Last month’s NZAPI Pollination Field walk was a great opportunity to discuss hive management and pollination with beekeepers, researchers, and other growers. Kintail Honey and Arataki Honey provided some great tips on what to be looking for and how to work effectively with your beekeeper. David Pattemore from Plant and Food Research focused on bee behaviour and the importance of pollination.
Importance of Pollination
Apple pollen is heavy and sticky; it generally cannot be transferred by the wind. For apples to set seed and develop into fruit they require an insect pollinator. Furthermore, most varieties are self-infertile meaning they require compatible pollen from a different variety that is blooming at the same time. Apple trees that are planted to provide pollen to the main crop are called pollinisers; of which compatible flowering crab apples and granny smith are commonly used.
Honeybees – Hive Management
In New Zealand, honeybees are by far the most important pollinator of apples, representing more than 90% of flower visits in some orchards. Temperature, wind, and hive strength will influence honeybees’ effectiveness as pollinators, so it is important to get things like hive placement and colony strength right.
Communication with your beekeeper
It is important you communicate early with your beekeeper to discuss your pollination requirements, well before you need the hives. The following information provide some topics you should discuss with your beekeeper to allow a tailored pollination plan for your orchard.
Placement
Bees work best at 15°C to 25°C, and the earlier they warm up the longer they will be foraging and pollinating your crop. Hives should be placed somewhere:
It is generally recommended to place hives near the middle of the block. This ensures a more uniform spread of bees across the block.
Strength of the hive
For apple pollination a hive should hive the following specs
Check your hives
On a warm day (between 15°C to 25°C) you should have a good level of bees leaving and entering the hive from morning to afternoon. A hive that is absent of activity on such day may indicate poor quality hive. If you see handfuls of dead bees outside the hive entrance this could be indicative of poisoning.
If you suspect hives are not up to standard or are unhealthy, contact your beekeeper to come and check the hives.
Timing
Generally, the best time for hives to come onto the block is at 5 to 10% bloom.
Honeybees will lock on to the most predominant food source available in the area and stay on it.
If you bring bees into the orchard too early, you risk bees becoming locked onto other food sources other than the apple blossom. At 5 to 10% apple bloom there should be enough flower that the bees primarily focus on your apple or pear trees (rather than surrounding flora).
You will still get bees foraging on apples if you bring them in earlier, but you risk reducing efficacy.
Stocking Rate
There is no one size fits all for stocking rate. Larger monoculture blocks normally require higher stocking rates than smaller blocks. This is due to the larger number of flowers required to be pollinated and the impact of lower food source variability on hive health.
The recommended number of hives is between 2 to 4 hives per hectare.
Some growers have noted that some varieties may require higher stocking rates than others. This could be due to a potential difficulty of honeybees handling the flowers of certain varieties.
For more information about the day or for any questions regarding pollination contact Jake Tully at New Zealand Apples and Pears – jake@applesandpears.nz
With the rain continuing to fall and the temperatures staying low, we find ourselves in a tough spot as Pipfruit growers. Often in these times the day-to-day decisions become blurred and scrambled. However, as Sir Winston Churchill said during WW2, my message is to try and “KEEP CALM and CARRY ON”. As most of you will all be aware this is the wettest spring we have had in the past 50 years. Because of that we need to be well aware of how our trees are likely to react. In these orchard conditions there are certain aspects of growing we need to keep front of mind. Below are my opinions to try and help you make the best decisions on your farm.
Black spot.
To date this season we have seen high blackspot risk events. For our sins it seems to be never ending. It’s important to ensure forward covers are on and if needed you are ready to kick back. If you’re anything like me, you’ll now have up to 12 forecast apps on your phone. Keep monitoring these closely so you can make informed decisions.
Fireblight
Thank goodness one disease is low risk and with temperatures forecast to stay low, this is looking like a low fireblight risk spring.
Russet risk
The cards we have been dealt this spring are causing numerous russet risk events. It’s been cold, wet and frosty which is a combination of all three russet inducing weather conditions. Ensure you are doing everything you can to minimise russet with preventative chemistry (GA4+7) and good operating management, including spraying in good conditions with temperatures above 10oC and avoiding any slow drying conditions. Every year we treat varieties such as Queen and Envy but in 2022, maybe we should consider treating such varieties such as Fuji, Rose, Breeze, Rockit etc. at least with light rates.
Chemical thinning
2022 is certainly uncharted territory when it comes to natural fruit drop and the need for chemical thinners. Let’s think about what we do know:
For these reasons, very little primary thinning has occurred. We now have big guns we can use for secondary thinning if we need to. The most important part of chemical thinning this year is going to be walking your blocks. We are discovering that blocks are responding differently in terms of natural drop and overall stress. Make sure you are constantly walking blocks to get a good grip on the natural drop.
