Avocado Industry Council Over the past three years the Avocado Industry Council (AIC) has been working with avocado growers and consultants to help fight the industry's most challenging factor - irregular bearing.
NZAGA & AIC chief executive Jen Scoular says "the avocado industry has the potential to triple in value,but growth is constrained by the impacts of irregular bearing; a situation where trees fail to produce a viable crop every year".
As part of the ongoing effort to understand the causes of irregular bearing, the industry has produced a new tool; Reading Your Trees
It is a guide for New Zealand avocado growers to help them implement tailored orchard management strategies to mitigate the effects of irregular bearing.
Project lead, AIC laboratory manager Toni Elmsly says one of the factors that has lead to the development of the guide is growers' reliance on prescriptive or "one size fits all" tree management.
"Every orchard situation is different which makes it difficult to prescribe one set of management strategies for irregular bearing - here we are giving growers the tools to assess their individual needs based on the signs their own trees are displaying," she says.
AIC technical manager Henry Pak says "to achieve consistent crops and overcome irregular bearing, orchard management activities need to be applied at the correct time".
The guide defines indicators of an "ideal" tree at key stages of the growth cycle. Growers are then able to assess and rate their own trees using scales in the workbook.
The guide also offers inputs and tactics growers can consider to address identified issues.
According to Elmsly, the industry's most successful growers are those who have the ability to identify and understand the symptoms their trees are displaying and respond with appropriate management inputs.
Grower and contributor to the guide, Hilton Paul says Reading Your Trees is an exciting development. "It is a practical hands-on tool that should be used consistently all year."
Ms Scoular says: "Reading your trees is a significant contribution to the industry; we look forward to seeing how it will inform, stimulate and encourage our grower community to take a more proactive approach to orchard management."
Reading Your Trees was partly funded by a grant awarded to the project from the MAF Sustainable Farming Fund. The publication is available for free to all members of the NZ Avocado Growers' Association.
All members will be sent a copy.
Non-members are able to purchase the guide from the Avocado Industry Council.
