Apples grow best in deep, well-drained, fertile soils. The soil should not be prone to waterlogging and be rich in organic matter with good nutrient and water retention.

Growing apples is suited to flat or gently rolling whenua. This is to help with the access and operation of machinery. Erosion risk increases with slope - an angle of less than 7 degrees recommended.

Apples need a soil depth of at least 1.2m to grow well. Their wide-spreading, fibrous root system absorbs nutrients and water from the upper soil layers. Apples have a few deeper tap roots to anchor the plant in the ground.

For good apple growth and yields, various nutrients are required. This includes:

• Phosphorus - to stimulate root growth and good flower and fruit development.
• Potassium - to contribute to plant health and the fruit yield and quality.
• Nitrogen - carefully managed to achieve high yields.
• Boron, manganese, and zinc - in smaller quantities to produce premium apples.

The pH of the soil should be in the range of 5.5. to 7. It's important to test your soils before planting your crop. Many companies offer this service. This will help you understand the current fertility of your block and nutrient requirements.

Soil safe Aotearoa

In Aotearoa, apples require a definite winter dormancy period of 1200 hours with temperatures below 7°C. They need high sunshine hours in summer for fruit to mature. Best suited to frost-free conditions at flowering time. During this period, fruit survivability is estimated as 88% at -1°C and reducing to 50% at -3°C.

Cultivars can be selected based on their chilling requirements.

Most areas in New Zealand will have sufficient chill across a range of cultivars, except Northland, upper Waikato, and some areas of the Coromandel and East Cape where only cultivars with low chill requirements are suitable. There is more than 95% suitability when there are more than 1100 GDD (base 10°C), from October to April. Very suitable for the Waikato and further north, and for the rest of the North Island in all the regions that are not overly elevated. For the South Island, suitable in pockets around Marlborough, Nelson, Tasman, the West Coast, Canterbury, and Central Otago.

Apples need regular rainfall over the summer growth period. Too much rain can lead to rot, and too little rain can affect the growth of plant shoots and fruit.

If you're thinking about growing apples on your whenua, check the rainfall and rain intensity in your region. This is important while your apples are growing and before harvesting.

See NIWA for more information.

Apples are a perennial tree crop, meaning you will get one crop every year over the productive lifetime of the tree.

When planning to plant apples, you will need to consider your geographic location and the types of apples suited to this location. Different varieties of apples will grow better in the North and South Island due to winter chill requirements.

It will be a number of years before your apple orchard comes into production. Before planting, you will need to decide on which variety of apple and what spacing and structural options best suit your whenua and your production goals. This will determine how many trees you will need.

You may need machinery to prepare your whenua for planting apples and installing the tree support infrastructure.

Young apple plants will be supplied as bare-rooted stock to be planted in autumn or winter.

Apples will grow for three years before your first harvest (February - May). Harvesting can begin when apples have matured and developed good colour.

Harvesting apples is done by hand and there is a high demand for labour at this time so finding enough workers can be a challenge.

The apples will be picked by hand from the tree and the pickers bag will be emptied into a large bin. The bulk bin is then quickly collected and moved to the cool store or grading shed to maintain freshness.

After harvesting your apples, the storage of your crop is very important. This ensures your crop can get to international and domestic markets in the best possible quality.

Packhouses will float your apples in water to be cleaned and graded. They are then sorted and packed into cardboard boxes on a fibre tray to provide optimal protection during transport. A cool store will hold your apples in a controlled atmosphere to maintain quality and prevent over-ripening. Apples can be held in a coolstore for longer periods to be sold later in the season.

Apples can be affected by many diseases and pests like aphids, leaf-roller caterpillar and codlin moth. You will need consider using pest management methods, such as:

• counting the number and species of pests weekly
• monitoring crops to assess plant health
• making the environment attractive to insects that can eat pests
• targeted use of fungicides and pesticides.

New Zealand Apples & Pears Inc.

New Zealand Apples & Pears Inc. promotes and represents the New Zealand pipfruit industry - growers, packers, and marketers of apples and pears - in domestic and export markets. Funding for New Zealand Apples & Pears Inc. is largely provided through a compulsory grower levy.

Learn more about New Zealand Apples & Pears Inc.

Find out more about the compulsory grower levy.

Export market

New Zealand's apple export market (fresh and processed) was worth about $847 million in 2021, with Asia taking the largest share. The New Zealand apple industry is geared toward exports with more than 50% of the national crop sold to global markets.

Fresh facts - New Zealand Horticultural exports 2021

Scale

Apples can be commercially viable when the orchard is at least 25 hectares in size unless the orchard can be run by an owner-operator using existing infrastructure. 120 hectares are required to support viable investment in a packhouse and coolstore. Turning a profit from producing apples depends on several factors, like:

• your location - access to the market, or infrastructure, or to a packhouse
• your production practices - modern machinery and equipment or smaller scale efficiencies
• the market demand and access to the market
• your operational efficiencies - larger orchards may benefit from economies of scale.

