Bay of Plenty orchard 2

General management

  • Pollination, pruning, pest monitoring, spraying and fertiliser planning is contracted out. Remainder of work is completed by owners.

Canopy management

  • Tree spaced 10m X 10m
  • Managed in rows
  • Max height of trees is 9m
  • Light interception is the priority when pruning followed by structural tree balance, increasing access for picking and spraying, management of crop load and removal of dead or diseased material.
  • Trees are structurally pruned once a year in autumn with about 20% of the canopy removed each year.
  • Flower pruning is also carried out once a year on trees that need it with a single follow up fruit removal also if trees are over cropping.

Soil and soil moisture management

  • Orchard is predominately sandy loam.
  • Leaf litter, avocado pruning and shelter pruning are all used to mulch trees.
  • Soil moisture is not monitored on the orchard.
  • The orchard is 90% irrigated with in-canopy micro sprinklers used for irrigation.
  • At peak summer it is common to irrigate for 12 hours per irrigation event once a week using sprinklers with an 8m diameter that deliver 60l/hr (14mm per irrigation event)
  • Sprinkler heads are the same on all trees.
  • Pump pressure and flow characteristics are checked twice a year (Prior to main frost risk period and prior to main irrigation period) with ongoing inspection of pipework on orchard.

Pollination

  • Pollinizer species include Bacon, Zutano and Fuerte at a percentage of 7-10%
  • Honeybee hives are brought onto the orchard before flowering at a rate of 3-4 hives per hectare. Hives are located evenly through block.

Soil and fertiliser application

  • Soil and leaf tests are carried out once a year in March.
  • A consultant provides a fertiliser plan based on test results and crop loading.
  • The majority of fertiliser is applied by ground application but foliar application is also used.
  • Boron fertilisers are applied as ground application and foliar every year.
  • Calcium fertiliser is applied when deficient.
  • Fertiliser in some form is applied 12 times a year.

Tree health management

  • Trees are injected with phosphonate once a year in autumn. No root testing is conducted to verify application has been successful.

Frost protection

  • No frost protection is in place in the orchard.