Pollination, pruning and pest monitoring are all contracted out. Remainder of work is completed by owners.
Have a weather station on the orchard.
Canopy management
Tree spaced 7m X 7m
Managed in rows
Max height of trees is 7m
Crop load management in the form of flower or fruit removal is not carried out.
Soil and soil moisture management
Orchard is predominately clay loam.
Leaf litter and avocado pruning are used to mulch trees with some grass present as well. 1-3 year old trees also receive commercial mulch until leaf litter builds.
Soil moisture is monitored using tensiometer sites. A trigger point of -20 to -30kPa at a depth of 15-30cm is used to start irrigation.
The orchard is 100% irrigated with ground based microsprinklers.
At peak summer it is common to irrigate for 3 hours per irrigation event once a week using sprinklers with a 6m diameter that deliver 39l/hr (4mm per irrigation event)
Sprinkler heads and irrigation is varied based on tree age and size.
Pump pressure and flow characteristics, control valves and condition of all pipework is checked at least annually.
Pollination
Zutano pollinizer trees are used in the orchard at a percentage of 1-5%
Both honey bee and bumble bee hives are brought onto the orchard at about 20% flowering at a rate of 5-7 hives per hectare. Hives are located equally in blocks in positions that have good access.
Soil and fertiliser application
Soil and leaf tests are carried out once a year in May.
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 every year.
Calcium in the form of lime is applied every year.
Fertiliser in some form is applied 8-10 times a year.
Tree health management
Trees have 3 foliar applications of phosphonate a year after summer flush has hardened off. Root testing is conducted to verify application has been successful.
