News

Mulch-in cherries

Stone Fruit April 24, 2019



Researchers are studying how mulch affects yield and fruit quality in a mature sweet cherry orchard, including packout, cherry size and flesh firmness. The study also is examining how mulch affects soil quality — physical, chemical and biological factors.

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Olive growers face challenging season with limited water supply, extreme heat

Olives April 23, 2019



Multiple hot spells with day temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius, and little to no seasonal rainfall, are just some of the challenges olive producers have had to battle this season.

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Scientists invent a sniffing method to detect rotten avocados

Avocado April 22, 2019



UK scientists are working to invent a type of portable sniffing device that can detect whether avocados are rotten without breaking the skin and damaging the fruit.

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Impressive sales of Australian Kanzi apples

Pome fruit Marketing & export April 21, 2019



Sales of Kanzi apples in Australia is growing at a significant rate.

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Ricó pears ready to roll

Pome fruit April 18, 2019



New red-blush pears being grown in Australia's Goulburn Valley, with sales to begin in July.

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Small, sweet and high in Vitamin C — Australian growers are backing the jujube

Specialty tree crops April 17, 2019



With an increasing international population and a big focus on healthy eating, some Australian horticulturalists are pushing to expand and establish plantings of a fruit barely known to most of the country — the jujube.

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Goulburn Valley farmer cuts power costs by $62,000 a year

Business solutions & labour Technology in agriculture April 15, 2019



A fruit grower in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley has cut its grid power consumption by one-third.

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New software boosts mango operation

Mangoes Business solutions & labour Technology in agriculture April 14, 2019



Software developed for Australian mango producer Piñata Farms, was instrumental in streamlining ripening and distribution operations during the 2018-2019 season.

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Demand for pistachios is going nuts giving growers good reason to smile

Nuts April 12, 2019



A cold winter and hot summer has given pistachio growers good reason to celebrate, with many farmers harvesting great volumes despite being in the "off-year" crop cycle — and demand for the green nut is rising rapidly.

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Detecting ethylene, the fruit ripening hormone

Post harvest April 11, 2019



National University of Singapore chemists have developed fluorescent probes for the detection of ethylene gas for fruit harvesting and storage.

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Industry blindsided by 15 April deadline

Pome fruit April 10, 2019



The apple and pear industry has been blindsided by a 14-day timeframe for the implementation of complex casual wage changes.

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Montague to open new Queensland facility

Pome fruit Stone Fruit April 7, 2019



Montague Queensland will increase its focus on third party logistics through its new warehouse and packing facility in Brisbane.

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Australian pecan industry set to take flight as interest swells

Nuts April 6, 2019



THE trees have no major insect pests or diseases, they can live up to 400 years and their produce is currently bringing the same money per kilogram as macadamias. They sound almost too good to be true. Welcome to the burgeoning world of pecan nuts.

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Research Impact: Management solutions for pest fruit flies in Australia and south-east Asia

Fruit Fly April 5, 2019



Pest fruit flies cause fruit and vegetable production losses, food shortages in developing countries, and severe trade restrictions preventing export of horticultural products.

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Door open for Aussie almonds to Chile

Almonds April 4, 2019



Australian almonds growers can now export to Chile.

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