This strategy document sets out the pathway to achieve the New Zealand government's goal of growing the value of New Zealand’s horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035.

This report summarises the findings from case studies of four significant New Zealand industries: Dairy (both farming and processing), Health technology (HealthTech), Horticulture (with a focus on kiwifruit and wine) and Software products and services (Software). The four case studies have identified various opportunities for...

Wage theft remains rampant in Australian horticulture, even during COVID-19. This investigative report explores the nature of underpayment and worker exploitation in northern NSW’s blueberry industry, unearthing allegations and evidence of gross underpayment and abuse inflicted upon working holiday-makers and others.

This discussion paper has been developed by Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures through a series of conversations with industry leaders, scientists and stakeholders. It seeks to further conversation on the issues confronting the future of New Zealand’s agricultural and food production system.

In 1899, 72 women enrolled at the Burnley School of Horticulture, Melbourne to study part-time a ‘Certificate of Competency in Horticulture’. This was a ground-breaking moment for women wishing to work in horticulture, as Burnley was the only educational institution in Australia at the time...

Lindsay Dixon Pryor (1915-1998) is best known for his contribution to the landscape of Canberra when employed as landscape manager and landscape architect by the Department of the Interior between 1944 and 1958. Pryor was trained as a forester and subsequently applied himself to cognate...

Bees play a vital role in food production through pollination. This report explores threats to the bee industry.

Increased anxieties over contemporary crises such as climate change are generating interest in urban agriculture in Australia. The connection between suburban food producing environments and the urban environment is complex and often misunderstood. The food system is multi faceted and frequently intersects with economic, political...

This working paper reports on the outcomes of a colloquium held in Canberra on 21 June 2014 at the Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University. The colloquium was held to discuss the challenges associated with seed banking and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and...

Anlaby Station is the oldest sheep stud in South Australia (SA) dating back to 1839. The gardens have been noted as significant exemplars, Beames & Whitehill (1992), Swinbourne (1982), and in Pastoral Homes of Australia (1911) published by The Pastoral Review, wherein Anlaby was described...

In April 2007, New Zealand introduced the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) program, which allows NZ employers to recruit overseas workers from the Pacific and South East Asia for seasonal work in horticulture and viticulture. Over the last year, New Zealand has opened its doors to...

This report argues that there is no labour shortage of such seriousness as to threaten the prosperity of the horticultural industry, worth $6.6 billion in 2003-04. It argues that measures to increase the labour force - including allowing seasonal contract labour from the Pacific islands...

Peter Mares shows that fruit and vegetable growers have trouble finding seasonal workers to pick their crops and sometimes resort to illegal immigrants to get the job done. His findings are based on a survey of horticultural producers in the horticultural region stretching along the...

Pear scab, or black spot, is caused by the fungus Venturia pirina. It infects leaves, shoots, blossoms and fruit, and can cause serious crop loss especially in wet seasons when control measures are inadequate. The disease is found world-wide, wherever pears are grown. The fungus...

The importance of periurban agriculture for a healthy city and the advantages of retaining agriculture are being increasingly recognised in rhetoric, but not in planning strategies, although the urbanisation of agriculturally productive land is of concern around many cities.

The cultivated blackberries are hybrid plants of the genus Rubus, subgenus Eubatus. They are only distantly related to the weed species, Rubus fructicosus Agg. The following varieties are found in commerce. Descriptive notes are based on performance in Southeast Australia. Fruiting season is dependent on...

This Agriculture note lists the common pests and diseases of Rubus crops in Australia. It is not a comprehensive list of all rubus diseases found worldwide, nor a full description of the life cycle of disease organisms. Life cycles of all major and minor rubus...

Raspberries require well drained, deep soil. They do not tolerate heavy clay soils, or shallow soils, or prolonged water stress. They can tolerate heat in summer, but hot wind will devastate new growth and economic viability. The floricane fruiting (spring and summer) raspberries require adequate...

The raspberry plant produces new canes, which emerge from the ground in early spring. These new canes, referred to as primocanes, grow throughout spring and early summer and become dormant in winter. The varieties Willamette, Nootka and Chilcotin normally produce an autumn crop on the...

The raspberry plant possesses the potential to produce fruit on primocane tips in autumn, in addition to the main crop which is borne on floricanes in spring. This habit is usually described as primocane-fruiting (PF). PF cultivars are grown as a perennial crop with annual...