Orchard walk: Batlow, September 2006

7 September 2006 | Wilgro Orchards, Batlow NSW | Future Orchards 2012

The first Batlow Future Orchards 2012 orchard walk brought growers together with Ross Wilson of AgFirst and local facilitator Julie Dart to examine what “world class” orchard performance could look like under Batlow conditions. The report records discussion around marketable yield, packout, fruit quality, consistency and the advantages and trade-offs of intensive planting systems.

Topics included dwarfing rootstocks, canopy efficiency, planting density, light interception, labour efficiency, irrigation precision and variety choice. The notes also compare Batlow production with international systems and set aspirational benchmarks for mature yield and class 1 recovery, making the report a useful snapshot of the program’s early performance targets.