What variety do I plant? – notes

June 2017 | Prepared by Jonathan Brookes and Steve Spark, AgFirst | Future Orchards® notes

These Future Orchards® notes accompany the June 2017 discussion on variety selection and provide a practical framework for deciding what to plant. The central message is that variety choice should begin with the likely market and business return, then be tested against the orchard’s ability to grow the fruit to specification.

The notes draw attention to the concentration of Australian production in Pink Lady, Granny Smith and Gala strains, while newer varieties were increasing their share of planted area. That trend created opportunity, but also reinforced the risk of choosing a variety mainly because it is new or attracting short-term attention.

Orchard fundamentals remain critical. Rootstock, tree density, support, netting, irrigation, spacing and site all influence whether a variety will achieve the required yield, size, colour and packout. The notes also recognise the value of orchard systems that preserve flexibility, including the ability to regraft if a variety proves commercially unsuitable.

Growers can use this resource as a pre-planting checklist: define the customer and target fruit specification, assess realistic production performance and costs, confirm the orchard system can deliver those targets, and consider how the block could be adapted if market conditions change.