Australian sweet persimmon industry development – phase 3 (PR12000)

What was it all about?

The persimmon industry is established from the semi-tropical far north of Queensland to the cool temperate zones of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, and significant new plantings will see the industry grow in size and value in the near future.

The objective of this two year project was to improve the fruit quality of Australian persimmons through research into…

• Pest and disease control
• Varietal selection
• Post-harvest handling methods
• Dissemination of R&D findings to growers.

A significant amount of work was performed by the team to achieve the aims:

• The effectiveness of chemical control options for mealy bug and for clearwing moth were evaluated and recommendations for use were made
  
  
• The use of pheromones to disrupt clearwing moth mating resulted in reduced borer damage, and researchers recommend it as part of an integrated pest management strategy
  
  
• Tools for monitoring mealybug populations were evaluated
  
  
• Leaf and fruit disease trials were set up but results were inconclusive due to the ongoing dry conditions at the time
  
  
• Postharvest storage options were investigated and recommendations for Fuyu and Jiro varieties were developed
  
  
• A video for growers on control options for clearwing moth was developed
  
  
• A clonal propagation technique that has been proven to be effective in macadamia propagation was used successfully on persimmon cultivars
  
  
• Australian persimmon growers were put in touch with the latest R&D findings through a series of field days and workshops in Queensland and Victoria
  
  
• Recommended storage protocols were presented in the Persimmon Postharvest Manual.

ACT NOW

Through a later investment in the Hort Innovation Persimmon Fund, the Persimmon Postharvest Manual produced by this project was updated – you can download edition 2 of the manual here (released in 2017)