RESEARCH & EVENTS
Learnings from the spring deluge
Eryn Lehman Yenda Producers Co-operative
THE spring of 2022 spared no grower in eastern Australia . Here in the Riverina we had water overflowing from every river , creek , channel , drain , soak , flood plain and even the hills ; from Coleambally right through to Roto . These regular rain events , floods , mild temperatures and overcast days made orchard management challenging during the peak growing time , but the full effects are still emerging even now as we harvest and will continue into next season . The challenges started at bloom with low bee flight hours and poor conditions for pollination , resulting in some of the blank and shrivelled kernel particularly in earlier varieties . Diseases kicked off during flowering as well ; after two wet seasons the pressure was substantial , particularly with Anthracnose . Fertiliser applications were delayed , and response to fertiliser was slow with low soil temperatures and minimal draw from the trees in cool ,
Peter Reynolds from Yenda Producers speaking to attendees at a field day held in February .
wet conditions . Regular rainfall provided ideal conditions for root , trunk , and aerial Phytophthora , and promoted shallow root systems that struggled to keep up when the summer heat finally came and the excess water dried out .
With the backdrop of this grim season , Yenda Producers Cooperative organised two field days in February for Riverina growers to share their experiences and recovery strategies .
Continued next page
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