Australian Stonefruit Grower Magazine Issue 4 April 2017 | Page 21

News
Rain ruins Riverland
apricot season
By Brittany Evins
Photo: Bill Spurlock,
Sunny Slope Orchard, Ca.
Excessive rain last year has lead to one of the worst seasons in
memory for apricot growers in South Australia's Riverland. The rain
had damaged the crops, splitting their skin and darkening them,
which cut around $4 off the price per kilogram.
T
he chair of the South Australian Dried Tree Fruits “That's sad in a way because it’s the sort of job where
Association, Kris Werner, discussed the effects the a lot of local children, school age, have been able to come
weather had on the crops saying it was “Probably the worst
(season) I’ve had as long as I’ve been in the industry. It just
seems to want to rain every week,” he said.
“At this point it’s probably a 50 per cent loss of income.
and apricot cut, but it’s not there this year.”
“Apricot season has been, crop-wise, disastrous,” he
said.
Stonefruit such as apricots are most susceptible to rain
Anyone who’s doing dried fruit for instance is certainly damage when they are close to harvest. The high sugar
suffering,” he said. content inside the fruit draws moisture through the skin
The Riverland experienced around 299mm of rain last
year which was well above average.
Renmark fruit grower Phillip Simms has spent more than
and swells the flesh. Unfortunately, the skin does not
expand at the same rate and simply splits.
At times, cherry growers have hired helicopters to blow
50 years in the dried apricot industry and said although poorly timed rain off their trees, like giant air-blade hand-
fruit sizes had been excellent, he had never experienced dryers. Hideously expensive, but a surprisingly effective
such a poor season. With the season’s falling profits some solution to fruit splitting.
farmers are even having to turn away workers, as they
cannot afford them.
summerfruit.com.au
This story first appeared on the abc.net.au news website
April 2017 | Australian Stonefruit Grower
21