Why Use Polli

 

A MAF team, lead by pollination expert Dr. RM Goodwin, conducted an evaluation of the Polli pollination system.
The findings of the research were that kiwifruit pollinated using the Polli Pollination System were on average 16 grams (14%) heavier than Bee pollinated kiwifruit.  

The following figures show the increase in income for growers for every 1 gram increase in weight of fruit per hectare.

 Haywood  $1,050 - $1,200
 Gold 3
  $1,800 - $2,100
 Red
  $1,500 - $1,800
 

That equates to a potential gain of  $19,200 per hectare for a Green Grower and $33,600 per hectare for Gold when using the Polli Application method.

 

Read more about Mark Goodwin's research.

Polli is a form of artificial or supplementary kiwifruit pollination.


Benefits of Artificial Pollination

 

  • Increased fruit size
  • Increased seed numbers
  • Increased dry matter
  • Higher yield
  • Higher returns to the grower

 


Benefits of the Polli Artificial Pollination

  • Direct pollination
  • No upfront cost for setup
  • Can be used in conjunction with bees
  • MAF tested
  • Suitable for organic and conventional growers
  • Cost effective - no waste, you only pay for what you use
  • Full service including labour can be arranged
  • Can be a pollination boost / insurance to bee pollination
  • Increases fruit size and boosts financial returns

 

The key thing to understand about Polli is that it is hand applied directly to female flowers by trained staff.  Due to this unique application method, flowers can be targeted at the optimal time to achieve the best restlts. As pollen is only used on those flowers that are targeted, it is cost effective to complete multiple pollination passes. So if your flowers are only 20 percent open a first pass can be completed and only 20 percent of your roll allocation would be used.

So it makes sense to complete multiple passes as needed.  If there are areas of your orchard that are late flowering such as hollows or shelter rows, later passes of Polli can help improve pollination in these areas. 

For Gold growers, multiple passes are especially important as the flowers are only viable for a few days.  Completing an application pass every 2-3 days ensures all flowers are pollinated.

For organic growers, flowering is usually spread over a longer time period than conventional so again Polli is very effective when a multiple pass application strategy is used.