Soil moisture management field day: Katikati, 15 November 2023

NZ Avocado invites you to join us for a field day on Wednesday 15 November 2023 from 10.00am – 12.00pm at Fred and Gill Willis’s orchard, 171 Walker Rd East, Katikati.

Fred and Gill have participated in fertiliser trials and a nutrient leaching trial is currently being run on the orchard. Several commercially available soil moisture monitoring devices are being trialled on the orchard which we will discuss. Fred is also carrying out some remedial pruning that we’ll discuss as part of an orchard walk. Other orchard management practices that will be covered include crop load and soil moisture management to optimise fruit size and grade.

Field day topics will include

• Soil moisture management and value of management options.
• The financial benefit of crop load management to improve consistency of production and fruit size.
• Discussion on the benefit of tree height reduction and a practical demonstration of flower pruning.
• Influence of soil moisture on fruit size with importance of early fruit development.
• Attending growers will be encouraged to share their own experiences of crop load management and beneficial spring orchard management practices.