KATE DOWLER tells of an ambitious plan with a crop new to Victoria

Magoes are supposed to come from sunny Queensland, not out of the red dirt of northwestern Victoria.

But some enterprising growers around Robinvale are trying their luck with the new crop.

Robinvale grower Barry Avery said the idea came about "after a few drinks at the golf club".

"Four of us were sitting around talking about different crops would could try, given the state of wine grapes, and I had been encouraging others to grow avocados which we could pack in our packing shed," he said.

"Someone mentioned mangoes and we decided we'd try them on our four properties and see what management worked."

Barry was searching for a new option, after seeing the writing on the wall for his main crop, wine grapes.

"The wine industry had been a train wreck, and I couldn't see it getting much better and we'd already diversified into avocados," he said.

Barry and wife Rhonda have 50ha of wine grapes, half what they once had planted, and 36ha of avocados.

"We have wine grape contracts but they'll run out," he said.

"There are many factors affecting that industry, so I just couldn't see a future there."

Overseas-owned wine companies and dominant supermarkets, which dictate supply chains, are some of the reasons Barry thinks growers will continue to be squeezed.

"Avocados have been good, but now cheap New Zealand imports are going to cause us ongoing problems, but I think we can still be sustainable," he said.

Horticulture growers in the region such as Barry and Rhonda have been plagued with challenges.

And, as Barry points out, frankly, many do not have a great deal of faith in the future, and young people are reluctant to invest their future in horticulture.

He said most of the problems had been caused by policy failures.

Not least of all has been the access to Australia that Free Trade Agreements have given foreign imports, which are often produced in lower-cost economies. Water buy-backs have also depleted the industry.

"We've lost the dried fruit and citrus industries, we'll never get them back," Barry said. The Avery family even tried aquaculture, sinking $250,000 into a project growing Murray cod on the back of advice from the Department of Primary Industries.

But the project failed about four years ago, confounded by marketing and disease problems.

"It's a terrible story. People who invested money in it were some who could least afford it," he said.

 
Yet, despite these serious setbacks, growers such as Barry continue to strive and innovate.

At 60, he has embarked on growing mangoes, a crop totally new to him.

He acknowledges both he - and the tropical crop - are outside their comfort zones.

"Mother Nature is not too keen on us growing mangoes," he said.

"I think it will take us a while to get it right, but I'm sure we can do it."

Five thousand new honey gold mango trees have been planted in the region in the past year - 800 are on Barry's farm.

"I've had a look into the marketing, and we'll harvest when there is no other Australian mango on the market," he

said. "And after you've tasted the honey gold mango, you could never go back to something else."

Barry admits he wasn't a big mango eater. But now the honey gold, owned by Pinata Marketing, has him hooked.

"Pinata has given us fantastic support and shared a great deal of knowledge," he said.

The Mildura region has many ticks in its favour for mango growing.

It does not have the disease pressures and high chance of rain-damage of tropical areas of Queensland.

Despite this, the region traditionally has not grown mangoes.

"There's one property at Merbein with honey golds, but it hasn't really been a crop that's been grown here," he said.

The tough climate - frosts and extreme heat - is the reason.

Young trees are vulnerable to frost and Barry has already found that trees younger than four need to be fully covered with shade cloth and have frost fans.

Sunburn is also a threat, and trees have to be cooled with sprinklers in extreme heat.

"An area in Western Australia, similar to us, has grown mangoes well for 20 years."

Barry expects it will take four years before his first harvest. "We don't want to harvest too soon, as that will stunt the tree," he said.

"Timing will be critical. I think it'll take us the best part of four years to work out nutrition needs and get it right."

While Barry thinks the crop has great potential around Mildura, he stresses it required a lot of investment in infrastructure.

"You won't see people putting in 50 acres (20.2ha) overnight," he said.

"So watch this space, it is a great challenge and I am rapt in this variety."

Owner of the variety, Gavin Scurr, who runs Pinata with his brother Stephen, bought plant breeding rights in 2002.

There are 150,000 honey gold trees across Australia, mostly in the Northern Territory and Queensland.

"The variety has grown well at Merbein for three years, so we're confident the four new growers will find it a viable market," he said.

"There's a niche marketing window for fruit from Mildura as there are very few Australian mangoes in April and May.

"It's hard to define how big it could be, but at the moment we see it as a niche market with room to grow with our existing growers, and we're also looking at other areas like Menindee and Griffith."