Avocado Growers

Many new plantings of avocados have occurred over the last three years in an effort to meet the demand of international produce markets. Mid August was an early start to the harvest season picking for export to America and Japan and harvest for Australia is expected to start mid-October.

Field visits were held in July 2004 on Te Puna orchards, one at Clarke Road and at Oliver/Wairoa Road. Growers from the Bay of Plenty, Auckland and north and from New Plymouth met to discuss research which could help growers increase their fruit production to combat the reduction in crop over recent years.

Understanding of the affect of climate, irrigation, nutrition and pollination is vital when 76% of New Zealand’s avocado growers are based in the Bay of Plenty and produce a similar percentage of the crop.

            

Kiwifruit

August, a new season well underway and winter pruning nearly completed. Growers with both Hort 16A and Hayward crops have little break between the seasons. The May harvest was 10% up on estimate helped by the late Autumn rains. It was a challenging period for packhouses – picking started behind schedule with a very wet start from May onwards, there were increased requirements for packaging and the labor shortage was not helped by either the weather or the Immigration service.

Eurepgap information pack will be sent to growers by Zespri end of August to ensure all growers and contractors meet the compliance standard audit.

Women celebrated their role in the kiwifruit industry with lunch at Mills Reef, Tauranga in July, a tribute to their endeavor and the 100 years since Isabel Fraser, principal of Wanganui girls college brought the first Chinese gooseberry seeds from Ichang in China. so began the evolution of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry.