MACADAMIA growers have harvested their second light crop in a row, picking 37,500 tonnes nut in shell, or 10,500 tonnes kernel.
Australian Macadamia Society chief executive Jolyon Burnett said it was a disappointing result, but gave growers hope of a price rise.
Last year's price of $1.90/kg was the third lowest in 17 years.
The 2004 price of $3.45/kg, for a 43,700-tonne crop, was the best in the past decade.
Grape disease
A DRASTIC new pruning technique might hold the key to efficiently removing potentially disastrous plant diseases from Australian grapevines.
Trials in northwest Victoria and the US have used black spot and black rot to develop techniques to remove the harmful pests while leaving enough of the plant to quickly regenerate.
South Australian Research and Development Institute scientist Dr Mark Sosnowski said this would be cheaper than the current strategy of removing the entire affected plant, burning it and burying it.
Semi-dried tomatoes
FOOD Standards Australia New Zealand is demanding semi-dried tomatoes be traceable from the farm to the shop, following outbreaks of hepatitis A in Victoria and South Australia last year.
A spokesman said the national measures would ensure sufficient records were available to respond to any future outbreak, and that any hepatitis A virus was destroyed.
THE Almond Board of Australia has kicked off the new year with a health message, highlighting the role of Australian almonds in promoting cardiovascular health and reducing the risk of heart disease.
The "New Year, New Heart" marketing material will be in supermarkets until February 14.
Dual plant
A VIETNAMESE engineer claims to have developed a plant that can grow both tomatoes and potatoes, according to media reports.
As part of a two-year university project, Nguyen Thi Trang Nha said she had grafted the top of a tomato plant on to the base of a potato plant.
This would save time and allow growers to produce more vegetables from a smaller area of land.
- Send your horticulture news to Sandra Godwin, The Weekly Times, PO Box 1728, Swan Hill 3585, email godwins@theweeklytimes.com.au or fax to (03) 5032 9352.
