NQ AVOCADO STUDY GROUP Minutes from meeting at Eric & Tracey Battistin's orchard, 1611 ...

16 Pages·2015·2.79 MB·English

NQAVOCADOSTUDYGROUP
MinutesfrommeetingatEric&TraceyBattistin’sorchard,1611Mareeba-DimbulahRd,Arriga
9:30amtill4.00pm,Thursday15October2015
“TAKEHOME”MESSAGES
GrowersareencouragedtoparticipateinInfocadobecauseitplaysamajorroleinmaintaininghigh
priceseventhoughthevolumeoffruitisincreasingsignificantly.
YouareencouragedtojoinAvocadosAustraliaLtd(AAL)andHorticultureInnovationAustralia(HIA)
Avocadoflowering,pollinationandfruitsetisacomplexprocessandbymonitoringtheprocess
opportunitiescanbefoundtoimprovetheoutcome.
Anewprojectcalledthe“Smalltreehighproductivityinitiative”isalongtermundertakingdesigned
tobreakthroughthestagnantyieldlevelsofavocado,macadamiaandmango.
Spottingbugluresshouldbeonthemarketintimefornextyear’sfloweringandwilloffer
opportunitiestomonitorandtargetspottingbugactivity.
Ambrosiabeetleactivityinavocadobranchesisprobablysecondarydamage,occurringonlimbsthat
arealreadydyingback,butkeepaneyeonitincaseitstartstoaffecthealthy,non-shadedbranches.
Recentlydevelopedinformationresourcesforavocadogrowersincludethe“AvocadoProblem
SolverFieldGuide”,the‘Growing’sectionofthe“BestPracticeResource”(BPR)hostedonthe
AvocadosAustraliaLtdwebsiteandthe“ManagePhytophthoraRootRot”poster.ContactAALfor
thefirsttwoandDAFQldforthelatter.
AvocadoproductionpracticesinPeruandChilehaveconfirmedtheimportancewegivetoirrigation
(afullreportonthetripwillavailableontheBestPracticeResourcesoon).
Partofthegroupparticipatinginthefarmwalk,inspectingthe30yearold
Shepardtrees
'Whilsteverycarehasbeentakeninpreparingtheseminutes,theDepartmentofAgricultureand
Fisheries(DAF)acceptsnoresponsibilityfordecisionsoractionstakenasaresultofanydata,
information,statementoradvice,expressedorimplied,containedintheseminutes. Theviewsand
recommendationsofthespeakersarenotnecessarilyendorsedorsupportedbyDAF."
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Present(73)
Growers(51)
MarcelloAvlio,Eric&TraceyBattistin,MarioBattistin,CharlieBorzi,AnthonyCarusi,Susan
Christensen,Sam&KylieCollins,PhilCross,MarkDelai,WillEricson,DinoFalvo,MattFealy,Eddie
Floreancig,AndrewGould,LukeHalling,StanHobden,AndewIrving,JohnJennings,BradleyJonsson,
Willem&AshaJoubert,JimKochi,PeterLloyd,LawrenceMasasso,IanMathews,DaleMcTaggart,
GlennOliver,TrevorParker,MatthewPerkes,StevePlozza,Natale&GiovanniRavanello,Kaila
Ridgeway,BryanSanderson,Andrew&MarkSerra,MartinShaw,Jack&JacksonStockman,Mark
Taylor,BerniceTerranova,JohnTomasetig,MarkToohey,Henk&KosievanNiekerk,Tony&John
Villella,BobWaterman,BrendanWeare.
Non-growers(16)
GregForsyth(Elders),TroyMorgan,MarkKindelan,ClaytonLynch, PeterBecke,ClintonEales,
(T.G.T.),IvanColledge,PeterHolt,PeterMasasso,Janelle&PaulMenniti(Nu-edgeSolutions),Tony
Matchett&JoeVisini(CRT),TrevorParker(NorthernGulf),AnthonyRice,LeonieWittenberg.
