into Christmas that is decimating the cherries,” Tapper told Hort News.

“We normally get one wet day in fourteen, not 14 wet days in 15. It’s causing huge damage to the cherries and it shortens the crop.”

If you have only cher-

want to use their own tiny container, good for maybe 200g of raspberries – but if that was really all they wanted they could just buy already picked fruit from the shop.

“If you’re going out in the orchard, you know, I’d expect that you should be picking a minimum of a half a kilo per person – absolute minimum. And if you can’t do that, why are you here?” he says.

“We’re quite happy for you to taste them, but you don’t have the right to come here and have a picnic.”

ries then it’s great if you have a great year for cherries, he explains.

“But that’s only going to be one year in five –the other years are all going to be a disaster of varying degrees,” Tapper adds. “You’ve got effectively two to three weeks

Tapper knows of a Nelson cherry orchardist with 3,000 trees whose entire picking season last year was just three days because of the weather.

“This year, he’s had quite a good season but he needed to because he’s had a pitiful one for the last four,” he adds.

“What we’ve done here is, we’ve tried to work on the basis of a picking and selling period of 12 to 16 weeks.”

At this time of year, the plums are coming in, particularly a sweet Japanese variety called Shiro.

Tapper says he is quite selective at letting people in to pick because they don’t want them taking a whole lot of fruit that’s not ripe. Instead, he will do some early picks himself and only let the public in to clean up the trees when most are ripe.

Paul Tapper, who had previously farmed at Loburn and Geraldine then worked as a real estate agent in North Canterbury, bought the block about 20 years ago when it was part of a 100acre vineyard. But it was only marginally profitable and he was the first of the individual block owners to pull out the grapes, initially just running sheep instead.

to get rid of all of your fruit, while competing with everybody else with the same variety.

He says if the fruit’s a real success that year, the price will be down.

“So, you’ve got all of these things you’ve got to juggle.”

where but with their house repaired, great neighbours, existing water rights and 6,000 cars a day past the gate they decided to stay put.

Tapper credits Aree with doing much of the initial work, since he was still in real estate, but it’s now full-time for both of them.

While many of their neighbours are lifestylers who work in town, the Tappers decided to “do it properly or not bother”.

“It’s got to be a proper little business, there’s no point otherwise. Because if it’s just a half-hearted bloody thing, it’s a waste of time.”

Managing the strawberries is Aree’s specialist domain.

These are grown in a netting enclosure, in waist-high irrigated troughs to keep the fruit clean and mould-free. They are not hydroponic but grow in a conventionally fertilised soil-like mixture.

This is partly because the Tappers didn’t like the idea of a rooting medium that “had no fertility in it” and was difficult to dispose of at the end of its useful life.

After about three years, the plants and soil can all just be composted.

“My attitude when we bought it was ‘if they pay, they stay, if they don’t, they won’t’.”

With his wife Aree, they decided only after the Christchurch quakes to develop their block as an orchard. They had looked at orchards else-

Although strawberries have the longest season of all the fruit, they were off the menu when Hort News visited because Aree was holding them for a large wedding order.

“The flavour we get out of the strawberries is fantastic,” she explains.

Paul and Aree Tapper in the strawberry enclosure of their pick-your-own orchard at Swanannoa in North Canterbury. NIGEL MALTHUS

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Interactive protection tool a first

HORTPLUS AND Plant & Food Research have upgraded the Myrtle Rust Climate Model with new modelling that gives plant

producers real-time spray management advice, based on the actual sprays they use in their nursery.

HortPlus director Mike Barley says the upgrade was the first time that specific advice on

fungicide use had been included in the MetWatch platform for plant disease management.

“It will allow plant producers to be more accurate and efficient with the use of chemical sprays to

combat myrtle rust this season. This is especially important as myrtle rust spreads down the country,” he explains.

Rather than spraying seedlings on a typical 14-day cycle, the Myrtle

Rust Climate Model enables producers to time spray applications based on real time disease risk, significantly reducing the number of applications required.

“Earlier versions didn’t

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“The new update is based on the actual active ingredients being used at each nursery, so the spray management advice is much more precise.”

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Plant & Food Research scientists have been conducting trials on myrtle rust management using the online tool, which proved invaluable in providing information on spray efficacy and the Myrtaceae species that are most or least susceptible to myrtle rust.

As an example, they have discovered that mānuka is more resistant to myrtle rust so doesn’t need as much spraying as

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was previously thought. To access the update, growers should go into the Disease/ Myrtle Rust Cumulative Risk section of the online tool, then click on the new ‘Add Spray’ button then select the date and chemical sprays used in their nursery.

The interactive tool will then indicate, in graph form, the next ideal spray timing (Action Threshold) based on the applied sprays and local weather conditions including temperature, humidity and rainfall. Trials and further development of the  platform will continue and over time may include other disease climate models, such as those affecting fruit and vegetable growers.