It is important you are ready to take advantage of narrow weather windows. My guess is labour weekend might be a busy time for us as growers.
Staff Moral and Mental Health
Working conditions on the orchard are tough at the moment. The mud is heavy on the boots and days are being lost due to rain. Hydraladas, platforms and tractors are getting stuck and nobody likes to see their orchards turn into furrowed fields. Now is a good time to roll out the hot sausage rolls, bring nice coffees and bikkies for smoko and maintain good communication. It’s often the little things that make a difference.
Jack Wilson – AgFirst
After last year’s Covid enforced cancellation, the successful Pick the Bay job expo is back.
The Association is leading this year’s event with support from HDC, NCC, NZAPI, HB Winegrowers, Summerfruit NZ, NZKGI, EIT, MPI, MSD and MBie. Promotion of the event is being managed by HDC’s marketing team who are presiding over a program of radio, print and digital activity that will ramp up ahead of the day.
This year’s event will be held at the Exhibition Centre, Tomoana Showgrounds on November 3rd from 1pm -6pm.
We’ve worked hard to ensure there are options for employers of all shapes and sizes including a $100 “turn-key” solution for growers with less than 5 FTE staff.
If you are looking for seasonal labour, we encourage you to jump on board by emailing HBFA to confirm your attendance. Please note, we will be allocating spaces on a strictly first-in-first-served basis.
The cutoff date to confirm attendance is midday Friday October 14th.
See below for a pricing options and an indicative site plan.
The Association is organising a free, fun and informal pre-season catch up. Due to the recent wet weather, this event will now be held on Sunday November 13th at Cornwall Park in Hastings. There will be complimentary food and some fun activities to keep the kids entertained including two large bouncy castles. We’ll also have some spot prizes for the adults.
So round up the kids (or grandchildren) and head down to Cornwall Park between 11am and 3pm on Sunday 13th November.
Thanks also to the Cornwall Cricket Club for the use of their facilities.
Grab a few mates, get a catch (or two!) and measure up to win some fantastic prizes at the annual HBFA Fishing Competition. The 2021 event had well over 100 participants out hooking on to this opportunity to fish for amazing prizes, thanks to a large number of local businesses who support this fun event.
To download the Fishing competiton flyer and rules, visit our events page.
With the rain continuing to fall and the temperatures staying low, we find ourselves in a tough spot as Pipfruit growers. Often in these times the day-to-day decisions become blurred and scrambled. However, as Sir Winston Churchill said during WW2, my message is to try and “KEEP CALM and CARRY ON”. As most of you will all be aware this is the wettest spring we have had in the past 50 years. Because of that we need to be well aware of how our trees are likely to react. In these orchard conditions there are certain aspects of growing we need to keep front of mind. Below are my opinions to try and help you make the best decisions on your farm.
Black spot.
To date this season we have seen high blackspot risk events. For our sins it seems to be never ending. It’s important to ensure forward covers are on and if needed you are ready to kick back. If you’re anything like me, you’ll now have up to 12 forecast apps on your phone. Keep monitoring these closely so you can make informed decisions.
Fireblight
Thank goodness one disease is low risk and with temperatures forecast to stay low, this is looking like a low fireblight risk spring.
Russet risk
The cards we have been dealt this spring are causing numerous russet risk events. It’s been cold, wet and frosty which is a combination of all three russet inducing weather conditions. Ensure you are doing everything you can to minimise russet with preventative chemistry (GA4+7) and good operating management, including spraying in good conditions with temperatures above 10oC and avoiding any slow drying conditions. Every year we treat varieties such as Queen and Envy but in 2022, maybe we should consider treating such varieties such as Fuji, Rose, Breeze, Rockit etc. at least with light rates.
Chemical thinning
2022 is certainly uncharted territory when it comes to natural fruit drop and the need for chemical thinners. Let’s think about what we do know:
For these reasons, very little primary thinning has occurred. We now have big guns we can use for secondary thinning if we need to. The most important part of chemical thinning this year is going to be walking your blocks. We are discovering that blocks are responding differently in terms of natural drop and overall stress. Make sure you are constantly walking blocks to get a good grip on the natural drop.
It is important you are ready to take advantage of narrow weather windows. My guess is labour weekend might be a busy time for us as growers.
Staff Moral and Mental Health
Working conditions on the orchard are tough at the moment. The mud is heavy on the boots and days are being lost due to rain. Hydraladas, platforms and tractors are getting stuck and nobody likes to see their orchards turn into furrowed fields. Now is a good time to roll out the hot sausage rolls, bring nice coffees and bikkies for smoko and maintain good communication. It’s often the little things that make a difference.
