Tree Crop News

Flowering, thinning & PGRs

Chalkbrood fungal disease on the rise in Australian beehives — and poor nutrition could be to blame

Beehives around Australia are succumbing to the deadly chalkbrood disease at a faster rate than their overseas counterparts, despite having better hygiene practices.

Marketing & export

Launch of Australian Fresh Produce Alliance

The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) brings together Australia’s key fresh produce growers and suppliers, with the common purpose of being the first choice fruit and vegetable industry group for government and retailers to engage with.

Cherries

Airfreight provides fresh Australian cherries

Chinese traders cite freshness due to airfreight as key reason for purchasing Australian cherries this season

Business solutions & labour - Establishment & maintenance - Technology in agriculture

Using high-tech cartography to count fruit trees 6,000 times faster than we can

A new tech start-up is helping farmers take the guess work out of predicting the flowering and fruiting of their crops.

Fruit Fly

Common fruit flies are beginning to build a resistance to common insecticides

Fruit flies in temperate parts of the country are becoming resistant to common insecticides, new research has found.

Specialty tree crops

Opportunities for Australian pomegranates

Australia’s pomegranate industry could rival Peru by 2020.

Pome fruit

Branded varieties burst into stores

With harvest season well under way, newer varieties are starting to make an appearance in stores. While some start earlier, March is the prime picking month for most varieties, meaning now is the best time to taste an apple you may not have tried before.

Mangoes - Disease & weed control

Mango industry discovers highly infectious bacteria as cause of ugly veins of resin canal discolouration

Scientists have worked out what causes ugly veins to appear in mangoes — a breakthrough that could save the industry millions of dollars each year.

Pome fruit - Stone Fruit - Packaging & labelling

New high-tech factory unlocking global opportunities

Shepparton’s Geoffrey Thompson Fruit Packing will juice, sort and export more fresh fruit from the Goulburn Valley thanks to a high-tech new fruit processor.

Avocado

Stem cell science being used to smash avocado shortage by speeding up tree growth

In a dim pink room at the University of Queensland, thousands of small avocado trees are being grown from cuttings and lovingly tended to.

Pome fruit

Non-browning Arctic apple could be breakthrough product, overcoming anti-GMO fears

Non-browning apples could change how people think and talk about genetically modified food.

Technology in agriculture

This robot gripper can lift 100 times its own weight

This robot gripper can pick up unconventional items like fruit.

Avocado

Avocado seeds may be able to treat inflammation

Avocado seed extracts could be a potential source for novel anti-inflammatory compounds that could be developed as a functional food ingredient or pharmaceuticals, according to researchers.

Marketing & export

3 reasons why the Costa share price could beat the ASX200 this year

Costa is Australia’s largest horticultural company that grows avocados, berries, mushrooms, citrus fruit and tomatoes.

Almonds

2019 Almond Crop Update

The 2019 Australian Almond crop is estimated by the Australian almond processors and marketers to be 93,000 tonnes.