Part article taken from The Fruit Grower magazineA record number of visitors headed to Kent in July to attend the UK’s premier fruit event, Fruit Focus. Just under 1300 visitors attended the show, which took place at East Malling Research (EMR), to see the latest agronomy, technology and machinery being displayed by 128 exhibitors, which was also a record.
Jon Day, Event Director at Haymarket Exhibitions, said the numbers showed that Fruit Focus was becoming an increasingly important venue for growers. “Fruit production techniques are moving at a rapid pace. This year’s attendance illustrates the value that top, soft and stone fruit growers put on the event, which offers an unrivalled opportunity to stay abreast of rapid change, keep businesses efficient and competitive and to network with other progressive growers and leading industry figures.” Nigel Trood, managing director of Mack, principal sponsor of Fruit Focus, said “We always enjoy being at the heart of Fruit Focus. This year we placed particular emphasis on quality and advances within the technical sector. We were delighted to be able to host Beth Hart, who heads up the technical team for fresh foods and agriculture at Sainsbury’s. Her presentation on quality was inspiring. My thanks go to Beth for her support, to Haymarket for yet another great show and to all who attended the Mack marquee. See you next year!”
New Technology
There are plenty of cutting edge technology on show. Agrovista demonstrated ongoing developments in its soft fruit tunnel demonstrated monitoring systems to improve irrigation practice and disease management using telemetry and software. The company also launched a new fireblight early warning service enabling preventative or antagonistic sprays to be applied more accurately and demonstrated novel mapping and scanning techniques produced by drones to better manage crop variability.
Jon Day, Event Director at Haymarket Exhibitions, said the numbers showed that Fruit Focus was becoming an increasingly important venue for growers. “Fruit production techniques are moving at a rapid pace. This year’s attendance illustrates the value that top, soft and stone fruit growers put on the event, which offers an unrivalled opportunity to stay abreast of rapid change, keep businesses efficient and competitive and to network with other progressive growers and leading industry figures.” Nigel Trood, managing director of Mack, principal sponsor of Fruit Focus, said “We always enjoy being at the heart of Fruit Focus. This year we placed particular emphasis on quality and advances within the technical sector. We were delighted to be able to host Beth Hart, who heads up the technical team for fresh foods and agriculture at Sainsbury’s. Her presentation on quality was inspiring. My thanks go to Beth for her support, to Haymarket for yet another great show and to all who attended the Mack marquee. See you next year!”
New Technology
There are plenty of cutting edge technology on show. Agrovista demonstrated ongoing developments in its soft fruit tunnel demonstrated monitoring systems to improve irrigation practice and disease management using telemetry and software. The company also launched a new fireblight early warning service enabling preventative or antagonistic sprays to be applied more accurately and demonstrated novel mapping and scanning techniques produced by drones to better manage crop variability.