DAF(6)
GeoffDickinson,JamesDrinnan,SimonNewett,IanNewton,PatO’Farrell,PeterRigden.
Apologies:HowardHall(Pinnacle)
Agenda
9.30 Welcome,apologies,agenda
9.35 A.A.L&Infocado-JimKochi
9.55 Pollination&fruitset-SimonNewett&PatO’Farrell(DAF)
10.30 Morningtea
10.55 SmallTreeHighProductivity-PeterRigden(DAF)
11.15 Fruitspottingbuglures&Ambrosiabeetles-IanNewton(DAF)
12.00 ProblemSolverFieldGuide,RootRotPoster,BPR-PeterRigden(DAF)
12.15 Settopic,date,venuenextmeeting-PeterRigden(DAF)
12.25 BBQlunch
1.25 AvocadosinPeru&Chile-SimonNewett(DAF)
2.10 Thanks&evaluation
2.20 FarmEfficiencyProject-TrevorParker(NorthernGulfResourceManagementGroup)
2.30 Farmwalk-EricBattistin
Irrigationefficiencytesting-TrevorParker
4:00 Depart
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Growersnetworkingduringmorningtea.
UPDATEONINDUSTRYMATTERS
JimKochi,ChairmanandlocalboardmemberofAvocadosAustraliaLtd(AAL)
Areyoureceiving‘TalkingAvocados’magazine?
Jimaskedifeveryonewasreceiving“TalkingAvocados”magazine(everyonewhopaysleviescan
receivetheindustrymagazine,ifyoudon’tcurrentlyreceiveitthenphonetheAALofficeon07-
[email protected]).
Infocado
JimencouragedgrowerstoparticipateintheInfocadomarketintelligencesystemandexplainedthe
benefitsofaccurateforecastingforboththeindustryasawholeandforindividualgrowers.Dueto
Infocadothemarketisnowabletohandle350,000traysperweekatthepeakoftheseasonand
maintainhighprices.
MemberofAAL?
JimthenencouragedallthosenotcurrentlymembersofAvocadosAustraliaLtdtojoinuptohelp
securethefutureoftheindustry,themembershipformcanbefoundineveryissueof“Talking
Avocados”magazine.
MemberofHIA?
JimalsoencouragedgrowerstobecomemembersofHorticultureInnovationAustralia(HIA)whichis
thenationalorganisationwhichhasreplacedHorticultureAustraliaLtd(HAL).Youcanjoinbygoing
tothewebsiteandregistering,nocostisinvolved.Sofaronly400oftheestimated30,000
horticulturalproducersinAustraliahavejoinedup,40oftheseareavocadogrowers.
Currentindustrystatisticsandlevies
Thecurrentleviespertrayareasfollows:
• 16centsforR&DandthisismatchedbytheFederalgovernmentthroughHIAsobecomes32
cents.
• 25centsformarketingandpromotionwhichisnotmatched.
• 0centsforEmergencyPlantPestEradication,thisissetupsothatifanexoticpestordisease
shouldarriveinAustraliaalevycanbestrucktoeradicateorcontrolit.
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Thereforethetotalcurrentlevypaidbythegroweris41cents.Thisisusuallydeductedfromthesale
priceatthefirstpointofsale(e.g.bythemarketagent)andforwardedtotheLevyRevenueService
oftheFederalgovernment.
CurrentlytheannualR&Dspendis$3.3mandthemarketingspend$2.5m.Thecurrentcropis
57,000tonneswhichisequivalenttoabout10milliontraysofwhich1.2m(12%)areproducedin
NorthQueensland.
AVOCADOEXTENSIONPROJECT“ACHIEVINGMORECONSISTENTYIELDSOFQUALITYFRUITINTHE
AUSTRALIANAVOCADOINDUSTRY”(AV14000).
