News

PM's new backpacker changes an immediate relief 'but not a long-term solution'

Business solutions & labour Nov. 7, 2018



Changes to Australia's seasonal worker program and backpacker visas have been welcomed by Australia's agricultural industry as something that will provide immediate relief, but the industry will not give up the fight for a dedicated agriculture visa.

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Montague export facility plans

Pome fruit Marketing & export Nov. 2, 2018



Fruit company, Montague, is to build a new $26 million packing and export distribution centre in Melbourne’s Narre Warren North, creating 25 jobs.

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Growers upbeat on cherry season

Cherries Oct. 31, 2018



Australian cherry growers are “fairly optimistic” about the forthcoming season, Cherry Growers Australia president Tom Eastlake believes.

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Tariff elimination to boost Australian cherries in China, says importer

Cherries Oct. 31, 2018



Australian cherries are set to benefit from the elimination of tariffs in the Chinese market from the start of next year, according to one importer.

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Horticulture’s quiet achiever

Mangoes Pome fruit Stone Fruit Disease & weed control Oct. 30, 2018



Polyram DF, the Group M3 fungicide from BASF, is one of horticulture’s great crop protection all-rounders. It is registered to control over twenty diseases across a wide variety of crops, including pome and stone fruit, mangoes, bananas, grapes and most commercially produced vegetables.

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Expansion into Mahachanok mangoes pays off with huge harvest and high demand

Mangoes Oct. 29, 2018



A Top End mango grower says their decision to invest in Mahachanok mangoes is paying dividends, with the trees producing 50 per cent more fruit than any other varieties. Tou Saramat Ruchkaew owns the breeding rights for the Thai mango variety in Australia and has spent the past few years expanding her orchard with only that variety. Some of those trees were harvested for the first time this year.

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Almond orchards give bees weakened by drought a vital boost during pollination season

Almonds Oct. 28, 2018



While the word drought conjures images of cattle skulls and withered crops, few consider the effect a drought can have upon the insect kingdom. But the devastation brought by the big dry has been revealed during the annual bee muster in north-west Victoria, which concluded in August.

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Field determination of sugar and dry matter in nectarines

Stone Fruit Oct. 28, 2018



Monitoring fruit quality over time using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy technologies offers the opportunity to correct agronomic practices and determine the right moment for fruit picking.

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New fruit fly handbook and website

Fruit Fly Oct. 25, 2018



Get familiar with the diversity of fruit flies worldwide with a new handbook and website that makes identification easier – hopefully aiding in the early detection of exotic pest incursions.

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New varieties flesh out mango offering

Mangoes Oct. 24, 2018



Mango harvest has started in the Ord Valley as packing houses pump out boxes of fruit to be delivered to markets across Australia.

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Mangoes hit the shops in ‘extra flavoursome’ season

Mangoes Oct. 19, 2018



Tropical mango madness is taking hold, with fruit as cheap as $1 and claims that this year’s crop could be the tastiest on record.

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New start-up sets sights on fruit fly

Fruit Fly Oct. 19, 2018



The Coalition Government is helping Australian farmers through a new tech start-up taking aim at Australia’s biggest biosecurity barrier to trade: the fruit fly.

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Australia's citrus industry set for another record year but nurseries run short of tree stock

Citrus Oct. 18, 2018



Citrus growers across Australia have good reason to celebrate, with prices and global demand predicted to hit new records.

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Stingless bees put to use in new study aimed at improving rambutan yields

Tropical trees Flowering, thinning & PGRs Oct. 17, 2018



Stingless bees that were rescued from a building before it was demolished in the Top End are now being put to use in a research project focusing on improving rambutan yields.

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How to double your mango tree yields

Mangoes Oct. 17, 2018



A NEW trial could see mangoes grown in an alternative way around the country. The project will look at methods to potentially double the per-hectare productivity on mango farms.

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