Tim Pitt
The almond industry is continually evolving and it ’ s the work of people like Tim Pitt from SARDI who are at the forefront of discovering new ways of growing smarter . As the subprogram lead for SARDI ’ s Horticultural Production Team , Tim works with a group of scientists to develop alternate production systems and find ways to enhance orchard efficiencies . It ’ s a role that takes him to growing regions right across Australia where he helps manage multiple almond research projects in districts from the Northern Adelaide Plains in SA right across to the Riverina in NSW . A lot of his contributions are behind the scenes , working to develop research concepts and manage them through to delivery . What he loves most though , is getting out into the orchards to help the team collect SARDI ’ s experimental data ( which is where we found him earlier in the year during harvest at the ABA ’ s ACE Orchard in Loxton , SA ). Over the 10 years he ’ s been in the industry , Tim ’ s seen lots of changes in data collection including an increase in ground and aerial remote sensing platforms that give large-scale context to the resource use and yield metrics that the team were already measuring using more traditional techniques . It all helps create a detailed , holistic picture of what ’ s happening in the orchard over time .
“ Getting away from the desk to help with our field work is a great way to reconnect with collaborating growers and hear their perspective on the industry ’ s challenges and opportunities .”
Kavitha Shanmugam
Kavitha has been working in the almond industry with SARDI for over two and a half years . As a technical officer , she supports the scientific and operational processes of field trials at the Almond Centre of Excellence ( ACE ) Orchard in Loxton . During the recent harvest , she was busy getting covered in dust collecting yield data behind the pickup machine . It ’ s a time of the year Kavitha enjoys in the orchard because it brings together the research team and gives them a greater appreciation of the hard work growers put in , day in and day out . Kavitha also admires the strong community network in the almond industry , especially among growers . “ I have always admired how they stay well connected and their common willingness to learn and share experiences with each other ,” she says . A usual week for Kavitha starts with planning data collection logistics for the many trials she supports at the ACE orchard and other almond orchards . If the weather ’ s good , Kavitha runs ground based and aerial canopy development assessments to complement the seasonal water use and yield metrics she also collects from all of SARDI ’ s different experimental treatments . There ’ s also fortnightly collection and measurement of soil water and leaf nutrient samples and the periodic canopy training operations in the highdensity trellised orchard . In between field sampling , she ’ s busy with managing data entry and presentation , and communicating her observations back to the SARDI research team .
“ At the end of the day , I ' m fulfilled knowing that my support of the almond industry ’ s research trials has a real impact on the future opportunities of our growers .”
industry . australianalmonds . com . au
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