.

Don’t delay, get replacement consent applications lodged by 30 November!

Another reminder that if you have a regional council resource consent that expires next year (on 31 May 2026) you need to apply to replace it by the end of this month (30 November 2025). You should have received a letter from the regional council telling you this, but if you are unsure please get in touch, as we can easily check consent expiry dates for you.

 Make sure your water use is being accurately recorded

Another reminder to make sure your water use is being accurately recorded.  Keep an eye on your water meter/telemetry data to make sure it lines up with your water use. If you notice anything unusual (like really low recorded use when you are irrigating normally) check it out and get it fixed asap

Decisions on Napier Proposed District Plan released

The decisions on the Napier Proposed District Plan were recently released. HortNZ submitted on a number of matters relevant to the horticulture sector, and is currently reviewing the decisions to decide whether or not there is a need to appeal anything that just doesn’t work from a horticultural perspective

Any questions,  please do not hesitate to get in touch with Charlotte Drury on 0273225595 or Charlotte.Drury@hortnz.co.nz

New Zealand Apples and Pears CEO Karen Morrish reflects on a very special highlight from 2025, attendance at World Food India and a milestone delegation to India’s Himachal Pradesh region.

Last week was World Apple Day. While not particularly well-timed for us here in Aotearoa, it does offer a fantastic opportunity to reflect on that season that was.

New Zealand’s 2025 harvest delivered exceptional, high-quality fruit, abundant yields and a prosperous export season. It was exactly what our industry needed, at exactly the right time.

It also offered milestone opportunities for the future of New Zealand’s pipfruit industry.

New Zealand Apples and Pears’ inaugural attendance at World Food India in late September and our subsequent industry delegation to the Himachal Pradesh region in northern India, was one such opportunity.

At World Food India, NZAPI joined New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science and other sector groups at the New Zealand Pavillion, where our Partner Country status gave us excellent profile and multiple touch points with the Indian Government.

As New Zealand Inc, we showcased our expertise in food innovation, production, processing and safety, our delicious produce itself and crucially, our manaakitanga (hospitality and generosity) to all who visited. We spoke on panel discussions and enjoyed wide-ranging discussions with interesting folk from the full spectrum of industry.

Our subsequent delegation to Himachal Pradesh followed decades of collaboration between New Zealand and Indian apple and pear growers (our partnership dates back to the World Bank Apple Industry Development Project in 1990s). However, despite our extended history, this visit was distinctly future focused for both nations.

We quickly discovered that despite our differences in scale, our goals were aligned – improve orchard gate returns, increase productivity and yields, and critically, ensure we leave a sustainable industry for generations to come.

This shared vision was reaffirmed time and again throughout our two weeks in India, with cooperation and collaboration identified as cornerstones of our relationship both now and in the future.

Back on New Zealand soil, ideal winter and spring conditions have delivered early indications of a positive harvest in 2026. Of course, it will undoubtedly come with its own twists and turns and lessons to be learned.

However, we now look at these lessons with an additional lens. It’s not just what can New Zealand growers learn as a result? But what can we all learn about the future of fruit production and the challenges we face both here and across the globe?

Tree Row Volume (TRV) – Optimising spray application

And just like that Spring is here.  Buds are breaking, covers are going on and flowering is just a short month away when chemical thinning decisions will need to be made.  Optimising spray application that ensures adequate coverage at the correct dose to get the right result is crucial to produce high volumes of export quality apples & pears.

A useful measure to help optimise the spray program is the Tree Row Volume (TRV).   TRV measures the theoretical volume occupied by a tree’s canopy and the space between the trees in a row.  It is calculated using the formula: TRV = Tree Height (m) x Tree Width (m) x Between-row Distance (m).

TRV is to serve as a guide, so you are not applying more chemical than is needed to achieve acceptable pest control.  TRV is especially important on higher tree density production systems. Without this measure of canopy volume, it is far too easy to over spray and overdose the trees.

TRV helps to optimise spray applications and chemical dosage, improve spray efficiency, whilst controlling costs, and mitigating the impact on the environment.

Remember, however that the TRV is used to calculate the theoretical application rates and that the most accurate TRV measurement will not compensate for poor sprayer set-up, un-calibrated units, poor coverage, timing, choice of chemical, weather etc…

TRV measurements do provide objective insights of your canopy which can only lead to better management decisions and productivity outcomes.

Dean Rainham

Horticultural Consultant

As was the situation last season, there was plenty of winter chilling, although with a later start to accumulation than in 2024. The timing of bud break and bloom have been normal, there has been fruit set on all of the five fruit types, although there is a question around some plums. So, enough chilling, soil moisture levels were OK at this time, the bees flew when needed, and there have been few rainfall events to cause disease issues.