Mark Daniel markd@ruralnews.co.nz

The upgraded Myrtle Rust Climate Model gives plant producers real-time spray management advice.

Emergency booklet aims to help landowners for all eventualities

PLAN FOR all eventualities. That’s the message from Auckland Council amid the release of a new emergency management handbook for urban dwellers moving to lifestyle blocks.

The handbook was developed by Auckland Council’s Auckland Emergency Management, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), and Farmers Mutual Group (FMG).

Auckland Emergency Management general manager Paul Amaral says emergencies can happen at any time.

“It is important lifestyle block owners can easily get the information they need to prepare for and make well-informed

decisions to keep them, their families and their animals safe,” he says.

The Lifestyle Block Preparedness Handbook is designed to give practical advice on how to make a property more resilient to emergency events and what to do in

specific emergencies.

It includes practical step-by-step advice to help owners to create a detailed emergency plan to keep themselves, their family and their animals safe.

Amaral says the handbook includes advice on

emergency alerts and warnings, getting to know neighbours, power and phone outages, property access, insurance, making an emergency plan and what to do in certain emergency events.

“At the end of the handbook there is a plan-

BIG YEAR FOR LITTLE APPLE!

STRONG DEMAND saw Rockit apples launch into markets across the globe, selling out at record prices in 2022, according to apple company Rockit Global.

Chief executive Mark O’Donnell describes last year as “one of its most challenging years yet”, which saw the Hawke’s Bay headquartered apple brand perform highly during a tough season.

“We’ve made massive progress towards our vision of becoming the world’s most loved apple brand,” O’Donnell claims. “It’s predicted we’ll more than double our 2022 export, packing and shipping 160 million

apples this year.”

He says growth is coming strongly from the Middle East and South East Asia, with three coun tries in particular show ing the sharpest uptake in Rockit apple sales.

“We’ve welcomed a new distributor in Indonesia, which helps account for a 154% uplift yearon-year, while in the Middle East the FIFA World Cup 2023 boosted sales in Qatar by 38% and expanding direct-to-retail

distribution in Saudi Arabia increased sales there by

O’Donnell adds that demand for its fruit is growing at such a rate the company is now seeking to partner with new growers in its established growing regions of Gis-

ning template to help users develop an emergency plan which meets the needs of their unique situation.

“Experience from past emergency events has proven that lifestyle block owners tend to be less resilient than their farm-

ing neighbours,” says Amaral.

He says that while many lifestyle block owners are well intentioned, they lack the necessary information and resiliency skills.

“Many lifestyle block owners are city dwellers

borne and Hawke’s Bay, alongside a planned expansion into the South Island.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be making a move south,” he says. “We’re currently reaching out to experienced growers and landowners in Nelson and Canterbury who are looking to diversify their businesses – and the response is already hugely positive.”

O’Donnell puts the company success in 2022 down to the dedication and passion of its growers in trying

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with little farming experience and few rural connections and networks,” Amaral told Rural News. “As their primary income normally isn’t from their property, owners rely on employment in the city to fund their lifestyle block and as such are often not on the property when disaster strikes.”

“Unlike their farming counterparts, who earn more than 51% of their income from the land and are therefore eligible for government support, lifestyle block owners are mostly not eligible.”

Amaral says this means lifestyle block owners are often disproportionately impacted during an emergency.

To get a copy of the handbook, head to: https://www.aucklandemergencymanagement. org.nz/lifestyle-block

circumstances.

“What haven’t we had thrown at us in 2022?” he asks. “Between logistics challenges, labour shortages and weather events – and let’s not forget about Covid 19 – it’s been a tough time for anyone growing apples in New Zealand.”

Looking ahead to 2023, he says Rockit is thrilled to be continuing its partnership with Global Ambassador Kane Williamson.

O’Donnell says the company is also delighted to be back on the roster of the many trade shows and events which have returned since borders reopened last year.

Jessica Marshall jessica@ruralnews.co.nz

Rockit Global chief executive Mark O’Donnell describes 2022 as one of the company’s most challenging years.

The new handbook provides practical step-by-step advice to help lifestylers and landowners to create a detailed emergency plan to keep themselves, their family and their animals safe. Photo credit Auckland Council.

Updated T4 tractor range built for horticulture

NEW HOLLAND Agriculture has updated its specialty tractor offering with the introduction of the VisionView cab on the T4 F/N/V Series – alongside a new, more powerful engine and compact hood on the TK4 Series.

In addition and presented for the first time at the recent EIMA Event in Bologna, the new T4F S series is described as the ideal tractor for mixed, part time farmers and fleet owners that are

working in orchards and vineyards – looking for a robust, reliable entry level tractor to increase productivity.

