Exports to Asia is becoming the norm for Katikati avocado firm Darling Group, and the focus on orchard health has also increased as growers strive to produce fruit that can meet the rigours of long-distance travel.
Andrew Cutfield, general manager of investor relations and supply, says Darling Group is constantly working to develop its understanding of on-orchard and harvest management practices that impact the quality of the crop.
“We are focusing intently on the things that we can do to assist our marketing team in producing quality fruit that is able to be utilised for the longer shipping journeys that are needed to deliver avocados to markets across Asia.”
More than 70 per cent of the avocados picked and packed by Darling Group to date will be exported to Asia with most of the fruit travelling via sea freight on trips that take an average of three weeks.
“As we move into spring and damp, warm orchard environments increase, so does the incidence of rot in the fruit. It’s important that as growers, we carefully monitor the climate in the orchard to ensure the crop isn’t damaged by these conditions.
“While we’re now at the tail end of the long-ship-time, sea freight export window and we are transitioning to air freight and shorter shipping timeframes, we’re still carefully monitoring quality to ensure we limit any wastage.”
The 2021 crop has exceeded expectations with fruit size and volume up on the past season.
“Given the weather constraints this season, we’ve seen really pleasing results. Most orchards continue to be picking more volume than estimated, with good flowering for the season ahead.
“Average fruit size is proving to be larger than last season, while the only issue has been a high incidence of ridging occurring in the fruit. This appears to be particularly prevalent in younger, high-density orchards. This is most likely linked to weather events post flowering last season,” Cutfield says.
With more than half of the 2021 crop now picked and packed, Cutfield says late spring and early summer is a crucial time on the orchard for prepping next year’s crop.
“The focus for our growers now turns to overall orchard health as they look to set up an excellent foundation for the next crop. Pruning, fertiliser and soil moisture management are important tools in the coming months,” he says.
Darling Group has been working with global agricultural company Agri Technovation to install leading edge soil moisture management tools in avocado orchards over the last 12 months.
“One of the surprising key insights we have gained is that, on average, we have been overwatering – a key cause of tree stress.
“Maintaining irrigation systems is one of the most effective ways to reduce wasted water, reduce over-irrigation, and improve plant health by applying the correct amount of water, (and fertiliser) where it can be utilised by the tree.”
