Fruit growers in the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales are reporting unusually low fruit set this spring, a development that has left many experienced orchardists uncertain about the cause.
The region's producers, long accustomed to droughts, floods, fires, and hail, say this season's issue appears different. At several orchards, including Pine Crest Orchard in Bilpin, growers report that trees flowered as expected and bee activity appeared normal, but fruit failed to form.
"The fruit just isn't there," said Joanna Galbraith of Pine Crest Orchard. "The trees flowered beautifully, the bees were active, but somehow the pollination just didn't happen."
Joanna and her father, John Galbraith, who has grown apples, peaches, cherries, apricots, and Nashi pears for nearly 60 years and taught horticulture at Richmond TAFE for over four decades, are among several orchardists investigating what may have gone wrong.
A workshop on pollination held in Bilpin on October 26, 2025, by Greater Sydney Local Land Services gathered local growers and pollination experts to discuss possible causes. The discussion pointed to a combination of biological, environmental, and chemical factors that may have disrupted pollination.
While European honey bees on Australia's east coast have been heavily affected by the Varroa mite, managed hives placed in local orchards by apiarist Ben Porteous were observed to be active. One theory suggests that the collapse of feral European bee populations, once estimated at roughly one hive per square kilometre, may have shifted bee activity away from fruit crops. With wild bees gone, managed bees may have been drawn to flowering native trees such as turpentines in the surrounding bushland, reducing pollination in orchards.
Other growers suggest that chemical or environmental residues may be influencing tree performance. The use of fire retardants during the 2019 Black Summer bushfires has raised concerns that soil or plant chemistry may have been altered. The combination of warmer-than-average spring temperatures and potential residual firefighting compounds may also have interfered with nutrient uptake and pollination processes.
"There doesn't seem to be any single answer," said John Galbraith. "It could be a combination of things we don't yet fully understand."
Fruit set is a key indicator of yield potential and seasonal workload. With some large orchards already reporting low or absent fruit formation, growers are preparing for reduced local supply and calling for continued monitoring and research to determine the underlying causes of the poor fruit set across Hawkesbury's orchards.
Source: Hawkesbury Gazette
