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The latest from NZ KiwiBerry...
Research Investment Pays Off.
As with any new product there are challenges that growers must overcome to grow a high quality crop that meets export standards. Understanding the pests that occur in the crop and how to control them is key to gaining market access and producing a high quality export crop.
With investment from AGMARDT and the Fruit Growers Charitable Trust, NZ KiwiBerry Growers Inc have successfully completed a 2 year research project which has delivered the knowledge and skills growers needed to manage their crops in future.
In May 2007 NZ KiwiBerry Growers Inc contracted Hort Research to investigate the pests that are found in the crop to create a Pest List that could an be used for negotiating access to new international markets. They then set about to establish an appropriate crop protection programme to control each pest that would ensure the final product was also safe to eat with no detectable chemical residues.
The project has been highly successful with the development of a Pest List that has been used to successfully negotiate Market Access into Korea, a high value export market for growers. In October a new crop protection programme will be released for growers which provides detailed pest monitoring procedures and spray options for controlling pests.
One of the major achievements of the project has been to establish a withholding period for the insecticide called Success, used to control Thrips and Leafroller, of only 14 days. Until this research had been done the withholding period of 28 days had to be used, making control close to harvest, when pest pressure was at its greatest, very difficult.
“Without the funding from AGMARDT and the NZ Fruit Growers Charitable trust this project would never have been possible “says Linda Harley, Executive Officer of NZ KiwiBerry Growers Inc. “As a relatively new export product it is always difficult to compete the research and development required to build a robust supply chain from orchard to the market. The outcomes of this project will assist the product group greatly as growers improve their profitability through improved export quality and through gaining access to new, higher returning markets”.
“The product group aims to build on the work from the research by ensuring growers understand how to implement the new crop protection programme effectively and will be using the Pest List to negotiate access to other high returning markets such as China and Thailand in the coming years.”
For further information on NZ KiwiBerry contact the Executive Officer, Graeme Munro.
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About KiwiBerry
KiwiBerry are small - in the 5 - 20 gram range, with smooth hairless edible skins, and shapes varying from round to elongated.
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NZ KiwiBerry Growers Inc.
Graeme Munro
Executive Officer
M: 027 276 2231
28 Raukawa Drive
Bethlehem
Tauranga 3110
New Zealand
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