Thisprojectincludesthestudygroupmeetings(suchasthisone),areviewofavocadofertiliser
practices,thestudyandawarenessofflowering,pollinationandfruitset,attendingtheWorld
AvocadoCongressinPeruandaddingtoandupdatinginformation(textandvideos)ongrowing
avocadosontheonlineBestPracticeResource.Itrunsforthreeyearstilltheendof2017.
RecentfruitsetontheBattistin’sorchard.Manyofthe
flowerpaniclesseenonthedaywere‘determinate’i.e.
thereisnoleafgrowthdevelopingfromtheendofthe
flowerpanicle,sometimesthiscanresultinmore
sunburnonfruit.
POLLINATIONANDFRUITSETINNQTHISYEAR
PatO’Farrell,DAF,Mareeba
Patoutlinedtheobservationalworkthathastakenplaceonsevendiverseorchards(mainlyShepard)
ontheAthertonTablelandsthisfloweringseason.
Ateachsitedataloggerswereestablishedtorecordtemperatureandhumidityevery30minutes
throughoutfloweringandobservationsweremadeonthestart,peakandendoftheflowering,bee
activity,openingtimesofmaleandfemaleflowerstagesandperiodsofoverlapwhichareconducive
tofruitset.Theplanistorecordthisinformationforthreeseasonsinanattempttolearnmore
abouttheprocessandgetsomeinsightsintoconditionsthatleadtogoodandpoorfruitset.
Therewasdiscussionaboutthefloweringandpollinatoractivitythisseason.Therewasageneral
feelingamongstShepardgrowersatthemeetingthatthefruitsethasnotbeengreatthisseason.
Variouscommentswereofferedaspossibleexplanations.Firstly,therewasalotofwindduring
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floweringandsecondly,thereweren’talotofpollinators(suchasbees)about.Itisafactthat
moderatetostrongwindswilldeterbees.EddieFloreancigmentionedthathehad21hivesin4
differentlocationsaroundtheorchardandtherewerebeesaroundinthemorningbutwhenthe
male/femaleflowerstageoverlapwasoccurringlaterinthedaytherewerenobeesabout.Matt
Fealyhadmadethesameobservation.(Perhapssomethingelsemoreattractivetobeeswas
floweringnearbyintheafternoon).Growersalsocommentedthattherewerealotofbee-eaters
(birds)aroundthebeehives;Eddiesaidthatnextyearhewouldplacethebeehivesintheopenaway
frombirdperchessuchasfencesandtrees.
Beehivedensityvariesfromabout2upto12beehivesperhectare.Growerswereremindedthat
smallhivebeetlehasbeenreducingthepopulationofferalbeesandthattherewasthethreatof
VarroamitearrivinginAustraliawhichwouldfurtherdepletethepopulationofferalbees.
PleaserefertoPat’sMSPowerPointformoredetailandSimon’sMSPPTformorebackgroundon
avocadoflowering.
OVERVIEWOFSMALLTREEHIGHPRODUCTIVITYINITIATIVE(STHPI)
PeterRigden(DAF,Nambour)
Thetypicalyieldsofavocado,macadamiaandmangohavehardlychangedforseveraldecades.
Whatisstoppingusfromachievingthetheoreticalyieldof40t/hainavocado?Applesarenow
managedinhighdensitysystems(2,000to2,500trees/ha)andtheiryieldshaveleaptfromaround
12t/hato100t/ha.Whilstavocadosarenotdeciduoustreesandwhatworksforapplesisunlikelyto
workforavocados,theprojectislookingforabetterunderstandingofavocado,macadamiaand
mangoandthroughthisknowledgediscoverwhereabreakthroughispossibletosignificantlyraise
yields.
Thisnew,longtermproject(20yearsperhaps)isintendedtoresultinplantingsystemsand
managementstrategiesthatmayonedayleadtorealisationofavocado’stheoreticalyieldpotential.
TreesinthetrialatBundabergplantedatmediumdensity(6x3m).
