Summerfruit NZ is hosting a winter lunch & learn webinar series sharing practical insights from the latest Summerfruit NZ research and trials – designed to support on-orchard decision making and season readiness.
They are held online via Microsoft Teams, every Thursday at 12.30pm. Webinars are recorded and completed webinars can be found on the Summerfruit NZ Portal.
A Lighter Touch technical lead Bruno Gatimel is presenting on 13 August and Summerfruit-ALT projects are the focus of presentations on 6 August and 20 August.
The upcoming webinars are:
13 August: A-Lighter-Touch (ALT) – Future-proofing crop protection: Building and protecting the grower toolbox with Bruno Gatimel (ALT)
The ALT programme is generating independent performance data on innovative crop protection solutions, including biopesticides and new-generation synthetic products, across a range of minor crops. These trials help identify effective new tools that can address priority pest and disease challenges across multiple sectors while supporting sustainable production systems. ALT has also developed resources and launched an awareness campaign on resistance management. Join the webinar here
20 August: UVC for disease control on cherries with Virginia Maroni (BSI)
Results from field testing of UVC system powered by autonomous electric vehicle for control of fungal and bacterial diseases on cherries. Join the webinar here
27 August: Controlling wood-invading pathogens with Virginia Maroni (BSI) and Hue Nguyen (Lincoln University)
Best Practice to reduce cankers and tree mortality. An update on progress to date from lab, greenhouse, and field research including Hue Nguyen’s master’s project on fungal pathogen epidemiology. Join the webinar here
Completed webinars dates, topics and presenters are listed below:
- 25 June: A rising tide lifts all boats – a review of summerfruit maturity at retail with Mark Loeffen (Delytics)
- 2 July: Save time and money using the Summerfruit NZ Weather and Disease Portal with Mike Barley (Hort Plus)
- 9 July: How to use evapotranspiration (ET) for irrigation decision-making across different canopy types with Andrew Curtis (Primary Insight)
- 16 July: Improved rootstocks for stonefruit: USA research trip report with Jill Stanley (BSI)
- 23 July: Can plant growth regulators improve sweet cherry quality? with Claire Schofield (BSI)
- 30 July: Artificial pollination in cherries – collecting viable pollen and trialling application in-field with Melissa Broussard (BSI)
- 6 August: Biofungicides: Peach Brown Rot with Phil Elmer and Peter Wood (BSI)
