Fruitful discussions at Mango Growers Field Day

Home 🞂 Newsroom 🞂 Fruitful discussions at Mango Growers Field Day

Mangoes weren’t quite ripe for the picking … but it sure was fruitful in West Gingin this week, when the Southern Mango Growers Group (SMANGO) conducted a very productive pre-harvest field walk.

About 25 participants were treated to an excellent series of presentations, including updates on the NACC-funded Farm Demonstration Project by consultant Neil Lantzke; on post-harvest fruit quality management from Perth NRM’s Graham McAlpine; and on crop forecasting and national issues from Robert Gray and Boyd Arthur of the Australian Mango Industry Association (AMIA).

P1030603 Photo 1 grower John Morrisey

Following the talks, grower and industry representatives joined a field walk through John and Eve Morrissey’s well-maintained orchard, where they were able to view the trial site and monitoring equipment.

The SMANGO project focuses on mango growers adapting to climate change in the Gingin/Dandaragan area.

The project seeks to understand mango phenology (i.e., the plant life cycle events) and how these are influenced by seasonal and inter-annual variations in climate.

The project is investigating, and hopes to address, two principal issues for mango growers in Southwest Australia:

  1. Cool temperatures at flowering, reducing fruit set and consequent low yields in some years.
  2. Sunburn damage of mangoes resulting in up to 50% loss of marketable fruit in some years.

Some of the questions being tested by the project include: which shoots carried fruit; fruit sets and the date of flowering ;better synchronising flowering; effects of delayed flowering; and testing methods for reducing sunburn, such as through the use of shade cloth.

The project is still in its first year of monitoring, but early feedback from the four host growers of the trials indicate the research is adding to their knowledge, appreciated and considered important to their farm business.

NACC would like to thank the SMANGO for running the field day; attendees and speakers who contributed to the field day; and John and Eve Morrissey for their excellent hosting.

Productive Farming Future Forum

Any NACC Notes readers who are interested in hearing more about adapting agriculture to our changing climate are invited to come along to the upcoming Productive Farming Future Forum that NACC is running in Coorow on 10 February.

The SMANGO Farm Demonstration Project is supported by NACC through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme (NLP).

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In 2020-21 I talked about ‘raising the bar’. In 2021-22 we worked on setting the bar on fire. Over the last 12 months, the team at NACC NRM has not stopped.

The Sustainable Agriculture team has extended the program’s reach through collaborations with grower groups in the regions. Specifically, the Beyond Reasonable Drought project and Grower Group Alliance – South West WA Drought Innovation Hub – Geraldton Node project. The Beyond Reasonable Drought partnership with grower groups supported farmers across the region to improve the environmental sustainability of their agricultural production and drought resilience. The outcomes of this project have been consolidated through our successful Expression of Interest to the South West WA Drought Innovation Hub, with support from grower groups across the region, to host the Geraldton Node of the Hub. The program continues to focus on working with agricultural networks to share technical expertise and provide opportunities that will improve land management practices in agriculture across the region.

The conservation outcomes of ranger teams have expanded through work on several land tenures. Maintaining Heritage sites such as Willi Gulli, Racecourse Paddock and Buller River has long been a priority. During 2021-22, the teams have increasingly focused on threatened species and ecosystems.

To this end, Western Mulga rangers have improved management across 19,000 ha for the conservation of Malleefowl through firebreak and access management. They completed the maintenance of water holes and supported the monitoring of over 90 Malleefowl mounds.

Similarly, the Kwelena Mambakort Aboriginal Corporate ranger team have contributed positively to Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo populations by installing artificial hollows and habitat restoration.

All ranger teams have collected native seed, propagated native plants for restoration, and planted native vegetation in key locations across the NAR. Seed collection provides valuable industry experience and has facilitated the planting of over 100,000 seedlings during the year.   

In September 2021, the NACC NRM team delivered the WA Threatened Species Forum, held in tandem with the National Malleefowl Forum. Given the impact of COVID and the timing of this event, having more than 100 delegates from all over Australia was a significant achievement. The two Forums brought together 12 events over five days and featured 14 local artists, 25 businesses and 36 youth participants.

Following the successful relaunch of our updated NARvis, NACC NRM was invited to help lead a significant piece of strategic planning work for the region with Mid West Development Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. With funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, the consortia delivered a Regional Drought Resilience Plan covering the shires of Northampton and Chapman Valley and the City of Greater Geraldton, along with significant technical analysis of drought vulnerability for the South West land division. The development of this plan also included extensive community consultation to ensure that local knowledge and technical advice guided the development of priorities for action.

This planning work links to existing NACC NRM on-ground projects, including Beyond Reasonable Drought and the Chapman Catchment Collaborative regeneration project.

It was a busy year for events with face-to-face events becoming commonplace again. During 2021-22 we hosted events in Gingin, Moora, Dalwallinu, Cervantes, Jurien Bay, Walkaway, Nabawa, Perenjori, Kalannie and Morawa. We supported events in Karakin, Thundellara, Perenjori, Paynes Find, Wubin, Cataby, Warradarge, Northampton, Yuna, Dalwallinu and Dandaragan.

We also supported on-ground works throughout the region, including at the following locations Yuna, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Merkanooka, Goodlands, Kalannie, Bunjil, Yardarino, Canna, Kondut, Latham, Kadathinni, Nabawa, Red Gully, Sandy Gully, Waddy Forrest, Devils Creek, Perenjori, Bowgada, Ellendale, Wandana, Namban, Hill River, Warradarge, Gillingarra, Regans Ford and Moonyanooka.

Our region is vast – slightly larger than Tasmania, which for comparison, is serviced by three separate NRM organisations. Covering the NAR region and its many environmental threats is challenging. We continue to focus on partnerships and collaboration to address this challenge. We know that by working with our community through passionate delivery of collaborative on-ground projects and education, the community will value and actively protect our region’s natural capital.

This year we have launched a new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The RAP Working Group consulted widely and developed an Innovate RAP which Reconciliation Australia approved in March 2022. The activities to fulfil these commitments are now in full swing.

Sadly, at the end of 2021, we farewelled former NACC NRM CEO Shelley Spriggs, who lost a long battle with cancer. Shelley was an inaugural inductee to the NRM Leadership Honour Roll. I will always be grateful for her guidance and no-nonsense approach, not to mention her passion for life.

While we have said farewell to some, we have welcomed many new faces across all programs, including our Administration team. We have also hosted a school-based trainee from Nagle Catholic College who has been working towards a Certificate II in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. This trial position has been very successful, and we look forward to making this opportunity available again in 2023.

During 2022 we have taken on new projects that align with our organisational and program objectives, and we have successfully completed some great initiatives that support continued conservation and sustainability outcomes. I want to thank the whole team who continue to go above and beyond for the organisation and each other proving their ongoing commitment to our purpose and our values.