Thesetreesarebeingprunedandtrainedtomaintainthe
dominanceofacentralleaderwithalimitednumberoflateral
scaffoldlimbs.
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Theprojectisresearchingdifferentplantingdensities,rootstocks,treearchitecture,light
penetration,croploadandalternatebearing.Thereisabigteamofscientistsworkingontheproject
includingexpertsincropmodelling(fortreearchitecture)andmoleculargenetics.
Inapplestheyknowhowmanyfruitpertreeareneededeachyeartokeeptherightbalance
betweenvegetativeandreproductivegrowthandtominimisealternatebearing.
ResearchershavecollecteddataonaBundabergorchardfromasingleseason(toberepeatedfor
moreseasons)withtwoaims:
1. Tounderstandthelimitationstodevelopmentoffruitloadon‘Hass’.
2. Togainawholetreeunderstandingoftherelationshipsbetweenflowering,fruitingand
vegetativegrowth.
Inthisfirstyearofdatatheresultswereasfollows:
• Yieldisproportionaltonumberofflowers
• Yieldpercubicmetreoftreecanopyisproportionaltoflowerdensity
• Asyieldpercubicmetreoftreecanopyincreases,fruitweight(gramsperfruit)drops
• Asyieldpercubicmetreoftreecanopyincreases,theproportionoflargefruitdecreases,
theproportionofmediumsizedfruitincreasesbuttheproportionofsmallfruitremainsthe
same
• Ascanopyvolumeincreases,yieldpercubicmetreoftreecanopydecreases
• Astrunkcircumferenceincreases,yieldpercubicmetreoftreecanopydecreases
Thetreewillpartlycompensateforlowerflowerdensitybyincreasingfruitsetandfruitsize.The
morefruitonthetreethelessvegetativegrowththereisandviceversa.
TreesinthetrialatBundabergplantedathighdensity(4.5x
2m)againstawiretrellis.Thesetreesarebeingtrainedtoa
centralleaderwiththesupportofaverticaltrellis.Theywill
alsobesubjecttocanopymanipulationssuchaslimbbending
inanattempttoreducevigourandincreaseearlyfruiting.
TheavocadodensitytrialatBundabergResearchFacility:
• Conventionaldensity 9x5m(222/ha)
• Mediumdensity 6x3m(556/ha)
• Highdensity 4.5x2m(1,111/ha)
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Highvigourrootstock‘Velvick’
Lowvigourrootstock‘Ashdot’
Treetrainingwillbecarriedoutasappropriateforthetreedensity.
Horizontallimbsmaybelessvigorousthanverticallimbsandmayresultingreaterpartitioning
(directionofresources)tofruitproduction.
PleaserefertotheMSPowerPointformoredetail.
Workhasbegunonacomprehensiveprogramofmeasuringtheposition,sizeandorientationof
growthunits(flushes),branches.Thepurposeofthisassessmentistounderstandthepatternsof
vegetativegrowth,theresponsestoourpruningandtrainingstrategiesandrelationshipsbetween
vegetativegrowthandfruiting.
FRUITSPOTTINGBUGRESEARCHUPDATE
IanNewton(DAF,Mareeba)
Twospecies
TherearetwospeciesofspottingbugthataffectavocadosinQueenslandandNSW.Althoughthere
isconsiderableoverlapintheirrangesAmblypeltalutescenslutescens(bananaspottingbug)isthe
mainspeciesinNorthQueenslandandAmblypeltanitida(fruitspottingbug)isthemainspeciesin
thesouth,howeverinthecoolerareassuchasTolgaandAthertonA.nitidaisthemainone.
Bothspeciesaredifficulttodetectandmonitorandtherearefewinsecticideoptions.
