Aus growers attribute mango crop's 40% rise in value to innovation

Over 200 growers attending the 11th Australian Mango Industry Conference in Bowen were told that thanks to innovation and the interesting and popular varieties grown in the country, the retail value of the mango crop increased by 40 per cent in the past three years — more than double the overall fruit category.

Australian Mango Industry Association marketing manager Treena Welch said, exceeding consumer expectations hinged on the ability of growers to adopt innovation to improve the eating experience.

Ms Welch said the real game changer had been the rollout of Near Infra-Red (NIR) technology, which enables growers to pinpoint the precise optimum harvest window for their crop, regardless of location or variety.

"NIR, that's the one that has changed the industry forever more," Ms Welch said. "They literally shoot the fruit on the tree and instantaneously they get a reading, a near infrared reading, of what the dry matter of that fruit is.

"And then they make the decision to pick or to leave the fruit on the tree a bit longer until it reaches that minimum dry matter level."

"That means that, as an industry, we are picking fruit across all varieties and all regions that once it's ripened, it's going to deliver that unique, exquisite mango experience that keeps Australians coming back for more."

New varieties, better tree nutrition and night harvesting of fruit were other examples of adapting and changing farming practices in line with the best research and technology available, Ms Welch concluded.

source: abc.net.au