Feature
With mid-summer temperatures that often top 35 ° C , covering harvested fruit and delivering it promptly to the packhouse is essential .
Bee collecting pollen . Photo : Andreas Trepte
Jon Nathan in his orchard .
“ Some six years ago , a regional S . I . T . project was started with the support of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture . This also involved the use of traps in the orchard ( Seratrap ) and the monitoring of the fruit-fly population , and the dispersion of sterilised male fruit flies grown by Bio Fly – a division of BioBee Biological Systems . ( The Israelbased BioBee Biological Systems is one of the leading international companies in the field of biologically integrated pest management , natural pollination , and Medfly control – ed .)
“ The use of chemicals specifically for fruit fly by ground spraying was reduced , and more integrated spraying , use of sprays for other pests also effective against fruit fly was introduced .
“ There is weekly monitoring of the detection traps from the start of the season until at least a month after the last of the fruit is picked , to check for any infestation .
“ Any infested fruit will be discarded at picking or at packing .” What are the major markets for Israeli stone fruit ? “ Most fruit is sold domestically through the wholesale markets or to the supermarket chains ,” Jon said .
“ There is a small amount of fruit that is exported , mainly to Europe , particularly early and late in the campaign . Due to the mild climate , the harvest season
lasts longer , starting in mid-April and coming to an end in December .”
Restrictions on chemical use must be a major issue for supplying European markets , so which chemicals are allowed or , conversely , banned for use on fruit for European markets ?
“ Restrictions on chemicals for the European market is on a list published for the growers by the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture ,” Jon said .
“ The most significant chemicals are the organophosphates , which are also being phased out in the local market . This means that dealing with many pests is becoming more difficult .
“ There is more emphasis being placed on integrated pest control , taking into account natural enemies and making an effort not to kill them off .” Where does labour come from ? “ When units were small , ones that could be described as family units , and still reasonably profitable , there was more emphasis on using own labour ,” Jon said .
“ As units have grown there is an increased need for more and more workers . Most farms need permanent workers and a lot of positions are filled by foreign workers , mostly from Thailand , the number being controlled by the Ministries of Agriculture and Immigration , each grower
16 Australian Stonefruit Grower | April 2017 summerfruit . com . au