The new year kicked off with a bang when routine inspections of a biosecurity surveillance trap in Auckland found a single male Oriental Fruit Fly on January 3.
For many across New Zealand’s biosecurity network, this signaled an abrupt back-to-work and a swift move to a Level 1 Response.
The area of Papatoetoe where the find was made was immediately identified as a controlled zone, divided into two sections – Zone A which was 200m radius area from the original find and Zone B was a 1500m radius area from the original find.
Additional traps and lures were added to the zones as part of the response and the checking frequency was increased with an initial goal to determine whether a breeding population was present.
Thankfully to date, no other fruit flies have been found.
As a signatory of the Government Industry Agreement (GIA) deed, NZAPI was highly involved. Biosecurity Manager Rachel Masters, as a member of the Response Governance team, and Chief Executive Karen Morrish, met daily with GIA partners.
To ensure all affected parties were informed, meetings were held with other key stakeholders, exporters and communication teams, ensuring efficient and effective information was distributed in the most appropriate and timely manner.
Preparations are ongoing to ensure we are prepared for any further fruit flies finds or if the response level is changed.
As we move through the response, it has provided the opportunity to test our systems and processes, develop and foster relationships with key stakeholders and collaborate on finding the most effective solutions.
This has been the first fruit fly response since 2019 and highlights the critical role of our biosecurity systems and the 7878 surveillance lures and traps across the country.
The Oriental Fruit Fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) can affect more than 300 hosts including apple, kiwifruit, citrus, and tomatoes and an established population would generate control costs and production losses, with some international markets potentially halting imports from Aotearoa.
It is also a very important reminder of the role of biosecurity when maintaining how we do business, which means now is a good time to consider the part you play and how you could be affected.
New Zealand will continue to face biosecurity risks. And while we have one of the best biosecurity systems in the world, we must all play our part in improving our risk management effectiveness.
NZAPI provides a range of resources on preventative measures that you can be doing now in your business.
If you’d like to know more about how you can do your part, please reach out to NZAPI Biosecurity Manager Rachel Masters on rachelm@applesandpears.nz
Sunburn browning
With the recent bout of cooler weather, you’re forgiven to ask, “where has our summer gone?” The good news is, NIWA is 90% sure that temperatures for our region, during the Jan-Mar period, will be either near (40% chance) or above (50% chance) average. Great apple growing weather yes, but with it comes an increased the risk of Sunburn damage (Figure 1).
The most common damage is called Sunburn browning. This requires both heat & light. Sunburn browning occurs when the fruit surface temperature (FST) climbs to 46 – 49oC, combined with the high UVB rays that we are blessed with here in New Zealand. Photooxidative damage can also occur when FST climbs above 30oC. This is expressed as a bleaching of the skin. Both result in rejected fruit.
The FST can be 11oC higher than the air temperature but on stressed apple trees this can be up to 17oC hotter. For example, on a 30oC air temperature day, the FTS on a healthy apple tree could be as high as 41oC and thus avoids sunburn browning but on a stressed apple tree the FTS could be as high as 47oC, resulting in sunburn browning. Managing stress in the orchard is therefore the most effective way to mitigate Sunburn browning.
Some strategies to consider:
1. Avoid water stress
a. Avoid water stress but equally avoid over irrigating.
b. Base irrigation scheduling on accurate soil moisture monitoring.
2. Balanced nutrition
a. Avoid Potassium deficiency. Potassium is involved with stomal opening & closing so critical for efficient water movement in the tree.
b. Ensure adequate Fruit Calcium status. Calcium protects cells from toxins.
3. Appropriate crop load – do not over crop.
a. Over cropped trees are stressed trees and much more prone to Sunburn.
4. Balanced/calm canopy
a. Optimum leaf to fruit ratio
5. Good management of pests & diseases
a. Minimise disease pressure and lower tree stress.
6. Avoid sudden exposure of fruit to direct sunlight.
a. Take care with late summer pruning.
i. Note: heavy summer pruning is symptomatic of more serious underlying problem. Seek expert advice.
b. Take care with late fruit thinning and breaking up bunches exposed to the light.
c. Take care/avoid leaf plucking without over-head net protection
7. Overhead netting reduces fruit surface temperature. Light intensity is reduced under net because the light is diffused or scattered when it enters the net.
