Pack out is lower than would like. Mix of wind and insect.
General management
Pollination, pruning, fertiliser planning and spraying is contracted out. Remainder of work is completed by owners.
Canopy management
Hass on Zutano 14m X 14m
Hass on Dusa 7m X 7m
Managed as individuals in grid
Max height of trees is 7m
Light interception is the highest 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 pruned once a year in Autumn.
About 15% of the canopy is removed each year.
Flower or fruitlet pruning is not carried out.
Soil and soil moisture management
Orchard is predominately silty clay loam
Leaf litter and avocado pruning are used to mulch trees.
Soil moisture is not monitored.
The orchard is fully irrigated with ground based micro sprinklers.
At peak summer it is common to irrigate for 4 hours per irrigation event once a week using 2 sprinklers per tree with a 2m throw that deliver 70l/hr (mm per irrigation event)
All trees have the same sprinkler heads and number of sprinklers. Young sprinkler has 1 sprinkler and older ones have 2. Young trees 2 hour of irrigation
Condition of pipework including mainlines, sub-mains and lateral pipework is inspected at least annually.
Pollination
Pollinizer species include Bacon and Zutano, at a percentage of more than 50 polleniser 43 Zutano and 7 Bacon of total trees.
Honey bee hives are brought onto the orchard before flowering at a rate of 3-4 hives per hectare. Hives are located evenly through block. 4 blocks 3 hives in each
Soil and fertiliser application
Soil and leaf tests are carried out once a year in April/May.
A consultant provided 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 as a ground application.
Fertiliser in some form is applied 12 times a year.
Tree health management
Trees are injected once a year with phosphonate in autumn with no root testing carried out.
