Stanthorpe fruit size

November 2010 | Presented by Stephen Tancred, Orchard Services | Future Orchards® presentation

This Stanthorpe-focused Future Orchards® presentation examines fruit sizing in the local growing environment and the practical factors that determine whether a block reaches the market’s preferred size range.

Stephen Tancred uses fruit-size monitoring to link the progress of the crop with crop load and seasonal growing conditions. The central management principle is that fruit size is dynamic and should be tracked through the season so growers can identify when a block is no longer following an acceptable growth path.

Crop load, irrigation, nutrition and weather all affect growth rate, and the presentation encourages growers to use measured trends rather than assumptions when judging performance. This is particularly useful where local climate conditions can make standard harvest expectations unreliable from year to year.

The resource supports the broader Future Orchards® approach of combining field measurements with block history to improve fruit-size outcomes and harvest planning.