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Figure 3. Mean fruit weight (a), soluble sugars (b) and dry matter content (c) in kiwifruit samples over three seasons, averaged for all eight sites. microorganisms. Consequently, the application of compost tea may have had no appreciable effect on the resident microbial population and thus no effect on the fruit parameters that were measured. It is possible to speculate that if the study had been conducted on biologically defi cient sites, a different outcome might have been achieved • The crop used in the study (kiwifruit) is a perennial vine, with a large, deep permanent root system growing in fertile soils with relatively high organic matter content. It is possible that this system is so well buffered that any changes may take longer than three seasons to become evident. The number of applications of compost tea was in most cases fewer than planned. It is possible to speculate that if more applications had been made and if the study had continued for longer, changes in soil composition and fruit quality might have been achieved. Good results have been claimed (anecdotally) for compost tea in pasture and annual crops, where less root zone buffering exists, compared with kiwifruit • The quality of compost teas used in this study may not yet be optimised for kiwifruit. Compost tea production is fairly novel in New Zealand. With no historical experience to draw on, manufacturers are feeling their way, making changes to their processes and using Soil Foodweb laboratory test results to improve their compost teas by trial and error. Compost tea is a biological product and is subject to a huge array of variables, so it is to be expected that gaining quality improvement along with consistency of product will be a slow process. Feedback from clients using compost tea with success will assist product improvement. It is possible to speculate that if this study were to be conducted in fi ve or ten years’ time, when tea quality and consistency has improved, a more positive outcome may be achieved. REFERENCE Ingham E R 2001. The Compost Tea Brewing Manual. Second ed. Corvallis, Oregon, USA, Soil Foodweb Incorporated. ■ NZ KIWIFRUIT JOURNAL JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2008 25
26 Hayward’s first priority: Shoot growth Peter Blattmann, Bill Snelgar and Peter Minchin - HortResearch, Te Puke. On some Hayward orchards, shoot growth during summer may be vigorous, so some orchardists control this by frequent summer pruning. This results in high pruning costs and competition from the consequential regrowths may reduce fruit size and fruit dry matter content. As part of a Kiwifruit Royalty Investment Project we are measuring what factors control the distribution of growth in Hayward kiwifruit vines. As an industry, we need to fi nd ways of manipulating vines so that fruit growth is maximised, and unwanted vegetative growth is kept to a minimum. Some years ago, one grower remarked, “the Bay of Plenty is ideal for growing kiwifruit leaves, the fruit come second”. Figure 1. In some Hayward orchards, vigorous shoot growth during summer makes vine management expensive - but does it also reduce fruit dry matter content? Figure 2. On some shoots, regrowth was allowed to develop. We stripped the leaves from the regrowth every week to ensure that they never developed enough to contribute to fruit growth. Note the girdle at the base of the shoot, to isolate the experimental shoot from the rest of the plant.
Page 1 and 2: Thirsty vines Summer girdling Compo
Page 3 and 4: 4 contributors BILL SNELGAR Bill Sn
Page 5 and 6: 6 GRANT THORP Dr Grant Thorp is a H
Page 7 and 8: 8 Statistic December January Februa
Page 9 and 10: 10 Fruit dry matter (%) Soluble sol
Page 11 and 12: 12 SUMMARY We now have an indicatio
Page 13 and 14: 14 Orchard Control Dry matter (%) C
Page 15 and 16: 16 Operators should also avoid cutt
Page 17 and 18: Technical Review Advertisement / Ad
Page 19 and 20: 20 Gearing up ‘Hort16A’ Returns
Page 21 and 22: 22 Table 2. Maturity attributes of
Page 23: 24 Active fungal biomass (ug/g) Fig
Page 27 and 28: 28 regrowth developed larger leaves
Page 29 and 30: 30 Location Soil % C % N C:N Nelson
Page 31 and 32: 32 Mineral N (mg/kg) Figure 2. Chan
Page 33 and 34: 34 Resolving labour shortages - Is
Page 35 and 36: 36 Perceptions of the RSE Advantage
Page 37 and 38: 38 Organic O Marketing 2007 Tom McL
Page 39 and 40: 40 Customers are Impressed with tas
Page 41 and 42: 42 The Th flavour fl seesaw: balanc
Page 43 and 44: 44 aroma compounds. Dry Matter is a
Page 45 and 46: 46 Producing country On Orchard Pos
Page 47 and 48: 48 optimise their current managemen
Page 49 and 50: 50 Figure 2: Levels of actinidin en
Page 51 and 52: 52 NZKGI making its pledge in isola
Page 53 and 54: 54 Image provided by the NOAA/ESRL
Page 55 and 56: 56 Sea Surface temperature anomaly
Page 57 and 58: 58 The Taste ZESPRI TM programme wa
Page 59 and 60: 60 were either completely unconvinc
Page 61: 62 Orchard productivity remains a k

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