Coast & Country News – October 2022 – see original here
Ty Hartnett started in the kiwifruit pollination industry with Kiwi Pollen in 2003 as an industrial engineer.
“Having been trained by a NZ division of the once largest private company in Great Britain, Imperial Chemical Industries, ingrained into me was the principal question: ‘Is there a better way?’”
This is more than a motto, says Ty, but the motivation to always strive to do better.
“Because of the positive environment at Kiwi Pollen, it’s been a wonderful place to apply this principal; always striving to improve our pollen application equipment,” says the production engineer.
“I’ve been reflecting on the changes I have seen and been directly involved in during these 19 years.”
“Starting with the laborious handheld wet Cambrian sprayer, we then transitioned to the popular battery powered backpack sprayer.”
Kiwi Pollen then introduced the handheld dry pollen broadcasting system, which was supplemented by the mini duster for targeting flowers.
Last year saw the introduction of the ATV Mounted PollenAid® Wet Sprayer – a user-friendly way for a grower to have control to achieve ultimate pollination in any weather, day or night – an answer to the question: ‘Is there a better way?’
“I’ve often heard it said that there is no magic bullet for pollination. Herein lies the challenge working with growers to supply a tailor-made solution for their unique application,” says Ty.
“Is there a better way of doing what we’re currently doing? I am convinced there is, look at the evidence by visiting any packhouse! The kiwifruit industry has a promising future.
Photo:
Ty Hartnett (centre) with fellow Kiwi Pollen engineers Oscar Matías Yañez León (left) and Matt Davoren (right) with the first ATV Mounted PollenAid® Wet Sprayer they built in 2021