8. Keeping sward cover at a longer length will keep the temps lower in bottom of the canopy.
9. Sun protection products such as white particulate coatings and clear sun blockers, can help reduce FTS and solar radiation on exposed fruit. Note: Care needs to be taken with the use of these products on certain varieties. Seek expert advice before application.
10. Don’t leave bins of Apples baking the sun for too long after harvest. Move bins to the shade sheds a.s.a.p. or cover them.
Figure 1
Dean Rainham
Agfirst Horticultural Consultant
027 839 9613
Kia ora koutou,
Happy New Year! We hope you have all enjoyed some quality R and R with friends, family and loved ones, despite the rather unseasonal southerly flow.
EIT classes all start before harvest and we are looking forward to seeing familiar and new faces over the next three weeks. Level 4s will complete the whole compliance course, whilst Level 3 will do weeds and weather, and there’s a tractor course for our first years. We break from 31st January and start back in May, to allow full focus on harvest.
We are looking forward to seeing Level 4 and 5 graduands receive their certificates at the HBFA industry awards night, as well as scholarship recipients.
Level 5 Fruit production hits the ground running with a first lecture on Wednesday the 22nd of January at the Taradale campus. This course is Horticulture Business Skills – Budgeting, Capex and performance stats. We then break for harvest and resume the teaching in May.
Level 5 Post Harvest students have completed the teaching and are now working on their assessments. The new program will start in July and I am happy to come out and meet HR and potential students at any pack house operations to go through the program and commitments.
The last two years have been extremely challenging for the industry, and as a result the level 5 program student numbers have been low. If the industry values and want to keep these programs we will need to increase student numbers to make these viable. I am happy to say we are seeing improved interest in the Fruit production program, but its about bums on seats and we still need a few more to take this program out of the at risk zone. Post Harvest is even more challenging and we need to see a significant increase in industry engagement to secure this programs future. (cthorman@eit.ac.nz for any enquiries).
Clare, Chris, Steven and Warren.
This year was a transformative one for New Zealand Apples and Pears, with our long overdue strategic review setting the organisation on a clear path forward.
Independently conducted and with a focus on supporting the industry to growth and prosperity, we were delivered a clear remit from growers.
Our members wanted increased focus on market access, communications and advocacy, evidence-based and data-focused progress, as well as R&D programmes that protected growth.
I believe our team has delivered against this in spades.
Relationships have been strengthened with key personnel at MFAT, MPI, MBIE and EPA, as well as those with key ministers and local MPs, research projects focused on market access have been commissioned and completed, and new team members have been recruited to address any remaining gaps in our workforce.
Economic impact analysis – that we conducted earlier this year as a key component of our advocacy work – illustrated the immense value our sector injects into the Hawke’s Bay economy and this data has proven its worth in our conversations with local government on TANK and “actual and reasonable” water supply.
This data has been also proven valuable to central government, fuelling productive conversations with ministers and MPs alike.
All of this sets us in good stead for supporting the industry back to prosperity and development in 2025, with orchard gate returns our key focus.
However, for now, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you have the chance to relax, enjoy the sunshine and be with your families before harvest – which already promises to be early!
I’d like to also take this time to acknowledge to incredible work of my team, and the passion and dedication they deliver week after week. Together we are excited for the year ahead, knowing that as an industry we can innovate, grow, and continue to contribute to the legacy of New Zealand’s pipfruit industry.
Kia ora koutou,
Its a frantic time at EIT as we drag in final assessments from students and flounder under a mountain of marking. Whilst its been fantastic having such hearty cohorts, the flip side is the assessment moderating is equally enormous! All courses are finished, and all assessment should be in . . . .
Enrolments for 2025 are rolling in – classes for L3 and 4 start 16th/17th January, the Fruit Diploma on 22nd January, so please talk to your employees and get in touch. Our office closes 20th December for three weeks, but Nat and I will be checking emails from 7th. Its a relief to say fees for 2025 remain the same as 2024.
