Physical Factors
Climate
A key feature of the 2002/03 growing season was the cold spring. This reduced avocado fruit set and delayed growth of most crops, resulting in delayed harvest for persimmons, tamarillos and passionfruit. Feijoa fruit set was good despite the cool spring.
The season went on to have a dry summer and a warm, wet autumn. The dry summer benefited citrus production. The dryness lowered fruit size and feijoa quality, reducing the proportion of the 2003 crop suitable for the fresh market and directing more fruit to processing. Irrigation was used to offset dryness on orchards with the facility. About half of the avocado orchards planted in the last five years have irrigation systems and some established orchards are retro installing irrigation to help improve fruit quality and size, and to support higher yields.
The wet autumn reduced internal quality of Satsuma mandarins meaning fewer met export quality specifications. Persimmon skin colour has been slow to develop in the warm, wet autumn so harvest has been a stop-start process and export packout may be lower.
For avocados, ridging of the fruit surface was a factor which reduced packouts, particularly in Northland. This is very frustrating to growers as the fruit is sound but misshapen and there is not yet a clear cause established for this ridging, although temperature and shelter are thought to play a role.
Tamarillo plants are brittle, and strong winds this season have broken off branches resulting in reduced yields. Control of the key tamarillo pest, white fly, is good, aided by greater attention to removing weeds (which act as alternative hosts) and monitoring of pest levels, as well as using chemical controls when needed.
Production
Avocado production during 2003/04 is expected to total around the same as in 2002/03 when 1.2 million trays of fruit were exported. The low yields from orchards affected by poor fruit set will be offset by the first production from young orchards. Fruit quality and fruit size appear good so export packouts may be higher.
Avocado growers focus on export markets but considerable volume growth has occurred in the domestic market as total production has increased. Processing of low-grade fruit into oil has been an important factor in maintaining the quality of fruit for fresh consumption on the domestic market, by diverting the lower quality fruit.
Accurate figures on production of New Zealand citrus are not available. Industry estimates indicate that the production of mandarins, oranges and lemons is increasing, mainly as new plantings come on stream (Table 2). The contrast, production of the less favoured varieties, tangelos and grapefruit, is expected to decline. Most New Zealand grown citrus is produced for the domestic market. There are about 520 growers. The industry plans to further increase exports as production increases.
The New Zealand persimmon industry is relatively small. There are around 80 growers, with Gisborne and the greater Auckland area each having about one-third of the area.
At the time of writing, the 2003 persimmon harvest has not been completed. Industry personnel expect the crop to be up at least 10% on last season's results, probably in the region of 700,000 trays. Most growers target the export market with South East Asia the main destination. Export production has remained relatively stable over the last few years.
Feijoa tonnage in 2003 was higher than usual. Average yields of 20 t/ha were achieved this season. The tamarillo harvest is just beginning at time of writing. Production of passionfruit in 2003 is lower than usual.
Table 1: Features of the New Zealand Subtropical Crop Sector
Crop |
Current Area June 2000* (ha) |
Previous Area 1994 (ha) |
Change |
Key Harvest Period |
Economic | |
Avocados |
3 100 |
1 374 |
+125 |
September-March |
> 15 | |
Citrus: |
||||||
Mandarins |
900 |
619 |
+45 |
April-July |
> 15 | |
Oranges |
600 |
789 |
-24 | June-October |
> 15 | |
Lemons |
400 |
263 |
+52 |
All year |
> 15 | |
Tangelos |
167 |
295 |
-43 |
June-October |
> 15 | |
Grapefruit |
117 |
116 |
0 |
June-October |
> 15 | |
Total citrus |
2 184 |
2 082 |
+5 |
|||
Persimmon |
385 |
412 |
-6 |
April-June |
> 15 | |
Feijoa |
217 |
161 |
+35 |
March-May |
> 15 | |
Tamarillo |
297 |
299 |
0 |
June-August |
4-6 | |
Passionfruit |
66 |
54 |
+22 |
February-May |
4-6 |
* Current area as at 30 June 2002 for avocados, mandarins, oranges and lemons.
Source: MAF and Agriculture New Zealand
Table 2: Estimated Production of Citrus (tonnes)
Year |
2000 |
2003 |
2005 |
Mandarins |
5 400 |
6 800 |
8 500 |
Oranges |
7 500 |
9 100 |
9 500 |
Lemons |
4 500 |
6 800 |
8 500 |
Other Citrus (Tangelos, Grapefruit) |
4 000 |
3 600 |
3 500 |
Total |
21 400 |
26 300 |
30 000 |
Source: New Zealand Citrus Growers Inc
Contact for Enquiries
Farm Monitoring Programme Manager
Monitoring and Evaluation
MAF Policy
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0623
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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