Kiwifruit vines on a string reach for the sky

Hawke's Bay kiwifruit grower Mark Ericksen says an innovative new method of tying up the new canes on kiwifruit vines costs up to $10,000/ha to set up, but is worth every cent.

Mr Ericksen has just spent a year in Italy establishing 300ha of kiwifruit orchards to ensure year-round supply of gold kiwifruit for Zespri's customers in Europe.

He returned home with an idea for stringing up the new canes in his 7ha of kiwifruit on his Waima orchard.

Kiwifruit only produces on new canes each year so the new growth must be encouraged and nurtured. Gold kiwifruit is a prolific fruiter so the new canes must be able to support a big crop.

Mr Ericksen's system uses a special string to support the new canes as they grow above the canopy.

Some growers already use a version of this system in a "teepee" formation but the Ericksen system heads the opposite way, to the outside edges of the canopy rather than back to the centre. The canes grow up along sloping string to a horizontal centre wire.

When this year's crop is picked, the old canes will be pruned, the new canes cut free from the centre wire and then it is a matter of undoing the knots for the new canes to fall into place.

Because the canes are separated and exposed to maximum light they reach a good size.

He said having the canes strung well above the canopy improved light levels for the existing crop and kept the crop below cooler.

It also protected against hail and wind.

Because the new canes were more organised, there was less risk of the pruners cutting them accidentally and ruining them for next year's crop. He also hoped it would improve dry matter content and therefore flavour.

Mr Ericksen says this year's crop, both green and gold, is "a doozy" and he's hoping for 57 tonnes a hectare.

Mr Ericksen's orchard manager, Mark Simmonds, is off to Japan soon with a shipload of kiwifruit as a fruit-monitoring technician to ensure the fruit arrives in top condition.

- NZPA