Most of the trees have now woken up, with primary thinning decisions waiting to be executed when the weather window presents itself.
You will have heard this repeated across a few forums now, but this season more than ever, boots on the ground in the orchard, will be critical to confirm chemical thinning decision making. Chemical thinning always requires a careful assessment and knowledge of each block, but coming off the back of the 2023 season where we know tree health has been compromised, walking the orchard has more meaning than ever before.
The ground was waterlogged for significant periods right across the bay, with some orchards having the added complication of silt deposition of varying depths across the blocks. Reduced solar radiation over the 2023 season means that the tree’s carbohydrate reserves may be lower, and in some orchards a lack of pruning may mean higher bud loads than normal. Consequently, tree health will be a significant factor when making crop loading and therefore chemical thinning decisions. Things to look out for include variations of bloom density and synchronisation, flower development and leaf quality all provide a picture of potential tree stress.
Check your drainage and soil moisture levels before launching into an aggressive chemical thinning programme. Especially in situations with dark/shaded canopies, poor nutrient status and wet feet. Chemical thinning brews need to be carefully considered, as most products add an additional stressor to an already stressed trees.
In areas where trees have poor root health, and low carbohydrate reserves, there may be a high natural drop. In blocks which have been severely affected, leaving the crops to set naturally and observe at the 6-7mm may be a more cautious strategy.
At a time when the labour cost is significant, we want to achieve full crops on the higher margin varieties, and reduce the hand thinning costs on others.
Once you have formed your plan, you can alter it as the weather windows and natural flower stages and fruit set allow.
Sarah de Bruin
Agfirst Horticultural Consultant
Wondering about the migrant labour or overseas workers coming into the country? PICMI has been tracking this data using the numbers from MBIE’s Migrant Data Explorer.
The data is up to 31 September 2023.
This month, the population of WHV in the country looks to be growing again like last year, and the number of WHV issued is on the increase bringing it back around the historical base rage (30-40K).
🌱 The population WHV (still living in the country) is stable and increasing—there are almost just under 31,000 people (10% up from last month)..
🌱There has been a decrease in the number of WHVs issued, reaching 4,332 (an roughly 20% reduction). It is now 20 % under the average monthly count of 5,000 from previous years.
There are more details on the PICMI website including historical stats or register with them directly for updates into your inbox.
NZAPI’s Data, Compliance and Technical Support Project is well underway this month. Funded from the MPI North Island Weather Events Fund, the project includes:
Funding of services for growers includes First Aid and Growsafe Certification courses – available in Hastings/Napier and Gisborne. NZAPI has also arranged soil, water, and leaf testing services, and for growers to have on-orchard assistance with compliance requirements such as GlobalGAP.
For many growers, the cyclone not only took the crop but also took orchard signage, spray sheds, paperwork, and evidence. The purpose of this project is to ensure that growers are well supported in both compliance and technical activities so they can meet all requirements and grow a quality crop for 2024. While we know that flood affected growers have a significant amount of work ahead of them, we hope that this project will relieve some of the pressure that they are under.
Thanks to this project, the NZAPI Technical Field Days will continue, and regular meetings will commence in November so that growers can get together to discuss progress and compare outcomes of flood initiatives.
With a final cut-off date of 31 December 2023, NZAPI are committed to ensuring apple and pear growers are provided with all the assistance they need before this date.
I was recently reminded that by this time last season parts of the Heretaunga Plains had had a hailstorm or two and a significant frost. So far, we have been in a more benign climate all be it windy.
Bees have been able to get out and about and do their job on most cultivars. Growing degree days are good if not a little above what might be expected, and yet there is reports of fruitlets dropping.
Orchardists have been working hard to keep trees alive so that they are in better health for coming seasons but it’s not unusual to see trees that have woken up in spring and then died. Keeping trees alive seems like a good move as replacements could be hard to come by for a few years, even though they might not be the best producing units.
Every scenario that you can think of is out there. There are blocks where bloom has looked fantastic, necessitating chemical and hand thinning. For others crop loads are going to be about right, and a bit light for others. With the expected dry and warm summer; big, sweet fruit should be on the way. If not, then we will be left wondering how badly the last growing season impacted on this year’s tree health.
