The trees on the north coast are now well and truly flowering , some a bit early compared to the usual given the generally mild winter we have just enjoyed . With no frost and a dry July , conditions were ideal for the trees .
Low Chill Australia President ' s Report
Quality is our business
The trees on the north coast are now well and truly flowering , some a bit early compared to the usual given the generally mild winter we have just enjoyed . With no frost and a dry July , conditions were ideal for the trees .
MARK NAPPER is President of Low Chill Australia M : 0413 007 197 P : 02 6687 2376 E : president @ lowchillaustralia . com . au
Unfortunately this was followed by a large dump of 110ml of rain at the start of August . Not great timing , and it does raise the prospect of potential brown rot issues later in the season ( for advice on management of brown rot see page 20 of this magazine ).
The low chill executive had a very productive meeting at Rocklea Markets on 18 July .
Bruce Topp provided a briefing on his latest results with dwarfing rootstocks . He is getting some good initial results with these reduced-vigour trees , which could provide significant labour savings in the future .
Work on novel varieties is also continuing . In Europe , stonefruit consumption is declining , largely due to competition from fruit such as cherries and berries . The exception to this is the doughnut peach , this being the only stonefruit which is actually increasing production .
Consumers are always looking for the novel and the new . So far , we have had good retail feedback on many of our new varieties , including doughnut peaches . The main thing holding them back is the volume available – if more growers adopt these categories we can provide reliable supply for longer periods . It ’ s a bit of a chicken-andegg situation really , hard to grow the market without supply .
Consumers are always looking for the novel and the new . So far , we have had good retail feedback on many of our new varieties , including doughnut peaches . summerfruit . com . au august 2016 | Australian Stonefruit Grower 9