Dedication and innovation

Welcome all to the spring edition of the wa grower magazine. As usual, it has been a busy and challenging period for the industry, as growers deal with issues that seem to be continuous and relentless.

Protecting your crops

Protecting pollination

Edp.com.au

For nearly 40 years, t&c do & son has been a staple in western australia’s vegetable farming industry. From humble beginnings on a small, leased plot of land, the company has grown into one of the state’s largest vegetable producers, proudly standing as a success story in the region.

Throughout august, vegetableswa held nutrition farming workshops in manjimup and gingin, where over 70 growers and industry professionals came together to learn from graeme sait, an expert in regenerative agriculture.

Mulder’s chart is a useful tool for understanding how different essential plant nutrients interact, either helping or hindering nutrient uptake and utilisation. These interactions can significantly affect crop health and yield, so it’s important to be aware of both stimulating and antagonistic relationships between nutrients.

The 2024 gascoyne food festival has not only indulged the taste buds of visitors but also provided a significant boost to the local economy with this year’s festival directly injecting half a million dollars into the gascoyne region.

A dormant threat

In august, i travelled to sydney to attend the international fresh produce safety symposium 2024. This is something i look forward to as food safety gets the spotlight in the context of horticulture and importantly, i learn a lot from the consolidation of experts sharing their knowledge. Here are my insights:

European honey bees are an important part of production. They busily work away transferring pollen grains within flowers improving yields and fruit quality.

Australian avocados has clinched ‘marketing campaign of the year’ at the asia fruit awards – presented at asia fruit logistica – celebrating an extraordinary campaign and trade development efforts that reached seven countries.

Department of primary industries and regional development (dpird) is investigating the possible benefits of slow and controlled release fertilisers in vegetable production, through the investigating more efficient fertiliser and soil management techniques project, due for completion in 2029.

Before any pesticide can be sold or used in australia, the australian pesticides and veterinary medicines authority (apvma) must ensure it is rigorously assessed for efficacy, safety (human and the environment), trade, and quality.

Lucy anderton, developer of myfarmsmart, outgoing wa state chair of the agrifutures rural women’s award (rwa) alumni and previous state finalist, speaks about the great things that occur when we celebrate and collaborate with women who are dedicated to making an impact in their communities.

Novel chemistry technologies, from syngenta australia, were showcased at the growmore event held in bundaberg, queensland.

Local businesses are using grants from the state government to implement water use efficiency projects, this initiative will support horticultural groundwater users who are subject to the 10% reduction in water abstraction starting in 2028 under the gnangara groundwater allocation plan.

The agricultural producers commission (apc) is excited to celebrate the valuable initiatives delivered by producers’ committees in 2023–24; developing industry knowledge and skills, improving production practices, driving profitability and opening new market opportunities.

(Vegan, gfo)

Warm temperatures in early september began the bloom season, signalling the start of the new harvest period. As of the time of writing this article, apple and pear blossoms are bursting across all growing regions.

You may well ask, what is a snackgret? And it does sound a bit strange. Is it even a word, you may ask? Well, it’s a new term coined by thinkabell, an advertising agency contracted to hort innovation to find a unique and innovative way to drive domestic apple sales and consumption. The hort innovation apple marketing fund levies funds this initiative.

During the pips 4 profit roadshow from 28–29 august 2024, orchard floor management and choice of beneficial plant species in the interrow was a good topic of discussion. Below is a summary of the pips 3 findings that may guide grower management for the orchard floor in 2024 and beyond.

The wa farm direct team presented soluna® apples at asia fruit logistica 2024 in the grown in good nature australia pavilion. The event, which took place in hong kong from 4–6 september, brought together global leaders to explore trends, innovations, and business opportunities in the fresh produce industry.

As spring blossoms in 2024, the western australia citrus industry gears up for updates, events, and forward planning.

It’s citrus gall wasp season again! It has been a warmer than average year so adult wasps will start emerging in early october with peak emergence expected around the 19th of october.

Free resources are available for growers! They include handbooks for pickers, posters on fruit quality, biosecurity manual and rind colour chart, to name a few.

The purpose of the shanghai pudong new area government visit was for the directors to gain a deeper understanding of the quality and variety of western australian agrifood and beverage sectors and to establish connections with key state government and agricultural industry associations and representatives.

Hobart 2024

Australian plums are headed to vietnam following a strategic research and development effort and successful market access negotiations led by the australian government’s department of agriculture, fisheries and forestry.

Recently, government leaders of australia’s two major political parties have invested a great deal of time and effort and time in promoting the kyoto agreement protocols. However, the progress to develop and promote electrification of horticulture equipment by machinery manufacturers has been slow to keep pace.

24–25 july 2024

Current minor use permits can also be searched by specific crop or pest types at https://portal.apvma.gov.au/permits.

Www.syngenta.com.au