Allesbeste Symposium session 3 - Securing Yield and Optimal Return on Investment
Register here for the Symposium
So before we get to which exact changes will bring about the increased yield. The way these answers came about and the time it took sometimes is not clear. Numbers like this can be easily dismissed, yet credibility often disappears in ambitious numbers, opinions and words. But allow me the time to share a story... (you can always scroll past if you're after the Millenial-type instant gratification.)
Joining the business in 2009, with my first block that I assisted in planting didn't seem like anything strange or different (perhaps by paying a little more attention I would have realised that this tramline double density 800 trees per hectare "thing" was a bit odd for avo's). At that point not yet part of the farming operation itself I went through the paces of my father and his intricate plans and even more interesting ideas. There was no way to know what was coming my way.
By 2011, suddenly the Allesbeste experiments started reeling me in. Just as one part of this experiment, and a few other blocks I was asked to take over the pruning and develop a creative idea of how we should continue into our next block. Another planting of Maluma, spread over three rootstocks (Duke7, Bounty, and Dusa - Those who know will realise that these were the early days of our new commercial rootstocks - and André wanted to know first hand). Well with this block André Ernst had an assignment. "In Chile, you know, they plant crazy densities. I want to prove that Maluma can work on these high densities. When we started selling Maluma trees there - we should have proved it already. Also, Westfalia planted Carmen in Mooketsi 3m x 3m under the net. So let's see what's possible with Maluma" So rookie on the farm went and played with pruning, and measuring tapes and brought in a bit of weird marketing creativity (studying Marketing didn't do me any horticultural favours at this point). So I whipped up a plan for a 2,5m x 2,5m Ultra high-density planting of 1600 trees/ha. Which worked.!?!? What?? We reached 16 tons/ha in year 3. Impressive ROI, yet beyond that point production had its challenges, partly because the Duke 7 started failing. on us, the Bounty that only joined production a year later suddenly started producing out of sync with the other rootstock, but more worrying we realized now how growth vigorous these Bounties trees were.
This block for a long time, and those before it would seem like a lot of time wasted. Take into account that when we harvest these experimental blocks they have to be harvested separately for each trial for multiple years to gather data. We are not a research station or experimental farm, we still need to be commercially competitive. From this block, however, we learned a few lessons that took us forward, for example:
Never plant on squares, it seems "cool" to be Chilean, but if you're not, don't do it! - They have reasons, ie. slopes and hillside plantings.
Dusa is our preferred high-density rootstock - unless there are other factors like poor soil conditions etc - then we might rather go Bounty.
Irrigation can be a challenge on high density - wasn't yet sure but needed to make plans (one block on and drip came into play)
Harvesting. Oh, my! Harvesting - what a dream. Harvesting 16ton / ha at twice the speed of conventional densities. Efficiencies!!!
Never plant on squares, it seems "cool" to be Chilean, but if you're not, don't do it! - They have reasons, ie. slopes and hillside plantings.
6 years later I realised two very important things. This was where the trellis journey started for me. Even more, I realized that even before I joined, every single block Allesbeste planted since at least 2004 was some type of commercial experiment (with some long before, like our 1,3 ha Maluma vs Hass comparison planted in 1999). These were visionary endeavours Dr André Ernst was doing, as an extension of the nursery, his own breeding and selection program, and for the sake of the sustainability of an industry, which was not ours to protect.
(The story is nearly done - but some interesting facts you might appreciate)
Now in 2024, I look back on the 15 years I have been part of these commercial-experimental plantings. Yes, some under hidden instruction of the #Avo_father (André) and some out of further genetic crazy-thinking.
We have planted close to 100 ha of ultra-high-density orchards (above 800 trees /ha) in a subtropical climate where densities above 400 trees/ha are not generally regarded as the norm.
We planted around 120ha of experimental commercial blocks (yes, every single block has some shape or form of experimentation):
Irrigation types end emitter flow rates
Rootstock (commercial and those still in breeding, and even some old heroes)
Cultivars (New generation semi-commercial blocks)
Ridging heights
Row directions
Countered vs ridged plantings
Pruning techniques
Training and trellising
let me think a few days sure there is somehow even more
We actively test technology and service providers (yes we'll get to BloomX & BioBee)
The 4 blocks below hide some very significant improvements that can boost your production - learn more at the Symposium
(Story done, so what will we be diving into?)
This session allows us to share some "do's", and yes we've paid our School fees (which by now feels like we are the 21-year-olds finishing school, and then still crazy enough to try out University), but what we've learned is so valuable. Ultimately, all you ever want to know as a farmer when attending symposiums and study groups is: "Tell me when it works, and what works". This is the time. We will share our top 6 commercially proven strategies that significantly improve yield:
Rootstock selection
Cultivars
Optimum ridge height for yield
Irrigation types
Trellising and planting densities
Pollination
1988 Hass block showing late harvest Hass in the Tzaneen area (photo 22/07/24) - Notice flower development and uniform tree health. Yes we'll share at the simposium what this block's little secret is.
With each of these, we see significant year-on-year production increases, independent of season and cultivar difficulties. They withstand tough times and improve not only our year-on-year yields but also our cumulative yields and more significantly Return on Investment calculations and achievements. They all have in my humble opinion, one thing in common more than all the "cool stuff" and great photos. They al have a significant effect on tree uniformity and therefor improves sustainable yields. Above that...obviously we'll talk more at the symposium. We'll share the numbers, show you how significant some of these minor considerations can be - but above it all, we'll even share some considerations before jumping into it from personal commercial experience.
"but above it all, we'll even share some considerations before jumping into it from personal commercial experience."
Now enter BioBee (Yes Biobee, not BioBEE. This is not the latest SA government initiative for empowerment). After a few years of struggling (wow the political jargon keeps flowing) with pollination due to mostly weather conditions and not optimizing our primary flower, the decision was made to do trials with bio-mimicking pollination technology introduced by BloomX (electrostatic pollination) during 2023. BloomX is represented by BioBee in South Africa. Initially when the first results came in I was quite sceptical, but the final results have consistently shown significant improvement in the yield of these applications. Not sure of what the final results, and what the practical applications could be we decided to test on different scenarios including:
Conventional densities of 300-400 trees /ha
Different cultivars (Hass, Fuerte, Maluma and also Variety 1*)
Different farms - Allesbeste, Humor and Hansfontein are all on different altitudes and significantly different micro-climates
Trellising
Blocks in significant on-years and also blocks where we expected low production.
Below is an example of pollination in action:
Additionally, it's important to realise that throughout these trials we maintained natural honeybee pollination on our normal practice guideline. The results, even in what we regard as not ideal conditions have us extremely excited and the journey now continues with even more hectares. Join us on the early days of this journey. The learning curve is still pretty steep for us at Allesbeste in terms of what the final effecient usage will be. But after the first season, we have a few hunches on the practical applications and look forward to sharing this in our discussions with Anat Dadia from BloomX and Gideon Nieman from BioBee during this session.
We're pretty sure when you first heard of "machine pollination" you had your doubts. Hand pollination sounds like a crazy idea while bees could do it, right? If you haven't yet heard of it, it might be a good time to pop in and have a look.
We are looking forward to seeing you there!
Register here for the Symposium - 15% discount when using this link!
Registrations close on 28 July 2024.
Below is the Provisional Program:
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