KVH visits Wanganui orchards

06 October 2016
KVH travelled to Wanganui in September, visiting nine orchards over two days. A meeting was held to discuss Wanganui spray programmes compared to other regions and best practice Psa management over spring. Most growers achieved good dry matter last season, enabling them to harvest crops in April - at least a month earlier than previous years. Actigard and copper had been applied post-harvest while leaves were still in good condition, which set the orchards up well going into winter. Overall the region experienced a milder winter with lower rainfall. Compared with last year, fewer Psa symptoms were seen, with one notable exception in Mangamahu Valley, where colder, wetter portions of an orchard were showing significant exudate. Growers have been proactive with monitoring and removal of infected material. Early indications are that bud break was looking good and growers were quietly confident of a good start to the season.