Diploma 5 fruit production students are on the big push of finalising their assessments for the year. Some students will feel good about getting the last work in and graduating with the diploma. The other half are a year down. We are taking enrolments for the Diploma 2025 intake as the first class starts in January to avoid the harvest. This course is for individuals that want to open themselves up to management. Don’t delay, enrol today!
The level 5 Post Harvest students have completed teaching for the year and are now focusing on getting their assessments worked on. The packing season will be on us before we know it, so although the post Harvest courses officially end in June, they all know that getting the bulk of their work completed by end of January makes good sense.
Chris will be in touch with packing operations in the new Year to discuss potential PD for staff starting in July 2025.
Finally, many thanks to you all for the support for EIT and for your students – its a great industry partnership, and a privilege to be involved with helping students realise their potential.
Wishing you a fantastic holiday time for you and your family
Clare, Chris, Steven and Warren.
Irrigation is go – A dry season at last
Jonathan Brookes AgFirst HB Ltd
As I write this article, we are seeing the driest soil conditions in the last four years. It looks to be shaping up to be a season where irrigation use will once again be a necessary consideration for Hawke’s Bay fruit growers.
Years of looking at soil moisture monitoring results have taught me that in many parts of the Heretaunga plains, the basic input / output calculation of soil moisture less Evapotranspiration (Et) plus rainfall does not guarantee an accurate soil moisture status. The influence of rain in the river headwaters and how that travels into groundwater can often “freshen up” a soil even with dry local conditions. Open drains can be good indicators of what is happening at a deep level, the deeper readings of soil moisture monitoring sites are also useful for this.
The seasonal soil moisture needs of specific blocks of fruit also needs to be well understood. A significant deficit of soil moisture can affect fruit size, reduce shoot growth and increase the risk of sunburn and biennial bearing in many fruit crops. However, soil rootzone drying in the right block at the right time, can be used to control excessive vigour and improve fruit dry matter and brix levels.
Irrigation systems need to be checked to ensure they are working efficiently and effectively, with irrigation run times set to ensure correct amount of water is getting to (and stopping in) the soil zones where you require it. Check for good filtration, manage leaks, and overall application uniformity.
Keep an eye on your total use as this is necessary to keep within consent parameters but can also indicate other problems such as leaks.
Due to our relatively kind climate the need for irrigation excellence has historically not been easily justified, but it is important to consider that the best seasons for fruit in Hawke’s Bay are generally dry years with crops that have well managed irrigation applied to them.
The need to make improvements to orchard irrigation management will only continue to become more important into the future. Compliance and social license needs, fruit quality, maximizing profitability and reduction in overall management costs all point to a need to get better at managing irrigation.
It was the driest spring the region has had for some time and rivalled the 2012-13 spring, which heralded one of the region’s worst droughts. It was the driest spring recorded at the Council’s Bridge Pa site on the Heretaunga Plains and contributed to a run of five consecutive months of below normal rainfall there. The lack of rain meant river flows, groundwater and soil moisture have all been running below average levels for the time of year. Warmer than average temperatures and, at times, windy conditions have only accelerated the drying trend.
As we run into Christmas, we’ve had some meaty showers traverse parts of the region and as I write, northern Hawke’s Bay has been doused with rain for a few days, with other areas seeing some of it. Unsettled weather continues as we make our way to the New Year. It seems we are being gifted some relief for Christmas.
Previous seasonal forecasts suggested our weather could start to turn. The pattern of higher than normal pressure extending over eastern and southern New Zealand was expected to progressively weaken and shift south, while lower than normal pressure extended eastward over the northern Tasman Sea. The current forecasts continue that theme. It gives us an easterly flow that arrives across seas that are considerably warmer than normal and enable plenty of moisture to be picked up enroute. We may not have an official La Niña but there are still hints of a La Niña influence. Summer rainfall could be near or above normal by the time the season ends and be accompanied by a good level of warmth.
All the best,
Kathleen
NZAPI has begun a five-year project to find new and more effective ways to control bronze beetle after successfully securing additional funding from MPI.
The project is backed by $888,630 of funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures Fund, with NZAPI investing $598,370.
The project will develop and trial new biocontrol products and develop a trap to monitor the beetle’s presence in orchards. It will also test biopesticides that are available in New Zealand and internationally that could be applied to the soil or tree, as well the use of endophyte grasses that might affect bronze beetle larvae. Bronze beetle chews through growing fruitlets leaving apples unsuitable for harvesting and eating. It can damage up to 25 percent of an organic apple crop and costs growers more than $13,000/ha per year.
