About the Almond Centre of Excellence
The Almond Centre of Excellence experimental orchard is a 60-hectare site purchased by the South Australian Government in 2016 and leased by Almond Board of Australia to develop with funding support from the Australian and South Australian Governments . Based five kilometres from the Loxton Research Centre , the orchard is a home for the almond industry ’ s research and development program .
PROGRAM
7:30 Gates open
7:30 Machinery and equipment displays
8:30 Welcome Peter Hayes , Chair - Almond Board of Australia
8:40 Orchard tour 1
8:55 Cover crop program Thomas Lines , The University of Adelaide
9:15 Native plantings and bee friendly farming Fiona Chambers , Wheen Bee Foundation
9:25 ABA rootstock trial Josh Fielke , Almond Board of Australia
9:35 Australian almond breeding program Cassandra Collins , The University of Adelaide
9:45
Rootstock / scion compatability ( Trials 4 & 5 ), optimised density ( Trial 3 )
Tim Pitt , Mark Skewes and Paul Petrie , SARDI
10:20 Official opening of the Almond Centre of Excellence
Opening ceremony
Peter Hayes , Chair - Almond Board of Australia Julie Bird , Chair - Hort Innovation Australia Professor Mehdi Doroudi , Chief Executive - PIRSA
11:00 Grower pitch first session Improving pollination , nut set and size Improving nutrient availability and fertiliser uptake Increasing yield and reduction fruit drop Connectivity solutions within orchards Protective almond storage in bunkers Aeration solution for the almond industry Herbicide WEED-IT spot spraying with Optispot 7 BeeStar remote hive monitoring
12:00 Lunch break
Marko Doric , Stoller Danny Thornton , Agreva Andrew Doecke , Omnia Melissa Andrews , Connected Farms Rod Martin , Polytex Tarpaulins Andrew Fischer , Harveston Aeration Solutions Hamish McIntosh , Rometron Australia / Agg-Tech Machinery Simon Burt , LB Agtech Holdings
12:00 Machinery and equipment displays
13:00 Diseases in almonds - Californian experience
13:30 Orchard tour two
13:30
High density planting , architectural studies pruning responses
Florent Trouillas , The University of California Cooperative Extension
Roberta De Bei , Plant Food and Research Australia
14:00 Breeding evaluation trial walkthrough Josh Fielke , Almond Board of Australia
14:10 Ultra high density planting Roberta De Bei , Plant Food and Research Australia
14:30 Soil amelioration trial
Nigel Flemming , South Australian Research Development Institute