Recent visits to the Auckland markets highlighted a couple of points. Firstly, this season’s crop is being looked forward to by both wholesale and retail, and by extension the consumers. Point two was the impressive coolchain capability developed over the off-season by T&G and the big new Countdown DC in Wiri. If we can send fruit at the right temperature that is big and sweet there is plenty of good news to look forward to. Should you have a good crop setting on the trees there is even more to look forward to.
Last season saw a lift in the wholesale and retail prices, on the back of a short supply from Hawkes Bay. It seems as though we are in a similar situation for this year but with, potentially, a different set of quality parameters. As usual it will be interesting.
Richard Mills
Summerfruit Technical Advisor
021 632559
Please see below for some brief updates about burning cyclone mixed waste, Hastings District Council building consents for categorised land, Heretaunga Plains Water Permits, and notification of the proposed Napier District Plan.
Burning cyclone mixed waste
The Order in Council only allows the burning of mixed waste to happen until 1 November 2023 (2 weeks away!), so if you still need to do it, get on and do it as soon as the conditions are suitable.
You can check here to see if the conditions will be ok Can I light a fire? | Fire and Emergency New Zealand (checkitsalright.nz) and remember that you need to separate as much prohibited waste as possible before you burn, and draft a Fire Management Plan at least 2 days before a fire is lit – do that here HBRC Fire Management Plan: Plan Contents – Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (datacomsphere.co.nz)
Hastings District Council building consents for categorised land
In terms of building consents for categorised land, HDC have advised that applications for buildings in Category 1 will be processed more or less as per normal. Applications for work on Category 2C and 2P land will need a more involved assessment in relation to the natural hazard; and it will be very difficult to get building consent in Category 3.
There is still a lot of work to do to identify potential flood protection options for land in Category 2A so at this stage people are being advised to wait before lodging any buildings consents in those areas, as they will not be able to be progressed until more is known.
HDC is encouraging anyone within Categories 2 or 3 to met with them before they lodge a building consent application. To arrange a meeting call HDC on (06) 871 5000 and ask to talk to someone in the Building Recovery Team , or email buildingrecovery@hdc.govt.nz
Heretaunga Plains Water Permits
Any of you who have replacement water permits lodged within the regional council that are within the TANK catchments (Tutaekuri, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro and Karamu) should have received a letter asking for a further time extension, and telling you that you will receive another letter soon that outlines what the regional council understands is your ‘actual and reasonable’ water use, which is likely to be the volume that you get on your replacement water permit. To help you understand what actual and reasonable use is, and what this may mean for you, we have drafted the attached information, which also includes some examples.
Notification of the proposed Napier District Plan
An updated Napier District Plan has been notified for public consultation. Horticulture NZ is reviewing it and will likely prepare a submission. If you have any matters that you would like to raise, please get in touch with Leanne Roberts leanne.roberts@hortnz.co.nz. You can see the proposed plan here: Home – Napier City Proposed District Plan (isoplan.co.nz)
Any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch on 027 3225595, or via email Charlotte.Drury@hortnz.co.nz
Welcome late rain curtailed what threatened to be a horribly dry September. We needed it because, up until the last week, the region had received only 5% of the average September total. Rain gauges on the Heretaunga Plains had recorded one to two millimetres at best. But within a few days most areas reached near normal rainfall for the month and even above normal in northern parts of the region and the south coast.
Soil moisture had been dropping as the month progressed, falling below median levels for the time of year in areas such as Central Hawke’s Bay. The decline was accelerated by windy and warm conditions that were 2°C hotter than average during the day. The burst of late rain pushed soil moisture into healthier territory but at the expense of river flows, which mostly languished at below normal levels for the month. Groundwater stocks were about average for early spring.
The driver of our weather over the coming months is an El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole combo. Together they elevate the risk of drier than normal weather. More frequent westerly winds are typical of El Niño conditions and that’s what we are likely to get from the predicted pressure pattern, being higher than normal pressure over northern New Zealand and lower to the south of the country. This enhanced westerly flow brings into play the rain shadow effect of our western ranges and lies behind an expectation that rainfall will be lower and temperatures higher than usual in our region over the next three months.
Percentage of Normal Rainfall
Dr Kathleen Kozyniak
Principal Scientist Air
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council
The region’s dry weather during August could be our world for the months ahead. The region received less than half of August’s average rainfall. The worst hit area was Tangoio, which had less then 20% of the month’s average rainfall, and the Heretaunga Plains, where only 31% fell.
