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News Articles
- INTERNAL Archive of Reports for the NewsMail
- INTERNAL Archive of Articles for the Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers
- Award-winning local company spreads wings
- Plant sap analysis wins out for Crop Tech
Pest Management News Articles printed in the Bundaberg NewsMail
Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers Articles
- Latest Report for the Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers: Mar-06
- Archive of Articles for the Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers
2004 News
Report for the NewsMail: 11-04-07
The temperature is starting to wind down and this will have the effect of slowing down the cycle rate of insects. Pest like silver leaf whitefly and two spotted mite will therefore become less of an issue than in the warmer months. The hatch rate of heliothis eggs will be slowing from 3 days to approximately 4 days.
Leafminer have been counted in extreme numbers in tomato crops around Bundaberg. The majority of these have shown resistance to pesticides with some growers applying a variety of pesticides with little to no effect.
Citrus trees have experienced increased levels of yellow citrus rust mite and spined citrus bug. Emporer Brown Spot has also appeared recently due to early morning fogs and dew emphasizing appropriate fungicide applications required. Flatids can also appear at this time of the year so careful monitoring is essential to pick up population changes.
Heliothus pressure in tomatoes and capsicums has been reasonably low with figures up to 0.5 eggs/plant found in tomatoes. Some thrips have appeared in capsicums and these can cause significant damage to fruit appearance reducing market price. Low levels of bacterial spot on chillis have also been found due to longer hours of leaf wetness.
vocadoes have been attacked by ivy leaf roller which is fairly typical for this time of the year. They will typically be found where there are two fruit touching each other or a leaf touching fruit.
Report for the Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers: Mar-06
With the season plantings having started slowly this year, Silverleaf Whitefly numbers have not been at economic action levels. However, this is not a time to relax as numbers can increase rapidly if the optimal weather conditions arise. Be aware that there is a resistance management strategy in place for Silverleaf Whitefly and ensure that early control is implemented to avoid the build up of large populations.
Most avocado growers will be partway through the harvest of Sheppard variety. There has been a noticeable increase in Loopers and Ivy Leaf Rollers over the last few weeks so growers need to be aware of the potential damage these insects can inflict. This will cause vegetative damage to trees and possible scarring of fruit. Ensure that these pests are controlled if economically damaging levels are reached.
Many of the vegetable crops are at flowering stage. Boron and calcium are critical at this crop stage to ensure adequate pollination and a good fruit set. When fruit are undergoing rapid fruit fill later in season it is too late to effectively rectify any calcium or boron deficiencies, which can often result in blossom end rot.
With rain periods expected to continue, correctly ascertaining when to irrigate after a rain event can be problematic. Precise soil moisture assessment is critical to ensure that irrigation events are matched to crop requirement.
All vegetable growers should be assessing and testing their spray rigs before the season gets away on them. A correctly calibrated spray rig will ensure that the chemicals used for pest and disease control are efficiently and effectively applied.
To avoid problems with damping off of young seedlings, the appropriate systemic fungicides in conjunction with soil moisture management should be used. Over-watering of young seedlings both reduces the development of a root system as well as increases the risk of root or stem disease. There is also no shortcut to the appropriate soil health management program incorporating crop rotation and cover cropping.
TOPArticle from the Bundaberg News-Mail
Award-winning local company spreads wings
Less than two days after taking out the major award at the annual New-Mail-Guardian Business Awards, Crop Tech's John Hall was enroute to Portugal. Barely pausing after Friday night's ceremony, Mr Hall was back working for the company which has won the major service award for an unprecedented second time.
Crop Tech is an agricultural consulting, laboratory and research operation based on the southern outskirts of Bundaberg. Mr Hall and his wife Penny have built the company up over 15 years to employ 21 staff and operate on a global level. "We have a sophisticated system of monitoring crops and collecting data on irrigation, pesticides and diseases so farmers can make the best decisions," he said. "This award is very good for staff morale and job satisfaction - it indicates they're doing a good job. Also, clients become more confident in our abilities." Mr Hall said the company serviced about 1000 fruit and vegetable growers Australia-wide with "a couple of hundred farmers" living locally. He said irrigation and pest management were the two services most requested by local farmers.
In addition to servicing local farmers, Crop Tech has spread its wings and started making inroads into the US and European markets. "I'm going to Portugal and Spain this week, we've just built a laboratory in Madrid with five people there. "I'll also be working with two big consulting companies because another big part of our business is training."
Mr Hall said his wife would operate the business from Bundaberg while he was overseas. He will visit Portugal for three days before flying to Spain for a five-day business visit. Following that, Mr Hall will travel to the US for a further 10 days before flying home again.
TOPArticle from National Business Bulletin
Plant sap analysis wins out for Crop Tech
"Our company was the first to develop integrated pest management for various horticultural crops."
"We were the first Australian company (if not in the world) to develop plant sap analysis as a commercial enterprise," said John Hall, joint managing director of Crop Tech Pty Ltd. Based in Bundaberg, Crop Tech won a 1998 North Coast Burnett Regional Telstra and Queensland Government Small Business Award. "Plant sap analysis monitors nutrition levels in plants," Crop Tech's other director and wife, Penny Hall, explains. "We extract the sap from plant leaf stalks and analyse this. It's faster, and it's a better monitoring tool. We've had to develop our own standard levels for this process over the past 13 years."
