STONEFRUIT
Hort Innovation’s Summerfruit Annual Report BY SCARLET ROXBY MERCHANDISER, STONEFRUIT WA
W
ith the release of the Hort Innovation’s Summerfruit Annual Report, key figures have been released regarding the levy’s expenditure in regard to research & development of the industry. With 23 R&D investments underway, it is important to understand the projects are often national, though relevant to the WA industry. With a new Hort Innovation (HIA) Extension Manager in WA, it is our goal to secure more HIA funding into WA. One consumer-sourced project delivered this year is the Harvest to Home dashboard (www.harvesttohome.net.au). This dashboard provides regular household purchase data and insight reporting on apricots, nectarines, peaches and plums.
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WA Grower SUMMER 2020
“Recent activity shows that apricots were increasing quickly, at 9.3 per cent in terms of dollars ($), while increasing (5.8 per cent) in terms of volume (kg). Buying household percentage fell from 27 per cent to 26 per cent. The average dollar spend rose from $7.38 to $8.11. Apricots remained unchanged in terms of average weight purchased (kg).” Extracted from Harvest to Home, Apricots.
For example, projects regarding Qfly eradication, exotic spotted wing drosophila control and Xylella bacteria vector research, new apricot variety production for fresh and dried varieties and biosecurity requirement policy for international export (e.g. low dose bromide fumigation of plums). The Hort Innovation Summerfruit Fund supports the submission of applications for new and renewed minor use permits of the industry, as well as data generating activities to support chemical permits and registrations, and strategic agrichemical reviews. Their support helped secure emergency permits for crop protection chemicals as a result of detection of Fall Armyworm in Australia for the first time in 2020. These permits can be found in the report in more detail, and permit updates will be released via their e-newsletter.
Permits can be found in the report in more detail.
The current Summerfruit Strategic Investment Plan 2017–21 is due to be renewed in the coming year. Performance analysis will evaluate the progression of the current plan’s ambitions and help guide ongoing priorities for investment. In regard to the R&D project pathways, six investments were completed in the 2019–20 period, with four new investments confirmed, and fourteen projects are ongoing. Please note three of these projects are funded through HIA as they are more broadly across horticulture, however, still assist the R&D of summer fruits. While these projects are primarily based on the East and South coasts of Australia, the information received can assist in WA’s summer fruit industry.
Finally, an update on the marketing campaign for domestic and international advertisements. Some content included a range of recipes, images and videos targeted at both domestic and international consumers, in partnership with MyFoodBook (www.myfoodbook.com.au).
