.png)
Inspired Ag's latest project site is at Agriculture Victoria's SmartFarm where retractable netting will be established over a range of fruit varieties. Research scientists will evaluate the benefits of retractable netting for fruit growers.
See interview with Dr Alessio Salisi below
Hear from and discuss the R&D with researchers from across Australia and local growers involved in these projects.
Orchard walk and talks only! Beanies, coats and boots a must!
When: Wednesday, 21st August. 2.30pm Start.
Why attend?
• Walk through the Sundial Orchard where spatial and temporal management experiments are underway.
• Learn more about the newly established narrow orchard systems experiments.
• Visit the new netting site where permanent, retractable and autonomous systems are being installed.
• Take-part in hands-on demonstrations of labour-saving tools.
• Hear more on work underway to improve fruit quality in pears including reflective mulch, leaf blowing, PGRs & thinning strategies.
• Consider how IPDM R&D will influence your current pest and disease management: biocontrol rearing & release, attracting beneficials and pollinators, & monitoring tools/resources.
Finish the afternoon indoors with some final displays and short talks over a social drink and nibblies at around 5.30pm.
Easy to attend – no registration necessary!
Statement:
These research activities are a component of the PIPS 4 Program’s Optimising Apple Production Systems through PIPS 4 Profit (AP22004), funded by Hort Innovation, using the Hort Innovation Apple and Pear research and development levies, contributions from the Australian Government and co-investment from Agriculture Victoria. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.
INTERVIEW WITH Dr Alessio Salisi
Research Scientist | Horticulture Production Science | Agriculture Victoria Research
Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)
What is your research hypothesis for the Valente trial site?
There are a few hypotheses behind our experimental design. We think that netting apples is becoming necessary for crop protection against weather events but permanent netting is unlikely to be the best solution due to its negative effects on light exposure, bee pollination, fruit colour development. We think that deploying netting temporarily (i.e. in cases of hail events or a combination of high temperature and high radiation exposure) is likely the most sensible solution.
Why did you choose Valente retractable nets for your trial?
Valente and InspiredAg provided the only solution in the region to test our hypotheses and supported an orchard design with multiple netting timings and colour treatments and the ability to retract the netting on demand or based on environmental variables. The Valente black and grey netting do not heavily remove sunlight and allow better light penetration compared to other options available in the market. In addition, Valente provide a netting structure supported by concrete posts, that are an alternative solution to traditional pine posts used in the GV region. By bringing the Valente system to the Tatura SmartFarm, we will be able to provide visiting growers with a demonstration of concrete post netting structures.
What is the smartest solution growers can employ to combat unpredictable weather?
Netting is the most cost-effective solution that growers can use to prevent unpredictable damage from weather events such as hail and sunburn to high quality fruit. Retractable netting has the potential to improve yield, premium quality fruit and packout by exposing trees to full radiation in times of the season when it is less likely for extreme weather events to cause significant damage to the crop. Automatable retractable netting is the smartest solution that needs to be developed, tested and deployed to combat unpredictable weather while maintaining high profitability.
Comments