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<pre>Ian Fraser et al

the Hunter Valley has now some results on yield, not including Tamworth
(more inland) average yield 5.5% by weight. cv yields corregiola
(12.8%), manzanillo(5.7-7.9%), paragon(9.1%, 12.6%), sevillano(7.8%).
Hunter Valley had a wet season, but not abnormal. Good drainage on these
clay soils is paramount. One grower not aligned with the Co-op had his
Koroneiki processed locally at 18%, and good quality. Koroneiki are also
100% self fertile, highly disease resistant with strong root sytem. Yet
in the rush for the big dollar this variety has been overlooked. Is it
because the fruit are small? With Frantoio at 1.87 grams average what is
small? The idea of machine harvesting, with a 6 tonne monster crashing
about, has not been fully explored. It would appear that the premium
grade Evoo's must be hand picked, quality of fruit prior to processing
being important. The cost of hand harvesting would be returned in the
quality of the oil.

regards

Roger Farquhar Hunter Valley

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