Goulburn Valley growers hit by the pre-Christmas storm are now working out how to save their trees from pests and diseases at minimal cost.

A hailstorm stripped trees of fruit and leaves on some properties and pock-marked the fruit on others, causing an estimated damage bill of $50 million of farm gate value.

Growers now have to protect the damaged trees from fungus, bacterial infections and fruit fly, without getting the benefit of a paying crop.

Fruit Growers Victoria grower services manager Michael Crisera said the storm — that ripped through the Tatura, Ardmona and Bunbartha areas on December 22 — would not only spoil the crops but forced growers to take protective action to maintain the trees.

Some apricots had already been delivered to processor SPC, but the maturing pear and peach crops were particularly vulnerable to damage.

The pre-Christmas storm also finished off some fruit that was partly affected by an earlier storm on the Melbourne Cup weekend.

Mr Crisera said the early estimates put total losses at about 1030 hectares, but a broader area also sustained damage.

Growers are likely to employ labourers to knock damaged fruit from the tree so that bud development for next year will not be affected.

Mr Crisera noted growers were still struggling with a national labour shortage.

This will be the first full season where orchardists will be operating under new provisions of the Horticulture Award guaranteeing minimum rates of pay.

New piecework provisions mean many orchard businesses will need to maintain more detailed written records to comply with daily minimum hourly wage rates.

SPC chief executive officer Robert Giles said field managers were still assessing the crop losses, but it could amount to 1000 to 2000 tonnes for the processor.

The storm hit after some apricots had already been delivered safely to the factory, which processed about 1000 bins.

Asked what could be done about the losses, Mr Giles said the processor would have to make the most of the fruit that was available.

He said it appeared that a lot of apples and pears from the Tatura region had been lost and some of the peach crop had been affected.

“We have yet to quantify the total losses,” Mr Giles said.

Source - https://www.sheppnews.com.au