USA Horticultural Trip Report 2017 Young Horticulturist of the Year – Shanna Hickling

Itinerary

25-05-2018 Fly in to San Francisco

26-05-2018 Sonoma Valley Sebastiani Vineyard & Winery

27-05-2018 Sonoma Valley Benziger Family Winery

28-05-2018 West Sacramento Bayer Crop Science

29-05-2018 Hughson Duarte Nursery

30-05-2018 Weekend in Monterey

31-05-2018 Paso Robles Tooth & Nail Winery

02-06-2018 Ventura Brokaw Nursery

03-06-2018 Riverside University of California Riverside

04-06-2018 Valley Center Tour with Gary Bender

05-06-2018 Holiday on Lake Powell

16-06-2018 Return to NZ

Sebastiani Vineyard & Winery

Recently acquired by Foley Family Wines,

this vineyard grew Malbec clone 4 on 101-

14 rootstock. Here I observed their

pruning techniques and choice of variety

and rootstock combinations suited to the

soil types. It was a pleasant surprise to see

cane pruning, which is believed to have a

lower susceptibility to grapevine trunk

diseases when compared to spur pruning.

Their loose grape bunch structures and

dry heat leads to botrytis infections being

very rare.

Benziger Family Winery Benziger Family Winery is a biodynamic vineyard and winery in Sonoma Valley. They have integrated

olive production in to their business as glassy-winged sharpshooter (the leafhopper that spreads the

Pierce’s disease bacterium Xylella fastidiosa) prefer olive tree to grapevines. This is just one example

of how they use tools from nature to combat their pest and disease issues and negate the need for

chemical sprays. Obsidian is found naturally in one of their blocks, which warms their soils and

produces unique characteristics in the flavour of their berries and wines. The winery tour took us

past their open vat fermentation, which captures natural yeasts from the air. Using natural instead

of cultured, selected yeasts adds to the variability in wine characteristics between the vintages and

forms part of their successful marketing story. Next it was in to the depths of their man-made cave,

where their barrels of wine age. This was a great example of a successful biodynamic vineyard.

Bayer Crop Science Bayer Crop Science in Sacramento specialise in biological products, such as Serenade. Here I met

with Sarah Hovinga, who showed me through the facility and the processes used to create and test

new biological products. They use computer software to measure root growth in their trial crops,

and have found significant increases in plant health and size with their products. Sarah and her team

are working hard with conventional farmers to show the benefits of incorporating biological sprays

in their spray diaries, such as reduced re-entry and withholding periods.

Duarte Nursery Riversun Nursery has had a long standing relationship with Duarte Nursery. I was lucky enough to

spend the day touring their nursery and laboratory. I met with Jim Duarte, Co-founder; Charlie

Gonzales, Production Manager; Javier Castillón, Director of Research; and Kenneth Meyer,

Laboratory Production Manager. We discussed the differing standard operating procedures they use

in their grapevine production; time, temperature and humidity at different stages of production. I

plan to trial a number of procedures in our nursery in the aim of improving the quality and quantity

of saleable grapevines.

Tooth & Nail Winery Caine Thompson, the 2009 Young Horticulturist of the Year, is now the President of Rabble Wine Co.

and Tooth & Nail Winery in Paso Robles, California. I wanted to meet with Caine to discuss his career

progression since the competition and the decisions he believes helped him get to where he is

today. His advice was incredibly valuable. He believes completing his MBA at Massey University had

a large influence on his success, a course I have looked in to studying and will now be applying for in

2019.

Brokaw Nursery Brokaw Nursery is an avocado nursery in Ventura, California. They are one of the major producers of

clonal avocado trees in California. I met with Rob Brokaw, the owner, and Jenn Evans who works as

horticulturist and in R&D. During the tour of their facility we discussed the differences in our

production procedures. They have access to very large seeds which provide energy to drive faster

growing, larger plants through nursery production. Because of New Zealand’s avocado sunblotch

viroid free status we cannot access such seeds, but it shows the importance of starting avocado

plant production with healthy, large stock.

UC Riverside I met with Carol Lovatt, Professor of Plant Physiology and Plant Physiologist at University of

California Riverside, to discuss avocado physiology and techniques we could use to improve the

quality of avocado plants produced in New Zealand. Carol talked over the latest research in avocado

hormones and how we can influence the production of floral or vegetative bud production in

avocado trees. I will be trialling a number of procedures Carol and I discussed which have the

potential to shorten the time it takes for newly grafted avocado plants to reach saleable product

specifications.

Tour with Gary Bender Gary Bender is a farm advisor in San Diego, who though he considers himself retired is still working

on his research in to the benefits of high density avocado orchards in areas with limited water

supply. His work is helping farmers increase their crop size and profit margin. We discussed the ideal

plant spacings and canopy size that generates the greatest cropping results.

Summary California is an incredible state that has the luxury of space. The scale at which many companies

work is far greater than what we generally see in New Zealand.

Though California is such an enormous grower of fresh produce, they still had space on their shelves

for Zespri’s New Zealand grown gold kiwifruit. We had the pleasure of introducing our American

friends to this fruit on the 4th of July on top of a pavlova.

This trip has allowed me to form connections with key horticultural experts in my area of interest

and has exposed me to new ideas in horticultural production. I am so grateful for this opportunity to

learn and explore, and look forward to further study in the coming years.