New Zealand grower Ardgour Valley Orchards will see the first commercial volumes of the apricot varieties planted over 25 hectares in the Ardgour Valley, Tarras, Central Otago.
"The first trees were planted in 2020 – then there were some in 2021 and some 2022," said Sharon Kirk Director of Ardgour Valley Orchards "In addition to the 25 hectares of apricots we also have 13 hectares of cherries which will be picked for the first time this season."
Ardgour Valley Orchards in the foreground
This year will see the first commercial crop from the trees planted in 2020. By 2027 the apricots should be in full production across the whole 25 hectares with full production expected to be 450MT.
"Weather permitting, we should have 70-80Mt. this year. The flowering was good and the fruit set has been good. The first picking will be in mid to late December one the first variety Summer 4. The balance of the varieties Summer 2 and 3 and Kioto come in from late January to mid March."
The conditions during the growing season have been variable according to Sharon. "Early to mid-September was good, allowing good fruit set, while late September was windy and wet. We have had to fight a couple of frosts as well. So far the crop is still looking great."
The varieties grown have been bred specifically for the New Zealand climate by Plant and Food Research in conjunction with SummerfruitNZ. Summer 2,3, and 4, were bred in Clyde at the Plant and Food Research Station specifically for Hort Invest's growing area. They are good a size, sweet, juicy and highly coloured.
"On the export front this will be our first development year. We are targeting Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Middle East, USA, UK and Australia. The apricots will be marketed by Ardgour Valley in a generic brand. This will be our first year to get fruit to the international market, but customers that were here last year tasted the fruit fresh from the tree and were excited about the taste and the quality."
For more information:
Sharon Kirk
Ardgour Valley Orchards
Tel: +64 21921246
[email protected]
hortinvest.nz