Creating value from harvest to sale

March 2012 | Prepared by John Wilton, Ross Wilson and Craig Hornblow | Future Orchards® Orchard Walk notes and presentation

This Future Orchards® resource looks at the point where orchard production decisions meet harvest, storage and marketing. John Wilton, Ross Wilson and Craig Hornblow ask growers to assess whether their crop has genuine “glamour” appeal: the right colour and size, low defect levels, correct maturity and a consistent line of fruit in the bin.

The notes connect fruit quality with cost of production and market returns. They encourage growers to calculate block-level cost of production, compare marketing returns with those costs and document the management practices that produced strong results. Because much of orchard expenditure is fixed, increasing the proportion of high-value, marketable fruit is presented as one of the most effective ways to reduce unit cost.

Harvest management is treated as a series of value-preservation steps. The authors recommend keeping reject fruit out of Class 1 bins, harvesting at maturity appropriate to the intended market, understanding preferred size profiles, assessing storage risks block by block, training harvest teams clearly and aligning storage and marketing plans with the quality of the crop.

The resource also discusses quality consistency and the importance of reducing within-line variation in maturity, colour, size and internal quality. Monitoring starch, pressure and background colour, selective picking and matching fruit to appropriate storage periods are all presented as tools for protecting consumer experience and grower margin.