The hard work has paid off. The Telstra award is the pinnacle of a successful year in which Crop Tech also won three other awards. The company's turnover has trebled in the last four years, and the Directors are expecting a 20 per cent increase again next year. Crop Tech began in 1985 as a husband and wife partnership, to fulfil the needs for an independent crop monitoring service. "The package includes nutrition analysis and management using sap, soil, water, hydroponic and fruit testing, and irrigation management. It uses the latest computerised soil moisture monitoring equipment, and integrated pest management to reduce reliance on chemical insecticides," Penny Hall explains. From 1985 to 1989 Crop Tech developed quickly to service the horticultural industry.
WIDENING THE MARKET
"We diversified and spread the market over new cropping systems in Queensland and other states," John Hall explains. Today, Crop Tech provides specialised services to growers, agricultural consultants, primary producer groups and support industries. Both the Halls and seven staff are qualified professionals, with agricultural degrees.
EXPANSION OVERSEAS
Crop Tech has marketed this technology around the world. Companies in Thailand and Japan have bought licenses for crop monitoring from Crop Tech. "The results have been encouraging, to say the least," John Hall says. "In Japan, our technology has resulted in a 30 per cent increase in profit to flower growers using the system, because of better quality. There's been a 50 per cent yield increase in strawberries, cucurbits and tomatoes because of improved crop management." Crop Tech has also been working in co-operation with other companies in the US, England and Portugal, and is forming a joint venture. Crop Tech also promotes, sells and supports Enviroscan. The Halls judged it to be " the most advanced method of continuous monitoring of soil moisture by using advanced electronics and software."
STRATEGIC PLANNING
"Our client base has always consisted of the innovators and early adopters of new technology," Penny Hall explains. "They are responsible for more than 75 per cent of the total production." "Short,medium and long range plans to cope with the required expansion have been drawn up by management in consultation with staff. As a result, new equipment has been purchased, new staff employed, and plans drawn up for a building expansion."
THE FUTURE
The new Joint Venture company may establish a laboratory and office in Europe and sell distribution franchise arrangements to the major distributor in the region.
Locally, Crop Tech is offering high quality training programs for new consultants. We expect to expand this further in the next five years, giving us access to a much larger percentage of farmers around the country. "The Telstra award is particularly gratifying to us, as it is unusual for agricultural consultancy businesses, or for that matter any agricultural business, to achieve recognition in the wider sphere of small business. "Its also nice for Penny and me to have some recognition after all these years of hard work and long hours," he concluded.
TOPCrop Tech launches new software and web platform - October 2004
Crop Tech is a leading independent Australian agricultural research and consulting company. The firm provides technology for sustainable farming throughout Australia, as well as to 12 countries in Asia, USA and Europe through their Queensland based joint venture company, Crop Systems International.
On the 23rd of October Crop Tech will launch the unique "Crop Systems" package, which is the culmination of 10 years of research and development supported by the Queensland Department of State Development.
The Crop Systems package is designed to integrate a range of state of the art technologies that provide farmers with the tools to monitor crop performance, and optimise inputs such as water, fertilizer, trace elements and pesticides, as well as maximise quality and yield and minimise the impact on the environment.
"This proprietary technology package is a total crop management system allowing consulting agronomists to assist in meeting the crop information and management needs of their grower clients - combining the delivery of specialised pest and disease, nutrition, and irrigation disciplines", says Crop Tech Managing Director, Mr John Hall. "With increasing demands (on the grower) for better food safety, presentation, taste and longer shelf life, we are finding that more accurate, up to date information, with fast analysis of data, is necessary for correct decision making."
"It hasn't happened over night," he explains. "The development of Crop Systems combines over 10 years of scientific testing, and more recently, intensive market research and IT development. We aim to share knowledge, services and results over the internet with growers through the expertise and guidance of Australia's top consulting agronomists."
"Crop Systems" is designed by agronomists for agronomists, however, qualified specialists taking advantage of this technology must complete a rigorous training-mentoring program to overcome the inevitable "competence confidence cycle" to ensure deliverance of best practice.
The software, hardware, systems and services package aims to offer participating agronomists a commercial edge in terms of providing valuable information to their clients.
This total crop management system offers agronomists training in sampling, crop monitoring equipment, nutrition and irrigation consulting with users receiving Crop Tech software products - Integrator (nutrition), Watergator (irrigation), and Plant Check (IPM).
"Agronomists will be able to incorporate the system within their own business and utilise Crop Tech laboratories for their plant and soil testing." The package contains a state of the art irrigation monitoring hardware pack "CropSense".
"CropSense" is a new competitively priced wireless soil moisture monitoring system successfully tested by Crop Tech early this year. The graphic data can be accessed from the web site, via radios, modems or directly from the field logger, giving more flexibility than any other system available in the world. The data will be integrated with the nutrition and pest software to enable rapid diagnosis of soil moisture related effects on disease and crop performance
"Crop Tech's, Crop Systems International, promotes Australia's ingenuity in developing innovative concepts that are exportable. Sending technology to Japan and the USA is an impressive milestone for any Australian company".
Crop Tech was founded in 1985 and is owned by John and Penny Hall who both graduated from University of Queensland Gatton. Crop Tech employs over 25 people at their head office in Bundaberg, including Australian specialists in many fields.
Crop Tech supports agronomists throughout Australia and provides laboratory and software training worldwide. Crop Tech works in 12 countries with a number of multinational organisations. Through its Crop Systems International joint venture with USA's T-Systems International, it has licensed laboratories in Asia, UK and the US.
For more information please contact Rob Doyle on (07) 4155 6344, or 0427 490 318
For more information please click here for more about the launch
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