NZAPI Research and Development Programme Manager Rachel Kilmister says the project seeks to develop a trap to help monitor populations of the pest and determine new bio control options. “Organic growers cultivate the soil to control the bugs, that disrupts the larvae and prevents the beetle appearing during spring. “Organic growers will often do about 11 or 12 cultivation passes during October and November, which does provide a level of control, but unfortunately not enough. It’s also less sustainable long-term as cultivation isn’t ideal for tree or soil health.
“In this research we’ll test pesticides that are available in New Zealand, and internationally, which can be applied to the soil or the tree. We’ll also look at whether endophyte grasses in and around an apple orchard emit natural chemicals into the soil that affect the bronze beetle larvae.” This latest research programme is a part of NZAPI’s research and development programme, which is currently running projects for fruit fly cold treatment, mealybug and more.
Late season Vigour management – Have you got the tiger by the tail?
By Meg Becker
Balancing shoot growth (vigour) is critical to good fruit production. Leaves supply all the energy for tree growth and fruit development, but shoots are greedy and excessive vigour will limit fruit size, yield, and quality.
Deficit irrigation. The first sign of water stress (before impacting fruit size) is the termination of vegetative shoots. This is a common practice, however, should be carefully managed so as not to impact fruit quality outcomes.
Summer pruning has multiple benefits, letting light into the canopy which improves fruit colour and sets buds up for next season. Removing shoots that generate carbohydrate that is not being partitioned into cropload reduces tree vigour.
Cropload is the most effective form of vigour management in any canopy system, however, achieving appropriate croploads in a high vigour block can prove challenging. Altering the leaf to fruit ratio helps improve vigour responses.
Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are an effective tool for managing vigour. Ethephon (Ethrel) and Prohexadione-Calcium (Regalis) are the two most broadly used in pipfruit.
Regalis suppresses growth-promoting plant hormone synthesis resulting in shorter internodes (shorter shoots) and less vigour within the plant in that growing season.
Ethrel is often used as an alternative and supports return bloom (important in a high vigour canopy).
These two products may be used in unison in excessively vigorous blocks.
Post-harvest pruning cuts can made while the tree is still in leaf. In doing this, the carbohydrate reserves are removed from the tree prior to senescence – managing the vigour response at the start of the next growing season. If you miss this window or need to spread labour, pruning at full bloom can be just as effective, this can also be beneficial in blocks where you need to ensure flower numbers prior to branch removal.
Summer girdling can decrease vigour and improve fruit size and return bloom when done correctly. Girdling can be carried out from petal fall through to the end of November/early December. The efficiency of girdling diminishes later in the season.
The depth of the girdle determines success in vigour management. The bark, phloem and cambium tissue should be removed down to the hard white xylem tissue.
Two opposing half C cuts, overlapping and, approximately 50mm apart – the closer the cuts, the harsher the girdle.
As a last resort, root pruning may be used when a block is completely out of control and everything else has failed. Root pruning is harsh, and after the last there wet seasons would be a last resort. Root pruning is also known to reduce fruit size outcomes.
Kia ora koutou,
The EIT year is ending and we are not much wiser as to what the future holds for our institution. What we have been told is that every individual program is being audited against a viability matrix, and any ‘under-performers’ will be closely scrutinized, and quickly removed from our offerings.
What this means is that EIT needs your support – we need enrolments for both our Fruit Production and Post Harvest Diploma programs and a solid steady stream into Certificate of Primary Industry Operation Skills and Level 3 and 4 fruit production courses. If we lose any of these programs, we will lose staff, and then the capacity to deliver in the future, so please continue to support us as you always have, but also, if you can organize enrolments before the end of the year, that will provide evidence to external auditors that we are working in partnership with our local industry, and are an important cog in developing capability for the primary production exports.
Steven and I are on the road and the phone encouraging students to get work in, aware of how busy they are getting at work. Our teaching is just about finished, so please reach out if your student is struggling with anything.
Noho ora mai
Clare, Steven, Chris and Warren.
