VICTORIA'S berry season is shaping as a good one as excellent quality berries have combined with good yields.

With some varieties of his blackberries and raspberries now being harvested, Silvan grower and RL Chapman & Sons owner Mark Chapman's 50 pickers are starting to earn their money.

"We've got big crops and the weather has been kind to us; the rain has been great for the berries,'' Mr Chapman said.

"We've had a few sprinkles here and there.''

Mr Chapman said the several varieties of both blackberries and raspberries planted at the farm were timed to cover the entire berry season, from November to the end of May.

The farm's produce is marketed continually during that period. The produce is sold direct to Coles and Woolworths through the local co-operative marketing company YV Fresh.

The co-operative markets the produce for 10 local growers.

"It's an excellent set-up. It gives us enough volume to be a major player in the market,'' Mr Chapman said.

Mr Chapman said he used about two megalitres a hectare via a drip irrigation system - less than the typical four megalitres a hectare growers often use when they have access to large volumes of irrigation water.

The soil moisture is recorded on a monitor to ensure plants are never over-irrigated.

After the season ends the plants are all cut out by hand so new bushes can grow from the same stem for the next season - the new canes grow up through the old canes.

Mr Chapman also uses integrated pest management in order to minimise chemical use.

"It's more effective then chemicals - you're not killing the beneficials (beneficial insects),'' Mr Chapman said.

"You can just use organic insecticide and get really good control - we have less insect damage because we're not getting outbreaks of mites which cause commercial loss.''

While the farm is not considered organic due to Mr Chapman's use of fungicide, he claimed his operation was more environmentally sustainable than some organic operations that used copper and sulphur.

"Berries are high-value crops - they're delicate to handle and it's essential to maintain the cool chain,'' Mr Chapman said.

"There's not much shelf life. You have to specialise to be a good berry grower (but) the domestic market is quite strong for our product.''

Berry nice: excellent quality, coupled with good yields, has ensured a strong start to Victoria's berry season. Growers such as Mark Chapman of Silvan are busy picking varieties such as blackberries and raspberries.

 

*This news is a quote from the「WeeklyTimesNow」.