Pheromonetrap
Apheromonespecificforbananaspottingbugwasdiscoveredandabletobemanufactured
syntheticallyandIanhasbeenworkingonthedevelopmentofaspottingbuglureusingthis
pheromone.Theanticipatedusesofthelurewereformonitoringandpossiblyasaformof
eradication. Recentresearchhasconcentratedonthepheromoneusefordetection,monitoringand
interventionthresholds.
Exampleofthecurrentversionofthespottingbug
lurewithavictimsuccessfullytrapped(inset)
Thetrapconsistsofarubberlureandapieceofcorfluteboardcoatedinastickysubstancethat
trapstheinsectslandingonit.Itisanaggregationpheromone,soitattractsallformsofthe
bananaspottingbug,males,females,adultsandnymphs.
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Howthetrapcanbeused
Recentresearchhasfocussedonfindingouthowmanytrapsareneededperhectareandwhatthe
thresholdlevelistotriggertheneedtospray.Recenttestswereundertakenwithadensityof10and
20trapsperhectare.Thecommerciallyimportantdamagethresholdappearstobe0.5bugspertrap
perfortnight(i.e.onebugtrappedforeverytwotrapsinthefieldeachfortnight).Therewasagood
correlationbetweenthenumberofbugstrappedandthedamagetofruit.Visiblespottingbug
damageonlybecomesevidentabout4weeksafterfruitdamagesothesetrapshavethepotential
fordetectingbugactivitysoonerthanthisandintimeforaspraytobeappliedandbeeffective.
Theeffectiverangeofthetrapsisabout20metres,i.e.thetrapswillattractbugsfromasfarawayas
20m.
Interestinglytherewasmoredamageinthetreesinwhichatrapwashungshowinghoweffective
theywereinattractingthepest.Thishappenedinbothavocadoandcustardappletreesandthereis
concernthatthepresenceofthetrapswillcreatenew“hotspots”,butthiscanbeusedtothe
growersadvantage.
Thetrapsrequireshadetoremainsticky,andarealsomoreeffectiveattrappingintheshadeofthe
tree.
Whenwillthetrapsbecommerciallyavailable?
TheyshouldbeavailablefromOrganicCropProtectants(OCP)intimebeforethe2016flowering
season.
Commentsandissuesraisedbygrowers
AndrewIrvinesaidthatifyouhavegotahandleonspottingbughotspotsthenyouarehalfway
theretocontrollingthem.
Ifthetrapsshowthatyoudon’tneedtoapplyasprayforspottingbugsyoumustn’tforgetabout
managingotherinsectpestssuchasteamosquitobug,whichareoftenincidentallycontrolledby
spraysappliedforspottingbug.
Theotherissueisthatregularcoppersprayshavetobeappliedforfruitdiseasessothereisa
temptationtoincludeBulldock®forspottingbugtoo.However,Ianwarnedthatthiswasarecipefor
breedingpesticideresistanceintheinsectpopulationsandfordevelopingsecondarypestsinto
primarypests.
Futureresearch
1. Investigateusingthetrapsasa“lureandkill”strategy,e.g.(a)usethetrapsonlyinselected
treesorrowsandonlysprayinsecticidewherethetrapsare(b)plantanareaalongside(orwithin)
theorchardofaplantspeciesorcropthatismoreattractivetofruitspottingbugsuchasMurraya,
papaya,orange,mango(avocadoisactuallynotasattractivetospottingbugassomeotherplants)
andsprayingthetrapcropregularly.
2. Improvethedesignofthetrap,IanisworkingwithOrganicCropProtectants(OCP)onthis.
3. DevelopapheromoneforAmblypeltanitida(fruitspottingbug).
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Freshlylaidspottingbugegg(left),eggongreentwigwithspottingbug(right).
PhotosbyRuthHuwer,NSWDPI.
Ambrosiabeetle(pinholeborer)
TherehavebeenreportsandconcernsfromtheAthertonTablelandsaboutAmbrosiabeetleactivity
inavocadobranches.
