Improving fruit quality

June 2018 | Prepared and presented by Ross Wilson and Steve Spark, AgFirst | Future Orchards® presentation and notes

This Future Orchards® resource challenges growers to treat fruit quality as a whole-of-business discipline rather than a final grading outcome. Ross Wilson and Steve Spark link sustainable profitability with consistently producing apples that meet consumer expectations for crunch, juiciness, flavour, appearance and appropriate size.

The presentation reviews Australian apple market performance and highlights the gap between total crop volume and Class 1 recovery. It argues that quality improvement requires agreed standards, disciplined implementation and continual monitoring across the supply chain. From a grower perspective, useful measures include Class 1 recovery, pressure, brix, colour, maturity and optimum fruit size.

A large part of the resource focuses on management that can be influenced in the orchard. Genetics, pruning, light interception, crop load and bud quality all shape final fruit performance. The presenters emphasise simple, repeatable pruning rules that promote calm trees, good light distribution and strong fruiting wood, and caution that skimping on pruning can create later costs through poor colour, size and storage quality.

The broader message is that fruit quality is a culture of continual improvement. Investment in pruning, monitoring and orchard consistency is presented as a pathway to stronger packout, repeat consumer satisfaction and better long-term returns.