Technical Services

Continuous irrigation monitoring

Fruition Horticulture is the nationwide distributor of Sentek Irrigation Monitoring probes. This technology allows  real time, relative readings of soil moisture that can be accessed 24/7. With this information available, irrigation scheduling can become much more precise and efficient.

Click here to view our demo continuous monitoring graphs 

• First continuous monitoring, internet accessible service in New Zealand
• Reads multiple depths with regular uploads during the day which you can check from your laptop, tablet or phone
• Available nationwide

Weekly irrigation monitoring

Fruition has operated an irrigation scheduling and recommendation service since 1987. We operate irrigation monitoring services in Marlborough, Nelson, Hawkes Bay and Bay of Plenty. Our service operates over a number of crops including grapes, apples, kiwifruit, hops and avocados.

Weekly Monitoring

• Neutron probe or Sentek technology
• Results available on day of monitoring via website
• Recommendation provided based on tailored strategy

Crop Maturity Monitoring

Crop maturity monitoring enables growers to have same day data to make decisions regarding harvest dates, storage segregations and market allocations. We have the capability to do crop assessments on a large range of crops including: kiwifruit, apples, pears, summerfruit and grapes.

• Chemical thinning advice and monitoring using Cornell University’s carbohydrate model. For more information on this model click here
• Yield estimations
• Bud, flower and fruit counts
• Fruit size measurements for tracking and seasonal comparisons
• Maturity monitoring – Flesh firmness, dry matter, soluble solids, starch, background colour
• Fruit size distributions at harvest for storage decision making
• Post-harvest storage performance

Pest and Disease Monitoring

We offer comprehensive and MPI accredited monitoring of commercially sensitive pests and diseases over the growing season and at harvest to comply with industry protocols.

Timely monitoring provides accurate information to aid decision making processes. We favour a ‘no-gaps’ approach to monitoring because slip-ups in the field are costly.

We work with clients to tailor monitoring requirements to individual needs. If there is a crop, pest or disease that is not listed here please do not hesitate in contacting us to see what we can do for you.

Pheromone Trapping and Auditing

We provide an MPI accredited codling moth trapping service along with seasonal pheromone trapping for LBAM and Oriental fruit moth. We calculate trap numbers and placement required by protocols. We set-up traps and monitor for the season (same day, same time, weekly) and provide on-line reporting directly to the grower. We advise growers when thresholds have been exceeded via their chosen medium.

Fruition has MAO status (MPI Approved Organisation). We are able to provide auditing for Codling Moth Sensitive Market traps to ensure they meet market access requirements.

Crop and Canopy Scanning

We are able to provide our clients the following features:

• Scan and map bloom density in apples
• Scan & map fruit count density in apples, grapes and kiwifruit
• Produce canopy geometry maps from apple and grape scans
• Fruit count maps are calibrated to post-harvest yield information
• Yield maps can be calibrated to show profit/loss areas

We are working with clients to develop additional features such as yield estimation.