Avocado industry goes hi-tech

A CUSTOMISED software package which is set to revolutionise the Australian avocado industry, will be officially launched this month.

AVOMAN, which has been six years in the making, is a sophisticated computerised avocado management system which puts the practical results of extensive avocado research at the fingertips of every member of the industry.

Already the subject of worldwide interest, AVOMAN has been created by a project team from the DPI's Queensland Horticulture Institute, in collaboration with the Horticultural Research and Development Corporation (HRDC), the Australian Avocado Growers' Federation, and the Department of Agriculture in New South Wales and Western Australia.

In bringing the AVOMAN package together, the project team amassed a vast collection of avocado related references from around the world, which has become AVOINFO, a second piece of software which is ready for simultaneous release.

The two highly customised software packages have been designed to take the rapidly growing Australian avocado industry into the new millennium.

"AVOMAN has been able to turn extensive avocado research results into practical recommendations that are easily accessible to any grower with a computer," QHI project leader Simon Newett said.

The AVOMAN program provides comprehensive record keeping and reporting facilities as well as a range of agronomic recommendations. Growth cycle "blueprints" have been produced for the main varieties in each growing area which, in conjunction with the AVOMAN management recommendations, can be used for more effective timing of important farm activities.

It also contains a large volume of information about many aspects of growing avocados, including pests, diseases, disorders, nutrition, irrigation, quality management and leaf and soil analysis.