Summerfruit Australia WA STONEFRUIT

connects growers and experts

In October, WA Stonefruit proudly co-hosted a major two-day event with Summerfruit Australia, bringing together growers, researchers, and industry leaders for an engaging exchange of knowledge and innovation.

Words Kim Starkie, Industry Development Officer, WA Stonefruit

THE visit marked Jess Byrne’s first official trip to Western Australia as Industry Development Manager for Summerfruit Australia. She was joined by Dr Mark O’Connell, Senior Research Scientist — Crop Physiology with Agriculture Victoria.

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the Summerfruit research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

The visit provided WA growers with a valuable opportunity to connect directly with national experts, learn about cutting-edge orchard research, and discuss future collaborations within the stone fruit industry.

Day One: Southwest Orchard Visits and Sundowner

On Monday, 20 October, Jess, Mark, and I began the day visiting Sam Lucierdello, Cos and Michael Delfino, and Kim and Dennis Tucker, who grow a variety of stone fruit across the Donnybrook and Capel regions.

The evening Sundowner at the Donnybrook Hotel was well attended by growers from across cherries and summer fruit. WA Stonefruit Chair, Anthony Caccetta, officially opened the event, alongside Susie Murphy-White, Research and Development Manager for Hort Innovation, who shared insights from a national perspective.

This first day set the tone for an interactive and highly informative event, with growers and experts engaging in conversations that would shape future communication, newsletters, and field days.

Plums on a Tatura Trellis System.

Day Two: Perth Hills Visits and Lesmurdie Sundowner

On Tuesday, 21 October, the team travelled north, visiting Tony Recupero in Jarrahdale and Mark Wilkinson in the Perth Hills, before finishing with the Sundowner at Lesmurdie Club.

“I really enjoyed meeting the growers and seeing their farms! Being outside and seeing what they do is always most rewarding.Jess Byrne reflecting on the event. ”

“It was exciting to see growers using platforms to harvest and prune their orchards, and to experience the unique soil types, high rainfall, and sloping country that make WA orchards so distinctive.” Dr Mark O’Connell discussed his perspective on the WA orchards visit.

The WA Summerfruit Sundowner at Lesmurdie Club drew over 50 growers, stakeholders, and industry representatives, creating a fantastic opportunity for networking, learning, and discussion.

An engaging Q&A session gave me the opportunity to discuss current WA strategies, emerging issues, and highlight the importance to the growers to provide honest and valuable feedback in an upcoming survey. The session was positive and proactive, fostering open dialogue between growers and industry representatives.

Key presentations and project updates

Dr Mark O’Connell — Precision Summerfruit Projects

Precision Summerfruit Orchards (SF23000)

Objective: Provide knowledge and tools for growers to adopt tech-ready orchard crop load and pruning management strategies to enable the industry to transition to:

• Uniform orchards that are labour efficient

• User-friendly and purposeful solutions for orchard management

• Identification of technologies that improve product supply and quality

• Enhanced fruit quality (e.g., size, colour) for consumers

• Orchards more resilient to climate variability and extreme weather

Narrow Orchard Systems for Future Climates (AS22002, Jun 2023 – Oct 2028)

Objective: Support industry transition to:

• Safer orchards that attract a labour force

• More profitable orchards through lower operating costs

• Uniform orchards producing consistently high yields of quality fruit

• Accelerated adoption of robotic and sensing technology

• Climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable orchards

Serviced Supply Chains II (AM21000)

Objectives: Determine storage potential of cultivars for air and sea freight; evaluate and validate innovative practices to reduce internal disorders and extend storage.

• Develop cultivar performance screening protocols

• Decision-aid tools to predict fruit quality and remaining shelf life

• Guidelines and fact sheets for export handling

Mark presenting at the WA Sundowner event in Donnybrook.

• Analysis of shelf-life extension technologies such as modified atmosphere packaging

Jess Byrne — Summerfruit Communications and Extension Project (SF23004, 2024-2029)

Objectives:

• Improve uptake and understanding of research by growers through field days, workshops, webinars, videos, factsheets, and case studies

• Enhance communication and networking within the industry via social media, eNewsletters, improved website, and subcommittees

Extra Speakers at Lesmurdie Sundowner

Susannah Roelofsz, Technical Officer from Fresh Produce Safety Centre (FPSC), joined the Perth Hills grower visits and spoke at the Sundowner. She provided growers with information on resources, including the recently launched FPSC Free Help Desk. Growers can now chat live, email, or call to receive real-time advice or expert follow-up on fresh produce safety.

Also in attendance were Cai Christian, Ian Lacey, and Elliot Howse from DPIRD, who outlined a two-year trial investigating protein baits and Medfly trap designs as part of the Fresh and Secure Trade Alliance (FASTA).

Cai Christian explained:

“We need a minimum of three hectares to accurately monitor effects on the local Medfly population from protein baiting. Phytotoxicity trials require multiple trees, which can extend over a hectare depending on tree density. Our trapping activities cover one to three hectares to test trap designs and lure formulations. Target crops include stone fruit, citrus, and pome fruit. We welcome expressions of interest from growers willing to participate.”

Interested parties can contact Cai Christian (cai.christian@dpird. wa.gov.au) or Ian Lacey (ian. lacey@dpird.wa.gov.au) for further information.

Conclusion

Feedback from growers and industry representatives highlighted appreciation for the information shared and seeing first-hand the extent of research being undertaken. As the first official WA visit by the Summerfruit national team, attendees were thrilled to meet Jess Byrne and Dr Mark O’Connell, and to hear about three of Mark’s major projects.

Excitement was particularly high around narrow orchard systems, crop monitoring tools, orchard management systems, and robotic/ sensing technology. The Crop Tracker app was also a hit among growers, and I am looking forward to sharing more information on this tool and others going forward.

Plans are already underway for the post-harvest 2026 event. Grower feedback for more orchard walks, tech demos, and engagement with experts will be taken on board to shape the next event, reinforcing WA Stonefruit’s role in driving industry collaboration and innovation.