Orchards in the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel were damaged by strong winds over the weekend, just as the avocado harvest was starting. Growers have been busy clearing orchards and repairing infrastructure following the event.
Wayne Heays, of The Avocado Place near Waihi, described it as the "worst wind" he had experienced in his 15 years on the orchard. He said the 1.2-hectare fruit and nut orchard lost a large amount of avocados. Several greenhouses and a worm farm were also damaged. "I knew there would be a bit of damage, but it was quite a shock to see so much damage. Just everything just got absolutely belted," he said. Trees had also fallen onto feijoa blocks, and Heays and his wife have been bagging up fallen avocados to donate to local food pantries.
Tony Bradley, managing director of Aongatete Avocados, which runs avocados and kiwifruit across three blocks near Katikati, said all three hectares of avocados were affected. "We've lost a lot of fruit off our trees, particularly the exposed trees. There's been a lot of leaf loss, which is growing the engine, driving the fruit growth, so we'll stall for a wee while." He added that the winds came at a difficult time, with one neighbouring grower about to start harvesting for the export market.
Bradley noted that while the event caused losses, it may result in tighter supply and could support better prices for growers. He said clean-up efforts were underway and that orchards often looked worse at first. "When you can mow up, get rid of all the fruit on the ground, then it all starts to come better, you can still see a bit of fruit still left on the trees."
In addition to avocados, he said about one in every ten hectares of kiwifruit was also damaged. However, he noted that slower bud development caused by cold conditions meant the vines were expected to recover.
Source: RNZ News
