Business Development Group Update – December 2020

December 2020 | Prepared by Jack Wilson, AgFirst | Future Orchards® Business Development Group newsletter

The December 2020 newsletter focuses on the practical decisions growers need to make as hand thinning continues and harvest approaches. Jack Wilson reviews national fruit-size data for Royal Gala and Pink Lady and explains how weekly measurements in OrchardNet can support decisions about irrigation, fertigation, secondary hand thinning, Retain® or Harvista™ and likely storage strategy.

The issue also demonstrates OrchardNet’s Water Centre. Growers are shown how to convert irrigation-system output into effective rainfall, compare irrigation with evapotranspiration and use a water budget alongside soil-moisture information. The newsletter notes that a mature apple or pear canopy under minisprinklers may need around 70–80% of evapotranspiration when only the tree row is irrigated.

Nutrition monitoring and labour planning are also covered. Soil and leaf-test data can be tracked against reference values, while the harvest labour planner converts crop estimates into picker requirements by variety and week. The examples show how data can help growers prepare for labour shortages and prioritise the most profitable blocks.