The Library

The Library contains a collection of articles by our consultants. We will add new articles periodically, so make sure you bookmark this page and visit again.

Pipfruit

   Harvest

• Apple harvest behaviour
• Apples - an early harvest season likely
• Predictions of an early apple harvest have come true
• Season continues to run early: harvest management implications - delaying maturity with AVG
• End of season review
• Harvesting

   Pest and Disease

• Early season insect pest control
• Recognising european canker symptoms
• Pulling out old or declining orchard - check for disease
• Pacific Rose - necrotic leaf spot
• Silver leaf disease management
• Black Spot on apples and pears

   Thinning

• Chemical thinning of apples
• Apples - hand thinning strategies
• Fruit development and thinning in pipfruit

   Spraying

• Sprayer calibration - getting enough spray into the tree tops
• Clean up sprays for pipfruit and summerfruit

   Nutrition and Irrigation

• Do not neglect nutrition
• Trace element applications
• Post-harvest fertiliser programmes
• Orchard soil compaction and drainage
• How good is your irrigation and drainage?
• Post-harvest management - calcium and nitrogen nutrition

   Frost Management

• After the frosts
• Harvest management for frost affected crops
• Managing frost injury

   Post-harvest Management

• Internal breakdown in Pacific Rose and Fuji
• Post-harvest - a time to review the orchard performance
• Post-harvest orchard disease management
• Post-harvest clean up sprays

   Weed Control

• Orchard weed control

   Financial

• The offshore scene
• Orchard establishment costs low relative to U.S.
• Factors critical to orchard profitability
• International apple volumes

   Other

• Apple husbandry in November
• Apples - setting sp for next season
• Winter chilling and dormancy breaking
• Crop monitoring
• Summer management
• Getting the best out of Royal Gala
• Pruning - one of the biennial bearing management tools
• Preparation for new plantings - specific replant diseases
• Pre-harvest crop appraisal
• Pipfruit grower time line
• Orchard redevelopment
• Crop estimation

   Tree Management

• Tracking orchard performance - the importance of monitoring tree behaviour by growth stage
• Trunk girdling - a useful tree manipulation tool
• Winter dormancy
• Winter pruning
• Good pruning - critical for high orchard performance
• Care of young trees

Kiwifruit

• Armillaria disease in kiwifruit
• Buying a kiwifruit orchard
• March - good for farmer footsteps
• More on armillaria disease in kiwifruit: a success story
• Optimal Hayward fruit size
• Kiwifruit history: new varieties
• Managing the harvest

Hortwatch® is a product of AgFirst
Phone: 64 6 872 7080
Fax:     64 6 870 3629
email: agfirst@hortwatch.com