PollenAid products maximise pollination and orchard gate returns

Use PollenAid wet application products from Kiwi Pollen to maximise pollination

Table: Fruit weight, tray count, yield per hectare, and financial returns from a Hayward kiwifruit orchard following pollination with pollen and PollenAid as supplied by Kiwi Pollen.
Pergola orchard, 7.25 canopy hectare	Pollination system	Average fruit weight (g)	Average tray count	Trays per hectare	Yield per hectare (metric ton)	Orchard Gate Return (NZ$)**
Crop Year 2000/2001	Bees (8 hives/ha)	88	36.4	4620	14.8	144,000
Crop Year 2001/2002	Bees (8 hives/ha) plus PollenAid using Airshear applicators	106	30.3	8700	27.8	382,000

**Orchard Gate Returns were increased by $238,000 for an investment of $33,000 for the PollenAid treatment. Data courtesy of Charles Phare, NZ Kiwifruit Journal, Issue No 152, p57.

Table: Fruit size, tray count, yield per hectare and financial returns from Hayward kiwifruit flowers following a single pollination with pollen sprayed in PollenAid or dusted with a Kiwi Pollen Duster
Crop Year 1997/1998	Pollination system ++	Average fruit weight (g)	Average tray count	Trays per hectare	Yield per hectare (metric ton)	Return (NZ$) per 1000 trays **
Wind pollination, bees excluded	Control	98	34.5	6909	22.1	3454
Wind pollination, bees excluded	Hand pollination	136	26.2	9588	30.7	6623
Wind pollination, bees excluded	PollenAid system	130	28.2	9165	29.3	6094
Wind pollination, bees excluded	Kiwi Pollen Blower using 50:50 pollen mix	117	30.0	8249	26.4	5051

++ Note: the operation of Kiwi Pollen Blower is much faster and less labour intensive than hand-spaying PollenAid

**Returns per 1000 trays were increased by $1597 by using the Kiwi Pollen Duster and by $2640 following pollination by PollenAid treatment. Data courtesy Charles Phare and Pat Sale, Consultants, New Zealand.

General Recommendations - PollenAid Spraying

Table: General recommendations based on Industry experience using PollenAid to pollinate Hayward kiwifruit flowers.
Pollen applied in PollenAid with Kiwi Pollen airshear backpack sprayers	Pollen Rate (g pollen per litre PollenAid)	Pollen Application (g pollen per 1000 flowers)
Where there are insufficient male vines or male flowers in the orchard	8	3.0
Where neighbouring nectar producing crops attract bees from kiwifruit flowers	6	2.3
When wind, cold or rain limits pollination by bees for more than 2 days	4	1.5

Table: General recommendations based on Industry experience using Kiwi Pollen Dusters used to pollinate Hayward kiwifruit flowers.
Pollen applied with Kiwi Pollen Dusters using a dry diluent	Pollen mix (Pollen:diluent)	Pollen Application (g per 1000 flowers)
Where additional pollen is required to "top-up" conventional pollination for maximum fruit weights.	75:25	4.5