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Apples are an important and popular fruit among the Australian population and, in the case of fresh apples, the domestic market is relatively self-sufficient. Retail specifications and consumer preferences are the driving force for quality standards for apples along the chain, with actors working to provide the best quality selection of produce. However, the industry is facing many inter-related challenges. These include the growing influence of climate change, the changing nature of consumer preferences, an increasing shortage of labour to undertake orchard operations, and a significant volume of loss and waste. These challenges are discussed in this paper. While all of these challenges are important, it is noteworthy that the total amount of fresh apples that is potentially diverted from the Australian fresh apple supply chain each year is conservatively estimated at 163,000 tonnes, about 40 per cent of total production at the farm level. If this waste is valued at the average farm price, it equates to an industry loss of $245 million annually.

“Breeding Focus 2018 - Reducing Heat Stress” is the third workshop in the series. The Breeding Focus series was developed to provide an opportunity for exchange between industry and research across a number of agricultural industry sectors. With this goal in mind, workshops have included presentations across the livestock and aquaculture industries to take participants outside their area of expertise and encouraged them to think outside the box. This year we increased the scope even further by also inviting presentations from the cropping and horticulture industries. Since the topic of heat stress has recently gained increased attention, we will discuss a wide range of aspects associated with heat stress, such as the physiology of heat stress and phenotypic indicators, genetic approaches and industry impacts.

Diverse animal communities influence ecosystem function in agroecosystems through positive and negative plant-animal interactions. Yet, past research has largely failed to examine multiple interactions that can have opposing impacts on agricultural production in a given context. We collected data on arthropod communities and yield quality and quantity parameters (fruit set, yield loss and net outcomes) in three major apple-growing regions in south-eastern Australia. We quantified the net yield outcome (accounting for positive and negative interactions) of multiple animal activities (pollination, fruit damage, biological control) across the entire growing season on netted branches, which excluded vertebrate predators of arthropods, and open branches. Net outcome was calculated as the number of undamaged fruit at harvest as a proportion of the number of blossoms (i.e., potential fruit yield). Vertebrate exclusion resulted in lower levels of fruit set and higher levels of arthropod damage to apples, but did not affect net outcomes. Yield quality and quantity parameters (fruit set, yield loss, net outcomes) were not directly associated with arthropod functional groups. Model variance and significant differences between the ratio of pest to beneficial arthropods between regions indicated that complex relationships between environmental factors and multiple animal interactions have a combined effect on yield. Our results show that focusing on a single crop stage, species group or ecosystem function/service can overlook important complexity in ecological processes within the system. Accounting for this complexity and quantifying the net outcome of ecological interactions within the system, is more informative for research and management of biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes.

In this study, we compared cultural, morphological, pathogenic and biological features of Serbian isolates of 'Monilia polystroma' and 'Monilinia fructigena' from apple fruit. Isolates of 'M. polystroma' formed characteristic stromatal plates throughout the cultures unlike 'M. fructigena', while mycelial growth rates were not distinguishable features between species. Conidia of 'M. fructigena' were larger than 'M. polystroma', and both species produced slightly larger conidia on apple fruit than on V8 medium. The existence and morphology of the microconidial state of 'M. polystroma' was described for the first time using light and SEM microscopy. Microconidia were globose (2.19-3.44 μm), similar to 'M. fructigena'. Digestion of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product of ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region with restriction enzyme HhaI provided a reliable method for specific detection of 'M. polystroma'. In a pathogenicity test, both species produced larger lesions on cv. Golden Delicious, than on cvs. Idared and Granny Smith. On cv. Golden Delicious, the mean lesion size was not significatly different between species, while on cvs. Idared and Granny Smith M. fructigena tended to produce slightly larger lesions compared to M. polystroma. On artificially inoculated apple fruit after 1 and 4 months of incubation, 'M. polystroma', unlike 'M. fructigena', was capable of forming thicker and more compact stromata with complex morphology, which consisted of densely interwoven medullary hyphae covered with a discontinuous layer of melanized hyphal rind cells. The dynamics of stromata formation beneath the host's cuticle also showed differences between two species, where 'M. polystroma' formed this layer after 1 month, while 'M. fructigena' after 4 months of incubation.

Birds active in apple orchards in south-eastern Australia can contribute positively (e.g., control crop pests) or negatively (e.g., crop damage) to crop yields. Our study is the first to identify net outcomes of these activities, using six apple orchards, varying in management intensity, in south-eastern Australia as a study system. We also conducted a predation experiment using real and artificial codling moth (Cydia pomonella) larvae (a major pest in apple crops). We found that: (1) excluding birds from branches of apple trees resulted in an average of 12.8% more apples damaged by insects; (2) bird damage to apples was low (1.9% of apples); and (3) when trading off the potential benefits (biological control) with costs (bird damage to apples), birds provided an overall net benefit to orchard growers. We found that predation of real codling moth larvae was higher than for plasticine larvae, suggesting that plasticine prey models are not useful for inferring actual predation levels. Our study shows how complex ecological interactions between birds and invertebrates affect crop yield in apples, and provides practical strategies for improving the sustainability of orchard systems.