Orchard walk: Huon Valley, March 2007

March 2007 | Future Orchards® orchard walk | Huon Valley, Tasmania

The March 2007 Huon Valley Future Orchards® walk was facilitated by Jesse Reader and held across Calvert Bros at Waterloo and Ryan Hankin’s property at Glendevie. Craig Hornblow of AgFirst led discussion on managing Cripps Pink harvest and storage for optimum fruit quality and out-turn.

The notes focus on light exposure, colour development and maturity management. Growers discussed canopy architecture, removal of shading growth, the risks of exposing fruit to sunburn, reflective matting and the importance of selectively picking Cripps Pink by colour. The resource also records the use of ReTain to delay maturity and notes associated effects on colour, size, background colour, firmness, pre-harvest drop and harvest timing.

Internal browning disorder, greasy fruit and maturity-related storage risk were also considered. The walk finished with discussion of future planting choices, including the importance of virus-tested rootstocks and scion material, reliable budwood sources and varieties that have been tested under local conditions and can build sustainable market demand.