Cyclone Gabrielle: Hawke's Bay Orchardists Still Recovering
Three and a half years on from when Cyclone Gabrielle hit Hawke's Bay, some orchardists in the region are still receiving counselling to help them deal with the trauma they suffered.
Hawke's Bay Fruit Growers Association president, Brydon Nisbet told Hort News that his organisation is putting out a newsletter reminding growers of the conditions they could face depending on how severe this El Niño might be.
He says the region - known as the fruit bowl of New Zealand - has been through El Niños before, and while it can be a problem, there is a chance that it may be good for growers - providing there is rain in the early part of the season.
"Good, warm, dry weather means there are less pest and disease problems than when it's wet. Also, when it's hot and dry you get good quality fruit, but if we get an extreme El Niño, this could potentially cause problems. Right now, there's not a lot of talking or fretting amongst growers about and extreme El Niño," he says.
Nisbet says growers live and work in the weather and therefore they are making plans for whatever conditions that may eventuate.
He says they will be making sure that their irrigation systems are maintained and have checked their sprinklers so that when they switch the system on, everything goes effectively and there are no surprises.
He says there are also other remedies that they can put in place if there are extremely hot, dry days.
"Once you get around to the 38, 29 and 30 degrees Celsius mark, the apple tree shuts down and it's at that point you can get sunburn damage on the apples. To mitigate this, a grower can droop shade cloth over the trees or they can spray their trees with a product that amounts to sunscreen and that can protect the fruit for up to three weeks," he says.
Nisbet says growers have to work out the cost effectiveness of such mitigations, which may depend on the value of the crop.
He says if high winds are forecast, growers may choose to prune excess growth off their trees because leaves can damage the fruit.
One of the big issues for growers is water security and it's no secret that there is support in the primary sector for water storage that enables growers and farmers to better manage the normal summer dry, when low flows become the norm in rivers.
Nisbet says while there are good aquifers in Hawke's Bay, there are limits on how much water can be taken - especially when a drought sets in.
"Most growers are prepared and have systems on their orchards that can record moisture levels and tell them when they need to water. It's all quite advanced in that area with the technology and they don't just water randomly," he says.
In the Hawke's Bay, there are a lot of new apple trees and Nisbet says not only do these trees need more water, they need it on a regular basis. In the meantime, it's a case of wait and see.
