Pollination, pruning, fertiliser planning and spraying are contracted out. Remainder of work is completed by owners.
Canopy management
Tree spaced 12m X 12m with maximum height of 12m.
Managed as individuals
Max height of trees is 8m. Missed a year of pruning due to a number of reasons and some water shoots got a bit out of control so now bringing those back down.
Structural tree balance is the main priority when pruning followed by increasing access for picking and spraying, light interception, management of crop load and removal of dead or diseased material.
Trees are structurally pruned once a year with larger cuts made in autumn depending on crop remaining on trees. About 25% of the canopy is removed each year.
Flower pruning or fruit removal is not carried out.
Soil and soil moisture management
Orchard is predominately sandy loam.
Leaf mulch is the dominant ground cover under trees with some avocado pruning making up the mulch.
Soil moisture is monitored on the orchard using tensiometers but it is not used to inform when irrigation is used.
The orchard is 100% irrigated with in-canopy sprinklers with a 4m throw that deliver an average volume of 41L/hr.
A typical irrigation event would be for 3 hours twice a week.
Sprinkler heads that distribute different volumes over different area are chosen based on tree size and age.
The condition of pipe work and control valves has been checked in the last year for proper function. Sprinklers heads are monitored regularly.
Pollination
Pollinizer varieties Ettinger and Fuerte are present in the orchard and make up between 1-5% if trees.
Honey bee hives are brought onto the orchard at 1-5% flowering at a rate of about 8-10 honey bee hives per hectare. Hives are located in one spot in the orchard that is hottest and most sheltered.
Soil and fertiliser application
Soil and leaf tests are carried out once a year in April.
A consultant provides a fertiliser plan based on test results and crop loading.
Ground application of hard fertiliser is the most common application method but foliar applications are used as well.
Fertiliser is generally applied 8 times a year.
Boron is applied to the ground and as a foliar every year and calcium is applied to the ground every year.
Shelter
Trees make up all the shelters and are about 8m high on most boundaries. Some boundaries with kiwifruit don’t have shelter.
Tree health management
Trees have injected with phosphonate once a year.
Frost protection
No frost protection system is used in the orchard.
