Workshop highlights challenges and opportunities for Australian summerfruit industry

Covering the summerfruit season in review, government research, a case study on table grape exporting, retailer behaviour and chemical use and risk management were the key topics discussed on May 16, 2023.

Attracting about 60 attendees from across Australia, participants included stonefruit growers and exporters, agricultural suppliers, and presenters from Agriculture Victoria (AgVic), Australian Table Grape Association (ATGA), and Apple and Pear Australia Ltd (APAL).

Chief executive officer of Summerfruit Australia Limited (SAL), Trevor Ranford, opened the workshop with a review of this seasons' trade statistics for both domestic and export markets.

He then went on to describe several of the current R&D projects that SAL is collaborating on with industry.

Researcher, Glenn Hale, AgVic presented information on the benefits of using real-time temperature loggers, fruit quality after irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment, and the accuracy and reliability of non-destructive equipment to measure fruit maturity, firmness and sweetness.

Scientist, John Lopresti, AgVic, highlighted the importance of harvesting stonefruit at its optimal maturity (ie. Ripening stage when ethylene production has commenced) and its impact on fruit outturn quality after simulated long-term sea freight and ripening in the Controlled Environment Rooms at Agribio.

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He also described the benefits of stepwise cooling for fruit pre-conditioning and the use of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) to extend storage potential and reduce quality issues in stone fruit exports.

AgVic senior scientist, Dr Mark O'Connell, spoke about the recovery responses of nectarine trees subjected to long-term deficit irrigation.

Research conducted at the Tatura SmartFarm showed that trees with the best fruit quality and recovery were those that had undergone traditional regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) where irrigation was reduced during stage two of fruit growth about four to five weeks after flowering.

Jeff Scott, CEO, ATGA, highlighted risk minimisation strategies and described the changes the table grape industry has made including implementing minimum maturity standards to ensure a better long-term outcome for both domestic and export markets.

Christian Patterson, head of sales, Escavox described how to understand your supply chain better by utilizing their trackers in local and international consignments whilst Dean Morpeth from Sharp Fruit and representing SEDA, reviewed the TOPA marketing campaign and maturity standards for their export program.

Guy Rishmueller and Charlotte Brunt from SAL focussed on using MRL information in spray programs, results from a grower survey, extended WHPs and native vegetation and toxicity to beneficial insect species.

Jeremy Griffith, APAL shared insights on his dealings with the federal government and major retailers in Australia.

The workshop provided networking opportunities, trade displays and productive discussions regarding the future for the summerfruit industry.

Opportunities for further research include:

Zest Fruit general manager, Michael Trautwein, said he was very impressed by the research done by Agriculture Victoria for the stonefruit industry.

"We now need to collect our thoughts and develop a plan to implement the many research findings into our business," Mr Trautwein said.

The industry event was organised by SAL and Hort Innovation, and sponsored by several key stakeholders including Steritech, Escavox, Grahams Factree, Frostfans, HTIS, Organic Crop Protectants and Agriculture Victoria.

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