The cold, frosty conditions in Victoria, building up to a chilly minus 2 degrees centigrade on Monday morning, has not had any adverse effects on crops, according to Shepparton grower, and Chair of Fruit Growers Victoria, Gary Godwill. “It’s been quite cold, and the peach blossom time may not be as late as I thought. We expect to see some flowers within about 10 days,” he said. “For now the frost is welcome, but that’s dependent on it not coming back in the next few weeks when the fruitlets start to break out of the ‘shuck’ and push out of the flower.” Other key crops will not be susceptible to frost yet, he confirmed. “Pears are slower coming out of dormancy, so are not as susceptible as peaches to damage.”Apricots tend to flower earlier, so will be more susceptible to damage if the frosty conditions continue, or another cold snap hits Victoria too soon, according to him. “We have got several techniques for controlling frost, and when it is more of a risk, in September time when a cold snap could hit, we try to attain a smooth surface underneath the trees so the ground warms up,” said Mr Godwill. Growers are busy pruning their trees in good time for the weather conditions, he added.Danger of Queensland Fruitfly disappearing from radar.While the cold conditions are welcome for pome fruit growers, anther benefit of the cold snap is that it should lower numbers of over-wintering Queensland Fruit Flies. Lesser numbers of the notorious pest is ultimately a good thing for fruit this season, but FGV’s Industry Development Officer, Tony Filippi was quick to point out that without concerted action, and a management program to monitor and trap them across all regions, they will be back in bigger numbers when the weather warms up according to Mr Filippi. “This could potentially reduce the number of stakeholders taking action, which could hamper efforts to implement the necessary monitoring and biosecurity protocols to suppress this pest long term.”

FGV, together with the Horticulture Centre of Excellence has engaged a consulting firm to work with councils and stakeholders, to ensure that a cost benefit business case is put in place to take to the Victorian Minister for Agriculture for support with controlling Queensland Fruit Fly in the region for the future, and meetings will take place this week to discuss plans, Mr Filippi said. “Those of us in the know understand that it’s still a serious issue.”

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