Tree Fruit and Grape Industry News,
October 2000

Notes From Australia Trip

This is the second article based on Jim Campbell’s visit to New Zealand and Australia in February 2000.

Main Australian Conclusions

1. Pink Lady is a promising new variety but is expected to be too late for BC
2. Australian growers strive for fairly tall trees (10-12 feet) and as a result good yields of quality fruit
3. IFP (Integrated Fruit Production) is expected to dominate the Australian industry within 5 years.
4. Mandatory checkoff systems seem to work for the Australian grower and govt to fund R&D and promotion programs

Bathurst Area

• Orange and Batlow main fruit growing areas in the region
• Apples and stone fruits grown
• Shallow soils – low in organic matter
• Red Delicious and Granny Smith main varieties grown
• New varieties include Galas, Pink Lady and sweet cherries
• Irrigation water is in short supply with dugout basins the main supply
• Stone fruits grown with peaches, nectarines and cherries planted
• Rich Lady and Elegant Lady the main peaches (yellow flesh)
• Brown rot is a problem and Rovral is used as a post harvest dip
• Stone fruits are trained as palmette systems in the area
• Insect and disease pressure is
  not strong in the area and only limited sprays are required
• Colt is tolerant to bacterial canker
• Yields from cherries expected to be 25 tonnes per hectare fully producing
• President plum is a high quality plum with sugars of 19-20%

Orange Area

• High elevation area – 3000 feet
• 50-100 acre growers
• $2,000-4,000 per acre land costs
• 0-5 average winter temperatures
• 20-30 average summer temperatures
• Hail is a perennial problem
• Pink Lady, Gala, Fuji, Red Delicious main varieties
• Cherries – Lapins and Sunburst
• Hail nets are common in this area – costs are $35,000 per hectare – loss of light 20%
• Netting delays maturity but improves colour
• Processing apples achieve $100-120 per tonne
• Chemical thinning sprays – Ethrel at full bloom
• NAA post bloom
• Bonza is an interesting variety found in the Blue Mountains – it is an orange apple that ripens after Red Del
• Orange growers like Spanish bush training for cherries

Horticultural Program – New South Wales –
Orange County

• 6 Researchers, 1 Entomologist, 1 Research Physiologist, and 6 Advisory officers
• Each state does research and extension
• Each state offers free advisory service
• Federal funding minimal, mostly for regulatory services
• Research and Development Corporations – checkoff systems by commodity are mandatory
• Funding – 80% by state, 10% by growers and 10% by fed govt (Hort Research and Development Corp)
• 30 cents is collected per apple box at first point of sale for R&D and marketing and promotion
• 6 cents for stone fruits – proposing 12 cents in future
• Border is closed from imported apples into Australia
• Fruit is sold mainly domestically but now developing export markets
• Crop Insurance is not any longer available as it became too expensive
• Hail cannons were tried in Orange but did not work
• No ALR in Australia
• IPM for apples

Crop Protection

• Codling moth the key pest
• Light brown leaf roller
• No Fireblight in Australia
• No fruit except Fuji’s from Japan allowed in Australia
• Codling moth controlled with Guthion, Penncap M sprays and mating disruption
• Oriental fruit moth a problem for stone fruits
• IFP becoming a big thing in Australia
• Retail trade does its own testing for spray residues
• Most growers are not in IFP yet
• Apple scab is a severe problem with 12 – 14 sprays required

Batlow area – Ron Gordon Batlow Fruit Cooperative

• 1,700 ha in Batlow area
• Red Del primary variety in a oversupply situation
• New varieties include Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, and Pink Lady
• 400 ha are hail netted
• yields of apples are 60T/ha
• Pink Lady is picked 3 weeks after Fuji - needs 210 days from full bloom. (based on a May 1 bloom date in Southern Okanagan, a harvest date of Nov 25 can be expected)
• Market returns – Pink Lady $30, Fuji $26, Braeburn $26, Red Del $13-14 1999 crop
• High density growers plant 1.75m x 3.5m M9
• Growers get their trees to fill spacing and height in a short time frame 1:1 row width to tree height is considered ideal.
• Irrigation water is in short supply
• 12% selling commission average
• cost for apple sales (in BC it is 6%)

Tatura Area

• Ardmona canning plant handles 100,000 tonnes of fruit each year

• Tatura trellis is predominate support system for apples and stone fruits

• Use Cultar to keep vigor under control
• Cherries planted at 4.5m x 1.5 m
• Tree height 80% of row width
• Planting Pink Lady, Sundowner
• Stone fruits an important crop in this area
  

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