Iangaveaninsightintotheseinsects.Thetinybeetles,Euwallaceafornicatus,whichmeasureonly
about1.7mmlongby1mmindiameter,liveinasymbioticrelationshipwithaparticularspeciesof
fungus,Fusariumambrosiumthesporesofwhichtheycarrywiththeminspecialfungalspore
pocketscalled‘mycangia’.Typicallythebeetlesareattractedtodyinglimbswhichtheyboreintoand
inoculatewiththesporesofthesymbioticfungus.Thisfungusfeedsonthedeadordyingwoodand
thebeetlelivesoffthefungus.Essentiallythebeetle‘farms’thefungus.Thebeetlesaretotally
dependentonthefungusandwouldn’tsurvivewithoutit.Refertopages54and146in‘Theavocado
problemsolverfieldguide’formoredetails.
Thebeetleisgenerallyfoundindeadordyinglimbs.Oftentheyareinlimbsthathavebeenshaded
outandaredyingbackalready.Boththebeetleandthefungusneedfairlydrytissuebutmayneed
somemoisture.
Pinholeborerandaffectedbranchesshowingthe
galleryoftinyholes(right)andthesapthatcanbleed
outofthem(left).
Thefemalebeetlesdothecolonising;themalesareflightless.
BeetledamagehereinAustraliaismostlikelysecondaryandithasprobablybeenaroundforseveral
decadeshoweverwemustremainvigilant.InFlorida,USAthereiscombinationofanotherpinhole
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borerandfungusthatisattackingandkillinghealthytrees,thisdiseaseisreferredtoas‘Laurelwilt’.
ItisNOTpresentinAustralia.
Therecommendationsaretoimprovepruningstrategiestoreducelowerlimbshadingandtoprune
outdeadordyinglimbs.Insecticideapplicationswillnotbeeffective.Affectedlimbsshouldbeburnt
tokillthebeetlesastheyaresosmallthatchippingcannotbeguaranteedtokilleverybeetle.
Aquestionwasaskedaboutamorevirulentstrainappearing.Iancommentedthathedidn’tthink
wehadavirulentstrainatpresentbutweneedtobevigilantforanychange.
EFFICIENCTFARMINGPROGRAM
TrevorParker(NorthernGulfResourceManagementGroup)
Trevorsaidthatthousandsofdollarscanbesavedthroughmoreefficientfarming.
TheprojectcallsforgrowersintheMareeba-Dimbulaareawhowanttoparticipateanditworks
one-to-onewith10producersperyearusinglocalandregionaldeliverymechanisms.Typesof
assistanceincludeapropertysurvey,theprovisionofmapsof1:8000and1:25000scale,areview
oftheirrigationpumpanddeliverysystemandscheduling,anassessmentofthetreenutritionand
soilhealthandtheprovisionofa$5,000granttomakeanimprovementsuchaspurchaseofa
weatherstation,animprovementtotheirrigationsystemetc.
PatDaleyisemployedbytheprojecttolookatagrower’sirrigationandschedulingsystem.This
includesinstallingaG-dotsoilmoisturemonitoringtoolandusingdatafromthisinstrument
togetherwithevaporationdatafromtheMareebaairport(adjustedforthelocationofthefarm)to
recommendirrigationscheduling.AG-dotcostsabout$290andreplacementgypsumblocksforit
cost$90each.Thegypsumblocksensorsareplacedat15and30cmdepths.(Note:cropfactorsused
arethoserecommendedbyMichaelScobyattheUniversityofSouthernQueensland).PatDaleywill
alsoassesstheirrigationsystemitself,workingouttheactualcostpermegalitre(ML)ofwater
applied.Healsodeterminesthepeakirrigationrequirementandcomparesthistothecapacityofthe
systemwhichoftenhasinsufficientcapacitytokeepuptheorchard’smoistureneedsindemanding
conditions.
TrevorParkerexplainingthebenefitsofsoilmoisturemonitoring,flankedbyEric
Battistin(left)andPeterRigden(right).
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