The earliest cherry variety was picked during the first week of November, with other varieties being harvested as the month progresses. The eating quality of the later picked varieties will improve as the month goes on, and for the first time ever the industry is thinking of exporting cherries from Hawkes Bay. I’ll be watching this space with interest with respect to quality and how well it dovetails into the export fruit from Central Otago. There are plenty of export registered packing sheds that might benefit from some work pre-Christmas.

Nectarine harvest started in the second week of November and by the end of the month all fruit types will be available in good volumes.

To quote Bruce McKay again, our best years are drought years, as long as there is water for irrigation. My son-in-law on a local dairy farm says that this calendar year has seen the lowest rainfall total since he has been keeping records with a significant number of February like highs, and three weeks of wind, soil moisture levels need a top up. We will be watching to see if the predicted La Nina conditions appear and when, and then what the impacts might be. For stonefruit growers, lower sunshine levels will be one of the key indicators influencing fruit quality, again assuming water can be applied.

The lower intake of Golden Queen and Tatura Star canning peaches by Heinz-Wattie may cause some winkles in the market in February this season and possibly next season as well. The mitigations that Watties have been put in place for contract growers of these peaches would seem to be a good market facing initiative. From here supply and demand will sort out how many of these trees survive in the ground.

In recent weeks Summerfruit NZ has successfully run a levy renewal process that was supported by a good majority of growers and gone through a reasonably non-contentious AGM. So all-in-all stonefruit is lining up, at his stage, for a good season. The icing on the cake might be an economy that is feeling more buoyant than it is at the moment.

Don’t delay, get replacement consent applications lodged by 30 November (this year)!

If you have a regional council resource consent that expires next year (on 31 May 2026) you need to apply to replace it by the end of this November (ie. 30 November 2025) to ensure that you can continue to keep doing the activity it authorises (like irrigating) while the regional council process your application. You should have received a letter from the regional council letting you know that you need to do this, but if you are unsure please get in touch, as we can easily check consent expiry dates for you.

Water permits in Haumoana/Tukituki Road area

A number of growers who have recently expired water permits in the Black Bridge/Haumoana area have received first a s92 letter, and then more recently an email from the regional council about these applications.  Both have been quite confusing. HortNZ’s advice is to reply to the regional council email and clearly say two things: 1) that you want processing of your application/s put on hold until a decision is made by the Environment Court on PC9/TANK; and 2) that you will likely join the group assessment but need more information from the council about the scope and likely cost of the work before you could confirm that.

Make sure your water use is being accurately recorded

Having accurate water take records is becoming more and more important. Make sure your water meter and telemetry unit (if you have one) are both functioning correctly and accurately recording and reporting all water that you are taking under any water permit/s you have

TANK Plan Change

Nothing substantive to report other than that the Environment Court hearing will be in Autumn/Winter next year (exact dates yet to be confirmed) and we (HortNZ) are currently working hard to pull together evidence from a number of technical experts to support our case.

Any questions,  please do not hesitate to get in touch with Charlotte Drury on 0273225595 or Charlotte.Drury@hortnz.co.nz

The warmer days and relentless wind mean that water loss through evapotranspiration (ET) has exceeded rainfall the past month. That means irrigation season is upon us to ensure the trees have sufficient water to grow an excellent crop.

Irrigation monitoring is important for knowing how much water is available to the trees so that just the right amount of irrigation can be applied at the right time. There are a multitude of monitoring systems out there, but all soil moisture monitoring systems measure the water status within a very small zone around the probe. Plant water status systems similarly measure the water stress status of a single plant per sensor. Therefore, it is important that monitoring probes are installed in representative areas and the information interpreted correctly.

This season AgFirst is offering real-time monitoring using the Crop-X system – the sensor provides constant soil moisture status that can be viewed on a platform that integrates with a number of other systems including weather forecasting and weather stations. The soil moisture data is further enhanced through satellite vegetation index maps (updated multiple times a week). These maps show relative stress status of the block in relation to sensor placement so you can better predict water needs across the block.

Our existing manual soil probe service will continue to provide highly accurate snapshots of the soil moisture throughout the profile and allows for multiple sample points for the same cost as a single real-time sensor. In essence – the traditional monitoring system can provide a snapshot with better spatial resolution (across the orchard and down through the profile) whereas real-time sensors provide high temporal resolution of a single point in the orchard but are limited in how much information about what is happening throughout the soil profile.

Author info: Dr. Sean Gresham, Horticultural Consultant, AgFirst Consultants Hawke’s Bay Ltd. ph. 0274736015, email: sean.gresham@agfirst.co.nz

It was disappointing to see the Government approve only a minimal 2.5 per cent increase for the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) accommodation cost recovery rate last week.

It is a decision that undermines the Government’s own ambition to double export values by 2034 as well as NZAPI’s goal to reach $2 billion in export revenue by 2035.

