Over 60 people braved wet conditions to attend an Open Day at the Almond Centre of Excellence in Loxton immediately after the Australian Almond Conference recently .
ACE opens the gates
By Ella Henson ABA Sustainability Industry Development Officer
FOLLOWING the completion of the Australian Almond Conference , the Almond Board of Australia opened the gates to the Almond Centre of Excellence in Loxton . On Thursday , October 13 , the positive vibe continued from the three-day conference in Adelaide with over 60 people venturing out into the wet to attend the Open Day at the Almond Centre of Excellence . The open day began at 11am with a delicious lunch , and an additional opportunity to network and catch up after a busy couple of days . We were lucky enough to have
Patrick Brown , who is a distinguished Professor from the University of California-Davis , extend his stay to join us at the Open Day and provide his research expertise on soil monitoring using lysimeters . Plans to go on a guided walking tour were initially derailed by torrential rains . However , with umbrellas in hand and a gap between showers attendees venutured out , giving our researchers an opportunity to showcase their trials and share some more of their learnings . Amongst the researchers were Tim Pitt , Mark Skewes and Darren Graetz ( SARDI ) who shared their research on a range of topics including their trellis trial , soil amendment trial , soil lysimeter , storage sheds , and lasers . Roberta De Bei ( Plant Food and Research Australia ), gave us an insight into PFR ’ s high density trial , architectural studies , pruning responses , and single leader new variety trials , while Michelle Wirthensohn from the University of Adelaide took us through her breeding evaluation trials . ABA staff shared information on rootstock trials , native plantings and decoy crop . Despite the inclement weather , the Open Day was a success . It was great to have so many people come and learn more about the research taking place at the Almond Centre of Excellence .