Oscar Baroncelli, New Holland Agriculture Tractors product management leader global, says New Holland has remained at the forefront of the specialty tractor segment for seven decades.

“The T4 F/N/V VisionView cab, the TK4 and the new T4F S once again raise the bar, competely redesigning the products around customer needs.”

The cab is said to

deliver the comfort of an open-field tractor in the narrow T4 F/N/V Series, with a spacious environment and flat deck for all sizes and shapes of operator. The design of the front window, combined with a lower and more compact hood offers best in class visibility, at the same time protecting the emissions after-treatment system.

The one-piece side window and four-pillar design offers noise levels as low as 71 dB(A), further adding to the operator’s comfort and safety. The

tractors are available with Blue Cab4 fitted with Category 2 and 4 double filtration system.

The T4 F/N/V delivers emissions levels 16 times lower than its predecessor. It uses a F5C FPT engine to achieve 518Nm torque at 1,300rpm, as well as a torque backup up to 40%. Following customer feedback, hydraulic circuits have been redesigned, using a single hydraulic pump to deliver up to 80L/min.

With a history dating back to 1932, the TK4 series crawler tractors

have been updated with new styling to match the latest wheeled specialty tractors. The open field models feature new, more powerful Stage V engines with maximum power outputs ranging from 85 to 109hp with emission controls via EGR, DOC and SCRoF.

The narrow models feature a 75hp Stage V engine and after-treatment system with EGR, DOC and DPF which doesn’t require AdBlue.

Other specifications or options include a factoryfitted cab for Crawler,

Gives organic matter a boost

ITALIAN MANUFACTURER Maschio has introduced the SC Pro-Bio rotary cultivator, specifically designed to target cover crop incorporation, resulting in improved soil organic matter.

Maschio’s SC Pro-Bio has been designed to break down and incorporate crop residues, cover crops and green manures. Plant debris are mulched and mixed with fine soil in the top few centimetres of the profile, thereby speeding up the decomposition and transformation of residue into compost-like material.

The company, whose products are imported and distributed in New Zealand by the Power Farming Group, suggests that adding a front flail mower to the operation can improve mulching and organic matter breakdown, partic-

ularly in thicker cover crops.

Suitable for use with tractors from 110hp and 170hp, the SC ProBio is equipped with 6 ‘L’ type blades per flange, operating at 540rpm or 1,000rpm, to achieve a rotor speed of up to 300rpm.

To achieve a uniform working depth across the full 2.8 or 3.1 metre working width of the machine, the SC Pro-Bio has four depth wheels to ensure optimum stability and uniformity – particularly at shallow settings. Working at depths of 3cm to 6cm the SC Pro-Bio can work to speeds of up to 10km/h.

To aid aeration, with the aim of increased breakdown, the rear hood can be adjusted hydraulically from the tractor seat to allow perfect control of soil mixing. – Mark Daniel

the SmartTrax rubber track system Interchangeable with steel tracks in less than 1 hour. Steering-O-Matic Plus that uses one control to steer, brake, stop and re-start –without using the clutch pedal.

In addition, the Lift-OMati Plus system allows you to raise or lower the rear linkage when making a headland turn, while maintaining position and draft settings.

Following the modern style of the new T4 specialty series, the T4F S offers features that are

essential to all orchard, fruit, vineyard & greenhouse applications already in the base version. The machine offers up to 110hp, combined with a new 12x12 mechanical or powershuttle transmission. The T4F-S will be offered with a wide range of front axles, including the SuperSteer version.

At the Tractor of the Year 2023 Awards the New Holland T4.120 F tractor was named “Best of Specialized” at the EIMA Event in Bologna held last November.

The SC Pro-Bio rotary cultivator is specifically designed to target cover crop incorporation and improve soil organic matter.

Mark Daniel markd@ruralnews.co.nz

The new T4F S series is described as the ideal tractor for working in orchards and vineyards.

Making the most of weed control

PÖTTINGER HAS recently introduced mechanical crop care implements to its product range for sustainable, crop-specific and sitespecific plant protection.

With the ROTOCARE rotary hoe and the FLEXCARE row crop cultivator, mechanical plant protection measures can be implemented gently and effectively.

Settings on the machine can be adjusted to handle different conditions. By operating the tractor lower links in the float position – in combination with depth control wheels – it achieves accurate ground adaptation. The position of the top link regulates the working intensity by adjusting the pressure on the rotary hoe stars, while the forward speed determines the aggressiveness of the

process. The row-independent rotary hoe stars sweep away weeds and their roots out of the soil and deposits them on the surface. The weeds are overturned and completely covered with earth, a lack of sunlight causing them to perish. In addition, any surface ‘capping’ is broken up to produce a crumbled effect. This aerates the soil, improves drainage and promotes nutrient mineralisation.