What’s more, it came despite extensive pan-sector collaboration that resulted in the funding of an independent report into what a fair and evidence-based accommodation rate could be.

We know New Zealand’s horticulture sector cannot grow without the labour to pick, pack and process our produce, and you can’t secure that labour without a fair and sustainable cost recovery for accommodation.

RSE employers don’t want to take advantage of the system, but it is equally true that accommodation charges have been frozen for six years, while construction, operational and compliance costs have soared.

Many of our growers have invested in lifting accommodation standards and are committed to ensuring their workers are housed safely. However, that commitment now comes under increased financial strain.

Along with Horticulture New Zealand, Kiwifruit New Zealand and Summer Fruit New Zealand, we recently invested in independent economic analysis from Infometrics in an effort to determine a fair and evidence-based accommodation rate.

We wanted to take into account real-world costs while also keeping costs down for workers. This report was shared directly with the Government and Minister for Immigration Erica Standford. That it has not been used to form this decision is extremely disappointing.

Along with our industry peers, we will continue to urge the Government to revisit the methodology for setting these rates and ensure that future changes are based on transparent, verifiable cost data.

New Zealand’s RSE scheme is a success story built on mutual benefit, delivering essential seasonal labour for growers and economic opportunities for Pacific communities.

It’s important we keep that and focus on delivering benefits for all.

Kia ora koutou,

We recently hosted a local advisory meeting here at EIT, where industry leaders had an opportunity to hear directly from the EIT executive team.  We had 16 attendees representing 12 different businesses, as well as industry bodies. We asked for  expressions of interest in supporting our program development, and have been gratified to have several offers of direct support.  Our qualifications exist to support the Industry, and we are very keen to ensure we engage pro-actively with you.

Our post-harvest diploma students are close to completing the safe horticulture business course and will be starting fruit physiology and storage this month, sharing the class with the fruit production diploma students, which is enabling great dialogue and cross pollination of ideas.

Our Level 4s have started the Growing Environment looking at extreme weather events, whilst the Level 3s have just completed the propagation workshops and are starting on Crop Health.

We also have hearty cohorts completing the Certificate in Primary Industry program, and another orchard group upskilling on Excel.

Wishing you a great start to the season from the EIT team.

Sarah McArley

No matter the variety or growing system, the profitability success of a block over its lifetime is driven by the cumulative yield achieved. Early yield is therefore critical to ensure the cumulative yield trajectory enables a good internal rate of return and a profitable outcome for the grower.

Cumulative yield driven by early yield accumulation is an important factor to keep in mind when setting this season’s canopy growth and fruit targets for young blocks on your orchard. However, growers also need to make sure that the chosen crop load isn’t too much of a draw on the carbohydrate resource therefore inhibiting canopy growth.

There are a number of ways to set the crop load target on a young tree, to ensure this balance. Measuring the Trunk cross sectional area (TCA) gives an indication of how many fruit the tree can sustain. Using a 4 fruit per TCA or 5 fruit per TCA target alongside the consideration of the percentage of current canopy fill will help to determine a suitable cropload which won’t hinder the growth and development of the young canopy. In addition, a focus on getting the cropload down to target early alongside maintaining enough vigour in the system and the execution of well timed tree training will help to drive growth and fill the tree’s space.

Therefore, be sure to keep the balance of productivity and canopy in line as you finish pruning your young blocks this winter and begin to set your croploads for spring. Early yield pays dividends over the lifetime of the block, but you must also have the canopy to hold that crop in the first place!

Kia ora koutou,

This is our busiest time here at EIT, with many students half way through programs and new cohorts starting as well.  As students complete courses, our piles of marking grow as we try and get quality feedback on their progress to them.

Warren Hales has been flat out delivering the Certificate in Primary Industry skills – it looks as though we will have over 50 students complete this entry level program, which is a mammoth logistical exercise.  Some of the early completers of that qualification are starting into Level 3 Fruit Production this month and will work in with existing Level 3 students that started in January to complete block development and maintenance.  They will be requiring practical skills of tree planting and maintaining irrigation.

Our level 4 cohort have completed three of the six courses, being complying with market needs, pruning and crop protection. For the pruning course Steven coordinated a fun packed learning adventure with good discussion and a few field trips thrown in to the mix. We would like to thank T&G Twyford for showing us the range of training systems and Ngai Tukairangi Trust for a Kiwifruit update and a very cool pruning demonstration.

We were able to venture into the new EIT Training Orchard and really see the systems take shape and discuss how we should engage a team to work well with a mind to consistent quality of work.

The Post Harvest Diploma will start mid-July. We are still taking enrolments to add to our good numbers and cant wait to get started.

All the best

Claire, Steven and Chris