FRUIT INDUSTRY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 22 December 1938, Page 5

FRUIT INDUSTRY

HILLS’ GROWERS’ MEETING DELAY IN ANNOUNCEMENT OF GUARANTEE .ADDRESS BY ORCHARD INSTRUCTOR [From Our Own Correspondent] A general meeting of the Hills’ Fruitgrowers’ Union was held on Monday evening, Mr A. Forsyth presiding over a moderate attendance of members. Correspondence received Indicated that no finality had, as yet, been reached in the negotiations with the Government in connection with the arrangement of a suitable guarantee on local and export fruits for 1939. The delay is causing much anxiety in view of the increased cost of production, and the possibility of a further rise in the wages of orchard workers. USE OF CORRUGATED STRAWBOARD A letter was received from the Director of Horticulture covering reports from the fruit inspectors in all parts of New Zealand as to the condition of Nelson fruit on arrival at the various city and provincial markets. The value of careful packing and the use of an allround corrugated strawboard wrapper was emphasised. Commenting on a suggestion that the use of corrugated wrappers be made compulsory for next season, a grower expressed the opinion that a better way to deal with the problem of bruised fruit would be to persuade the Waimea County Council to abolish the “corrugated” roads which are so common throughout th 6 district. ASSOCIATION SUBSCRIPTIONS The secretary, New Zealand Fruit Board, wrote advising that owing to uncertainty as to future guarantees, they were unable to collect subscriptions on behalf of associations in future. The matter is to be referred back to the Fruit Board for reconsideration. DONATIONS FOR RESEARCH WORK A letter was received from the Fruitgrowers’ Federation, advising that the Department of Scientific and industrial Research would welcome increased subscriptions from the fruit industry. It was resolved to reply that, until

such time as the industry is placed on a sound and safe economic footing, no increase can be made. J. A. CAMPBELL MEMORIAL It was decided to forward £5 5s toward the proposed “J. A. Campbell Memorial Fund” and to suggest that a suitable memorial might well take the form of a national bursary to assist students of horticulture. BOAT AVERAGES AND PRECOOLING Messrs Forsyth and Thawley reported that after full discussion, it had been decided to renew the plan of boat averages for 1939, the position to be again reviewed at the end of the season. With a view to reducing waste and loss to a minimum, it had been decided to pre-cool Cox Orange in the same manner as recommended for pears, and to make use of a special mark on labels to make it easy to segregate Cox from 1 other varieties. Messrs Forsyth and Thawley were heartily thanked for their work on the special committee. Several growers contended that the abolition of pooling was the only way to deal with the problem of wastage in Cox Orange and similar varieties. INSTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS Mr R. Grainger, Orchard Instructor, gave an interesting address, mentioning inter alia the following matters:— 1. That Mr Adamson, District Horticultural Supervisor, would, in future pay special attention to a system of uniform inspection in all Nelson districts. 2. That the Department would wel-! come suggestions for a better method to I replace the stamps at present used on ’ local market fruit. 3. That providing support was forth- i coming, packing classes would be held 1 prior to the export season. 4. That care should be exercised in making up export cases, and all faulty timber be discarded. 5. That many packing sheds and I grading machines were in need of a I thorough cleaning before the packing! season commences. 6. That spraying should be continued for Codlin Moth and Red Mite control, using certified spray materials. 7. That the “fair packing” regulations would be enforced during the coming season. FRUIT JUICES It was resolved to write to the Department of Industries advocating the establishment of a fruit juice factory at Mapua or Tasman. The chairman concluded the meeting by extending season’s greetings to all members and expressed the hope that the 1939 season would be a good one for all concerned.