Ian Gordon - Macadamias
Room 2, Saturday 11:00am
Ian help start the macadamia industry in NZ and through his extensive private macadamia research orchard has brought us many of the commercial hybrid varieties (GT) in use today. Ian is an expert macadamia propagator and orchard design consultant who has produced the NZTCA fact sheet on macadamias. In the short time available he touched upon the history and goals, importance of variety choice for your microclimate, "droppers", "pickers" for soil type and tree height, the 3 varieties pollination requirements, fertilisers, importance of adequate light, grafting to avoid root problems, harvesting methods, oil extraction and its high flashpoint for fabulous cooking, bugs (broad bean sacrificial crop!), orchard hygiene, pests and Jack Russell terriers, and the rapidly spreading guava moth scandal. Whew! A monumental presentation, and appreciated accordingly.