Jack Wilson – AgFirst
As buds break ahead of another season, we look towards what promises to be another very challenging season with a lack of labour likely to again be a major issue. While we will again be relying heavily on the RSE workforce, the reality is that they cannot do the job on their own and we simply need to bring more local people into the industry.
We are keenly aware that attracting local labour in an environment of such low unemployment will not be easy and the Association will be actively working to support the industry in this space. We are grateful for the support of MPi who are assisting us to activate an Industry Resilience Project with an immediate focus on connecting growers with employees and attracting working holiday makers to our region. A steering group is being established with representation from a pan-sector cohort of employers as well as representatives from local and central government.
As part of our Industry Resilience Project, we will be leading this year’s “Pick the Bay” job expo which is planned for November 3rd at the A&P Showgrounds. We strongly encourage employers to get involved in this event – there will be options for everyone from small independent growers to large corporates. Please email our Business & Grower Engagement Manager, Dean Smith if you would like more information.
We also remind you all to post jobs on the PickNZ website www.picknz.co.nz. The government funded Opportunities Grows Here campaign to push people to this site is underway and this will include investment in overseas markets to target working holiday visa applicants. Growers need to have their roles listed on the site and keep them refreshed to benefit from these campaigns.
While the immediate challenges are stressful, we must not lose sight of the fact that our industry is hugely successful and we continue grow the best fruit in the world – hang in there, the future is bright.
Brydon Nisbet
HBFA President
Maatu Akonga (T&G Global) winner of the Hawke’s Bay Young Fruit Grower of the Year, will represent the region at the Young Grower of the Year final in Nelson next week. Regular updates will be posted on our Facebook page from Wednesday. Good luck Maatu- you’ve got this!!
There is still the opportunity to participate in the 2022 Agricultural Production Census. Hawkes Bay growers are encouraged to play their part and support their industry by completing the questionnaire.
Available online and as a printed version by request, the nationwide census of agriculture is run by Stats NZ every five years on behalf of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). With the tradition of collecting information on livestock and crops dating back to the 1860s, generations of New Zealanders on the land have provided essential information on their enterprise’s production, land use and practices.
As each operation is different, participation by every agricultural business matters. Data from fields, farms, orchards and forests is collected to form the most trusted source of New Zealand’s agricultural statistics – showing the importance of agriculture to the nation’s economy, exports and growth, as well as any changes or trends. The combined data from the 2022 Agricultural Production Census will be used to shape the future of agriculture, so discussions and decisions are based on hard evidence from the field.
Having up-to-date and accurate facts and figures on the agricultural sector is vital for providing improved policies, programmes and support to rural New Zealand. The agricultural statistics are used by industry bodies, producer groups, central and local government, business and service providers, and rural communities for planning, forecasting, and better meeting needs. Results from the 2022 Agricultural Production Census influence everything from investment decisions and trade negotiations to natural disaster planning and new rural services.
Information packs on the Agricultural Production Census 2022 were mailed out last month, with help available to complete the questionnaire at www.stats.govt.nz/agsurvey, along with dedicated email and a freephone number. All Hawkes Bay growers are encouraged to ensure they are represented, to play their part in the growth of the industry.
Two years ago, the government passed the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019, which aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. It calls for an establishment of frameworks and systems to reach this goal, requires the government to develop and implement policies for climate change adaptation and mitigation and looks at establishing emission budgets.
In May 2022 New Zealand’s first three emissions budgets were announced and the first Emissions Reduction Plan was published. An emissions budget is the total amount of greenhouse gases that can be put into the atmosphere over a period of time. The three emissions budgets set out the total amount of emissions New Zealand has to cut over the next 14 years. The Emissions Reduction Plan sets out how the government plans to deliver on the first emission budget. The plan covers all sectors of the economy, from transport, energy, building and construction, waste, agriculture and forestry.
For horticulture, this means all growers over 80ha need to know their carbon footprint by December 2022, and will have to have a carbon reduction plan in place by 2025. There are plenty of online calculation tools available that range from a very simple overview to highly complex. Smaller growers are not obliged to do these calculations and set up a carbon reduction plan just yet. It might be worth starting to think about it though, as carbon reduction will be a large focus for the government in the coming years.
For any questions or queries about what these policies might mean for you, or if you would like to enquire about carbon calculations or reduction plans, please feel free to get in touch with me directly on melanie@futureproofprojects.com.
Melanie van Opstal
Sustainability Consultant
