A warm start to spring has apple growers in New Zealand’s key Hawke’s Bay production hub hopeful of another bumper season.
Fulton Gillies, an orchard manager with the country’s largest organic apple grower Bostock New Zealand, said the hot, sunny weather has provided the perfect conditions for pollination.
“We have been averaging over 20 degrees each day, so the bees have been out working hard, pollinating our orchards,” Gillies explained. “It’s been perfect to set us up for both a high quality and high yielding crop.”
A cold, dry winter has also been good for production. “We had a lot of winter chilling which means we have a tighter bloom and strong bud breaks which is ideal for the fruit coming on,” Gillies added.
The outlook has Hawke’s Bay growers hopeful of continuing a pattern of crop volume growth over the 2016 season. New Zealand’s 2014 national apple crop was just over 17m cartons, while this figure rose above 18m cartons in 2015.
One obstacle that could potentially confront growers is a lack of rain, with some experts predicting one of the driest summers on record. While Bostock is working to ensure its irrigation and water management systems are in place, Gillies said a hot, dry summer could also bring benefits, such as reducing the risk of disease and improving the quality of the fruit.
“When it’s hot and dry we expect good sugar, colour and storage,” Gillies explained. “Bright red, sweet juicy apples that store well are exactly what our markets are looking for so the confidence levels are high in Hawke’s Bay at the moment.”