Capable of working speeds of 10 to 30km/h and working widths of 6.6m to 12.4m, the ROTOCARE machines allow farmers to make the most of short, optimal time windows for mechanical weed control.

Settings on the machine can also be adjusted to handle different operating conditions. Many of these settings can be made without the need for tools. Different

duck foot shares, weeding blades and following tools allow the machine to be optimised to the operating conditions. Various control systems help to ensure the best working results.

Different row crop cul-

tivation effects can be achieved using FLEXCARE hoeing technology, separating the leaves from the root system. This row crop cultivator can handle row widths between 25 and 160cm, with each tool carrier able to be

adapted for up to five hoe elements.

In addition, large, scalloped plant protection discs as well as finger hoes can be attached as following tools. A pre-set hole matrix and indicator scales on each component

make it easy to set up all the tools identically.

An integrated hydraulic shift frame is standard and ensures convenient operation. The hydraulically controlled frame greatly reduces driver fatigue while maintaining

a high level of precision. By constantly adjusting the frame to the row, plant damage and crop losses are avoided while compensating for planting inaccuracies and maintaining a narrow hoeing band.

Pottinger’s new the ROTOCARE machines allow farmers to make the most of short, optimal time windows for mechanical weed control.

New tech to monitor and manage ‘Ghost Vines’

New Zealand agritech start-up Cropsy Technologies is leading a $1.3 million SFF Futures/ AGMARDT co-funded project to help growers identify and replace grapevines that are missing, dead, dying or otherwise unproductive Ñ also known as ÔGhost VinesÕ.

“THIS PROJECT will develop tools to help growers understand the health and productivity of every vine in their vineyards in order to identify missing, dead, dying or otherwise unproductive grapevines,” says Cropsy’s head of product & innovation Dr Gareth Hill.

The company has been awarded a $534,000 project grant through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI’s) Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFF Futures) fund and a $200,000

AGMARDT Agribusiness

Innovation grant to lead a project titled, ‘You know I can’t harvest your Ghost Vines: Vineyard-scale monitoring of unproductive vines’

“These vines receive all the labour, water, and

other vineyard inputs that other vines do without contributing to the overall productivity of the vineyard. For all intents and purposes these vines are either missing or may as well be, which is why we call them ‘Ghost Vines’,” Hill explains.

“There are over 40,000 hectares of New Zealand vineyards with many tens-of-millions of vines, so ghost vines pose a hidden threat to the sustainability of the industry. This is both environmentally inefficient through land use and financially through lost production and avoidable vineyard expansion. Monitoring the health and productivity of this number of vines reliably right now is simply impossible.”

Cropsy’s current vision

system can measure the current state of grapevines.

However, by also measuring and analysing the state of every vine and its neighbours over time, the Ghost Vines project will enable the diagnosis of declining productivity and disease at the earliest possible stage.

“We are building up a ‘patient history’ of all the vines in a vineyard,” Hill adds. “By putting each vine’s performance into context we’ll be able to make more accurate forecasts about its productivity and

ABOUT CROPSY TECHNOLOGIES

FOUNDED IN 2019, Cropsy is a New Zealand-based start-up, unlocking the full potential of vineyards and orchards with a unique and scalable AI-enabled vision system.

Each of Cropsy’s hardware units attaches to an existing tractor. The system sees and understands every single plant while a grower runs their daily crop operations; profiling every leaf, fruit, shoot, cane, and trunk in real-time as the tractor passes by.

The result is a ‘digital twin’ of the vineyard or orchard; a map clearly showing areas of concern and patterns across the entire crop, so growers know precisely how their crop is performing and changing over time. With an initial focus on grapevines, the product development roadmap will see Cropsy branch into apples and oranges.

the future of the vineyard as a whole.”

The two-year project is a collaboration with prominent wine companies Pernod Ricard Winemakers, Indevin Group, and Cloudy Bay Vineyards and viticultural consultancy Fantail Consulting.

Pernod Ricard Winemakers believes the collaboration offers benefits for the whole industry.

“Improving the utilisation of resources such as land and water is something that would benefit the entire industry,” says David Allen, viticulture transformation manager.

Indevin’s group technical viticulturist Rhys Hall believes the project will push the boundaries of agritech in New Zealand vineyards.

Cloudy Bay is also part of the project.

“It has the potential to provide us with the tools we need for decision

making regarding longterm productivity and re-development,” says Cloudy Bay viticulturist John Flanagan.

MPI’s director of investment programmes Steve Penno claims this innovation is unprecedented in New Zealand vineyards.

“The technology-based and data-driven services developed through this project will enable the wine industry to manage their vineyards in a way that’s not currently possible and has the potential to lift productivity significantly – that’s a very exciting prospect.”

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Cropsy’s head of product & innovation Dr Gareth Hill says the company’s current vision system (see inset) can measure the current state of grapevines.