News

Robot apple pickers getting closer

Pome fruit Technology in agriculture May 28, 2019



Labor shortages in agriculture could eventually be overcome by robots.

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Funding for development of new fruit fly control technology

Fruit Fly May 28, 2019



Macquarie University has recently been awarded $4.7 million funding from Horticulture Innovation Australia Ltd to identify the genetic code that enables elimination of females in overseas fruit flies so that these characteristics can be reproduced in Australia’s Queensland fruit fly.

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Fruit fly outbreak declared at Lindsay Point, Victoria

Fruit Fly May 24, 2019



An outbreak of Queensland fruit fly (Q-fly) was declared on Tuesday 21 May at Lindsay Point in Victoria, after a detection of a gravid female.

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Citrus Australia does not agree with calls for moratorium on new water-use licences

Citrus May 24, 2019



Citrus Australia does not agree with calls for a moratorium on issuing new water-use licences.

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First time for Tango mandarin

Citrus May 23, 2019



Yambellup Estate citrus producer Richard Eckersley will pluck this season’s latest seedless mandarin, the Tango, for the first time this harvest.

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New robot set to reduce the potential for workplace injuries

Packaging & labelling May 22, 2019



A new collaborative robot system that can operate 24 hours a day and reduce workplace injuries, is being showcased at the Australian Banana Industry Congress on the Gold Coast.

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No more water licences: Almond Board calls for moratorium

Almonds Water supply & irrigation May 20, 2019



A moratorium should prevent the issue of any new water licences for new developments in the southern Murray Darling Basin states until a review has been completed into the river system's ability to meet current demands, the peak body for Australia's fast-growing almond industry says.

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Mango auto-harvester a good pick in Queensland

Mangoes Harvesting equipment May 18, 2019



Claimed as a world’s first, CQUniversity Professor Kerry Walsh has revealed details of its mango auto-harvester at this week’s Australian Mango Industry Association conference in Darwin.

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Websters spends $8m on bees for almond production

Almonds Flowering, thinning & PGRs May 16, 2019



Webster Limited has acquired Australian Rainforest Honey's 5,500 bee hives for $8.2 million.

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Fixing ugly fruit

Mangoes May 15, 2019



Researchers at Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture have found a way to make some cosmetically “ugly” fruit more palatable.

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Fruit fly eradication fight in South Australia boosted by new x-ray irradiation machine

Fruit Fly May 11, 2019



South Australia will be able to produce up to 50 million sterile fruit flies a week to protect the state's $1.2 billion horticulture industry.

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Record expected for Hass avocados

Avocado May 10, 2019



Australian avocado consumers are set for a bumper season with a nine per cent increase in volumes on supermarket shelves this season.

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Major steps forward for Australian jujube industry

Specialty tree crops May 10, 2019



The formalisation of the Australian jujube industry has taken another major step, with the launch of the South Australian Jujube Growers Association Inc.

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Record almond crop good for exports

Almonds May 10, 2019



A record Australian almond harvest is being matched by strong demand from China in the wake of sanctions on US imports.

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Great prices for the start of Australian pomegranate season

Specialty tree crops May 9, 2019



Exceptional start to Australia's pomegranate season for growers, with large fruit providing some bumper prices given the warmer spring and summer.

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