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THE FRUITGROWER IS PUBLISHED BY
We live in fragile times, as recent political crises remind us, but growers are familiar with
volatility inweather andmarket conditions. Dryer, warmer weather wouldbewelcome this
springboth for us, and for everyone living in theUK, but at least the sun is beginning to
have some power when the clouds part. In his comment, JohnGuest talks about weather,
volatility and labour. As he says, the soft-fruitmarket is predicted togrow exponentially,
but the future depends on the availability of labour. Andwe are not alonewhen it comes to
sourcing local pickers, as our fellow fruit-growingmagazine theGood Fruit Grower
reported: ‘One of the top issues impacting growers is having enoughworkers to harvest
their apples. FewAmericanworkers arewilling to take on labour-intensive seasonal farm
work’.
An in-depth profile of AvalonGrowers Producer Organisation (AGPO) is packedwith
potential solutions formany of the problems facing the top-fruit industry. Their investment
in ‘precision agriculture’ techniques startswith the creation of detailed soil maps for all
850ha of members’ orchards. They can then useGPS technology to overlay a productivity
map and look at exactlywhat is being harvested andwhere. AGPO’s general manager
SarahCalcutt describes this ambition as leading to “forwards andbackwards traceability”.
The rationale behindmuch of the investment in technology and improvedproductivity data
at AGPO is a lesson for everyone in the industry. As Sarah says, “If we don’t understand
the point at whichwe’re losingmoney, then everyone is going to continue todo so. Across
the fruit industrywe’ve got some enormous challenges, such as the current seasonal
labour shortage. And so, if we have orchards that don’tmake anymoney, we need to turn
them intobetter ones that do.” By theway, if you read to the end of the article there’s a
job offer for the right candidate.
With the loss of active ingredients to control pests anddiseases, the reduced number of
applications allowed for any new chemistry, and the environmental and consumer pressure
for sustainable farming, there is an accelerating need for a new approach toplant
protection. It’s not surprising that, at NIABEMR, a great deal of the current research
addresses these issues and half of the recent AHDB/EMRATree Fruit Daywas devoted to
thiswork.
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TWELVE ISSUES
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Printed by Hastings PrintingCompany
ISSN 0953-2188
Although every effort ismade to ensure the accuracy and reliability ofmaterial published, the
publishers and their agents can accept no responsibility for claims andopinions
expressedby contributors,manufacturers or advertisers.
CO N T E N T S
EAPappoints
ExecutiveChair
Page 4
New fungicide
Page 6
Seasonal labour
Page 7
GLAAappoints interim
chief executive
Page 9
Hoverflies offer dual
benefit
Page 12
AHDB/EMRA Tree
Fruit Day
Page 13
AvalonGrowers PO Page 19
Coir developments Page 25
Research Briefing Page 28
Comment
Page 30
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TEL: 01622695656 FAX: 01622 663733
e-mail:
TheFruitGrower
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