update POMEWEST
Wishing and HOPING AND PLANNING
As we gather data and relevant topics to report for this Winter edition, the industry is still waiting to see what nature will provide in the colder months to sustain a good crop in 2025. Our growers remain optimistic and busy. Tasks on the orchard never stop, even in dormancy, it’s still a good time to reflect, plan, and learn more.
Words Nardia Stacy, Executive Manager, Pomewest
THE new 2024 growing season began with very warm autumn days and nights, which has delayed the accumulation of winter chill. The first cold temperatures for Bickley and Donnybrook were recorded in late May, with Manjimup recording slightly earlier in the first week of May. Winter chill accumulation has been minimal and slow, currently tracking well below the lowest 10% of years, indicating, at the time of writing this report, a very warm winter period for 2024.
When planning and managing a low-chill year for pome fruit, we look to history to guide us. 2013 and 2014 were also years with record low levels of chill units, where we saw reduced cropping comprised of fruit sets and quality, delayed leafing, and extended flowering.
“ We aim to assess the conditions along the way to assist our growers in managing and safeguarding the 2025 crop once we better understand the final data sets at the end of the winter cycle. ”
Future Apple and Pear Orchard Research and Development trial activities and extension field excursions will focus on introducing programs that use new technologies to improve future productivity and profitability.
Several orchard-based roadshow presentation events are planned for 28 and 29 August in Manjimup and Donnybrook. These events will bring together expert researchers and industry members from all over Australia to launch the new PIPS4Profit program in WA. The program will focus on improving soils, pest management, and productivity. Additionally, DPIRD will announce its incarnation of the Narrow Orchard System to suit Western Australian conditions, which aims to innovate production techniques for WA orchards to enhance their capability and capacity. The system will incorporate the latest commercially available and cost-effective technologies to improve efficiencies for growers, thereby securing the future of the apple production industry for generations to come.
For five years, the Pomewest committee has pledged funding to support these initiatives, meeting industry strategic objectives to provide tactics to empower growers. Through our communication platforms, we are equipped to disseminate information and provide site based extension events with our project team as opportunities to engage and assist growers in understanding outcomes over the project’s lifespan.
Nardia Stacy, Bec Whittaker and John Lo Piccolo of Redland Apples at the APAL Forum June 2024.
After the roadshows, two regional dinners hosted by APAL and Pomewest are planned on the 28 and 29 August in Manjimup and Donnybrook, respectively, to provide a networking opportunity between researchers, stakeholders and growers to meet in a casual and social environment. Nardia Stacy, Bec Whittaker and John Lo Piccolo of Redland Apples at the APAL Forum June 2024.
Pome Industry is awarded the first WA John Cripps Horticultural Scholarship
In late June, the Pome industry was thrilled to hear that the first Cook Government horticultural research scholarship had been awarded to unlock the secrets of the Pink Lady Apple Mystery.
Alwyne Parker, Minister Jackie Jarvis MLA, Jack Parker, Golam Aza and Rohan Prince DPIRD celebrate this scholarship award.
PHD student Golam Azam was awarded the inaugural John Cripps Horticulture Scholarship by Minister Hon Jackie Jarvis MLC in honour of the renowned WA apple breeder of the Pink Lady apple. This $150,000 award aims to unlock the genetics of the Cripps Pink apple and its variants. The Manjimup-based Australian National Apple Breeding Program is home to a nursery of 50,000 seedlings. It is funded by royalties of commercially successful varieties, including Cripps Pink® and Red and the ANABP 01A variety marketed as Bravo® and Soluna™. The Cripps family has endorsed the initiative as a fitting tribute to the late apple breeder John Cripps to recognise and celebrate his outstanding work. The Minister commented,
“ It is fitting that the award’s inaugural recipient will build on John Cripps’s enduring legacy while supporting the future of the Western Australian horticulture industry. ”
Pomewest is looking forward to sharing the results of this research and expects to create more incarnations of specialised apple varieties cultivated in WA for all to enjoy.
Come say hi at the Perth Royal Show!
Our major promotional event is a fantastic opportunity to reach numerous consumers, including children, and educate them about the advantages of fresh apples, especially at the show.
Again, we will be making eating apples and pears fun, swirling apple slinkies, and talking about all the varieties available and where they are grown as an educational piece. This year, for the first time, Bravo™ apples will be included in show bags for all Yellow Brick Road participants, thanks to WA Farm Direct and the Royal Agricultural Society of WA.
The program offers fun activities, competitions, and special offers for kids, making it a great opportunity for the engagement of young people. The Pomewest team will be manning the Pomewest Aussie Apple stand at the Centenary Pavilion again this year —if you are visiting the show, why not drop in?
All the Fun at the Show Bravo Apples will feature again this year.
The Licciardello Family proud hosts again this year promoting local apples and pears.
Donnybrook Long Table Lunch
5 October 2024
Fast becoming the premium event of the State’s offering of regionally based long table events, Taste Donnybrook with Orchard 1Sixty hosts this fantastic celebration of local produce and farmers in the region of Donnybrook.
Pomewest chooses to support this event again this year as support to our local growers while promoting critical messages about fresh produce to consumers that apples are the number one healthy snack choice that is guilt-free and naturally ready to go when competing with the ultra-processed unhealthy snack aisle at the supermarket.
This edition
Susie reports on the APAL WA Winter edition of Future Orchards hosted by Paul Beck of Manjimup Apples on 22 July. This walk focused on decisions regarding improving or removing orchard blocks and diagnosing their performance to achieve optimal financial results. Jen shares tips for orchard management as a pre-emptive piece for a potential 2025 dry season and her perspective on the recent APAL Update and Hort Connection Conferences in Melbourne in early June. Additionally, we celebrate the recognition of two noteworthy WA entities, Joy Jarvis and Steele Jacob, who received national recognition and won APAL excellence awards this year.
On behalf of the Committee, Susie Jen and I are committed to furthering our collective endeavours for the growing year for the betterment of the industry.