August’s river flows were understandably lower than usual for the time of year. On a brighter note, groundwater levels were healthy for the end of winter, but they’re normally slower to respond to variations in rainfall. Daytime temperatures were within the normal range but it was chillier than usual overnight, which brought us a good dose of late winter frosts.
As I write, the region is being battered by warm, blustery winds. We are past the halfway point in September and the region has had only 12% of average rainfall for the month. The Heretaunga Plains has had a token 2% and the Ruataniwha Plains 5%. Soil moisture levels are dropping, and in some places, particularly the Ruataniwha Plains, our monitoring sites are showing lower than average levels for the time of year.
An El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole during our spring and summer don’t bode especially well for more rain. The predominant wind flow over the country for the next few months is expected to be from the westerly quarter. Temperatures are likely to be near or above normal and rainfall lower than usual. Gusty, spring winds aren’t overly welcome at the best of times but this year, thanks to Cyclone Gabrielle, they’re resuspending deposited silt and challenging our lungs with dusty air.
Percentage of Normal Rainfall
Dr Kathleen Kozyniak
Principal Scientist Air
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council
In accordance with Clause 11, of the rules of the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association Incorporated, the executive committee shall consist of a President, Vice President and up to nine committee persons. Any elections to fill these vacancies shall be held at the Annual General Meeting.
Following the resignation of Graham Hodges, the Vice President seat has been left vacant. We are delighted to advise that Tom Dames has been nominated for this position.
This year we are seeking to fill two seats on the executive committee. One of these has been vacated by Tom Dames who was due for rotation, and the other currently belongs to Shane Flynn (Kiwi Crunch) who retires by rotation and has been nominated for re-election.
Additional nominations for the executive committee have been received from Lyssa Jones (Craigmore) and Fulton Gillies (Bostocks). As the number of nominations exceeds the seats available a ballot will be held at the September 20 AGM. All nominees will be asked to introduce themselves to members prior to the conclusion of voting.
Wondering about the migrant labour or overseas workers coming into the country? PICMI has been tracking this data using the numbers from MBIE’s Migrant Data Explorer.
The data is up to 31 August 2023.
🌱This month, the population of WHV in the country looks to be have levelled off back at pre-Covid levels, and the number of WHV issued is on the increase bringing it back to the historical base.
🌱 The population WHV (still living in the country) is stable—there are almost just over 27,000 people, the same as previous months.
🌱There has been a increase in the number of WHVs issued, reaching 4,938 (an over 40% increase in the last two months). It is now back to the average monthly count of 5,000 from previous years.
There are more details on the PICMI website including historical stats or register with them directly for updates into your inbox.
As the 2022/23 season comes to an end, we look forward to the new growing season that is upon us. Stonefruit are already in blossom with apples and pears not far behind in green tip. It’s always a great sight to see the fruit trees spring back to life after a few months in their dormant stage. This will be a particularly welcome sight for those of our growers whose orchards were damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle – provided of course that they still have trees standing.
There is still an element of the unknown when it comes to how the trees will perform where flood water inundated blocks. Many of them experienced prolonged waterlogging, huge amounts of residual silt, or both. Blossom time is when trees are most stressed; this is the time when some trees will survive, and others will not. Trees that were under water or wet silt for too long will likely struggle to survive. I’m hopeful these casualties will be at a minimum for our growers who have been through enough already.
As I drive around, I am encouraged to see some orchards that were badly impacted by the floods now totally cleared of silt and debris with many blocks grassed down. Some blocks have been pulled out and re-planted and others will hopefully be replanted next year or whenever new trees are available. We are told that this year will be an El Niño weather system. I’m sure most growers will be pleased to see the back of so much rain and look forward to a dryer growing season. Because so much of what we do is weather dependent, smart irrigation management will likely be critical this year for producing quality fruit.
It will take some time for our industry to recover, but we will, and we will grow back better, bigger, and stronger than ever. I take heart from our kiwifruit grower peers in the Bay of Plenty; when PSA hit their region and orchards in 2010, their entire industry was threatened, but with innovation and new varieties, they have recovered to become a multibillion-dollar industry.
We have our AGM on Wednesday 20th September – all members are welcome to come and hear what HBFA have been doing for the last 12 months and what we are working on now and into the future.
Kia kaha,
Brydon Nisbet
HBFA President