Equipment and infrastructure

There are various tools and equipment needed for growing and harvesting apples. These include:

• tractors and other field machinery, for example, tree planter, topper, hedger)
• picking equipment
• pruning equipment (for example, pruning tower)
• forklift
• bins
• pollination services (including hives)
• air-blast sprayer, weed spray boom
• pack house
• cool store
• transport (includes access to a port, truck, or train for shipping purposes)
• cultivators, and
• irrigation systems.

It's estimated that you'll need to grow at least 25 hectares of apples to offset the costs of investing in machinery and equipment. Contractors could be used to provide some of these services if you are farming on a smaller scale. The scale required for a packhouse is 100-200 ha.

After harvesting your crop, you'll need pack sheds and cool stores to maintain the quality of your apples. Apples are graded for visible defects. Exporters need to know about the market requirements in the countries they export to because there are set rules around pests and diseases, and preferences for apple size and quality, and cultivars. Some markets will only accept apples from certified packhouses.

Learn more about packhouse certified to export to Australia.

Jobs and people

Your people and labour requirements are seasonal, based on key milestones, like planting. You'll need a mixture of unskilled labour, as well as horticultural specialists. The specialists will help you with:

• managing the crop cycle,
• pest management techniques,
• harvesting and,
• post-harvest management.

The peak demand for labour and specialists by apple producers is during planting and harvesting times. You should plan to employ one worker for every 6 hectares, and to bring in seasonal workers for pruning, thinning, and harvesting. You would only look to employ a fulltime orchard manager if your orchard was at least 40 hectares in size.

Tupu.nz

Case study - Hawke's Bay apple orchard

Here is an example of an apple orchard in Hawke's Bay, let's imagine it had 25 hectares of apples produced last year.

It yielded 66,000 trays of apples, bringing in a revenue of $2,525,000.

It had $2,050,000 in expenses, and the farm made a profit of $475,000.

The first significant crop was achieved in years one to two, and full production was reached in 5-6 years.

Operational costs

The estimated operational costs to grow apples are around $80,000 per hectare per year. Operating costs of an apple orchard include pruning in the winter, pest and disease management, chemical thinning during the growing season, hand thinning in early summer, and harvesting in late summer. The trees also need to be irrigated and sprayed throughout the season. In addition, there are ancillary costs such as managing the irrigation programme, compliance, and staff management.

This depends on factors, like:

• the scale of the operation
• level of mechanisation
• specific horticultural practices
• regional and locational factors
• market conditions.

Labour costs can be significant, especially when you're first setting up your orchard. Some other examples of costs that you'll need to consider are:

• rootstock
• fertilisers
• pesticides and herbicides
• irrigation and soil moisture sensors (for example, neutron probes and/or tensiometers)
• skilled and unskilled labour
• permits, licenses, or certifications
• compliance with regulations and food safety standards.

The initial cost of setting up an apple orchard is significant. Investment in facilities, plant and equipment, staffing requirements, and the trees themselves ranges from $100,000-$200,000 per hectare. Licenses are required for some apple varieties, which may cost up to $100,000 per hectare.

Costs to consider

There are some costs you will need to consider, and these will change with the amount produced. Here are some examples:

Yield (and time to profit)

It typically takes several years to establish a sustainable and profitable operation. The first significant crop is usually achieved in year three, and full production takes between six and 10 years on average. The first cash-positive result for the orchard may occur from around year four or five. That is the time when the annual operating costs can be met by the orchard's annual revenue.

Maximising the number of good quality apples produced will increase the profits you earn. Factors that can contribute to higher apple yields include:

• crop management
• irrigation management (because water availability is key for trees reaching full production)
• variety selection
• planting density
• nutrient management
• weed control
• harvesting at the right time.

Revenue

Returns from apple production are influenced by a variety of factors, including:

• market conditions
• yield (insufficient water availability has a big impact on this)
• quality (sun tinting, sunburn, and reduced colour development are significant issues for selling to export markets)
• production costs
• pricing strategies
• events beyond your control, for example, weather conditions or market fluctuations.

Things we can do to create better returns include:

• efficient practices to maximise yield and production (including careful irrigation management)
• certainty of access to water supply throughout the growing season
• market demand and pricing
• quality and grading
• Cost management
• Storage and post-harvest handling
• Value-added opportunities

To help you make informed decisions and maximise returns, it's important for you to:

• stay informed about market trends through research.
• maintain good relationships with buyers.
• regularly assess your orchard's production and financial performance through tracking costs.

Operating profit

To estimate your operating profit, you'll need to look at the amount of money generated from selling your apples, minus your production costs. Some factors may affect your revenue and influence your orchard's operating profit. These include:

• orchard size (and the variation in productivity between trees)
• yield - the quantity of apples sold
• market conditions and fluctuations
• production costs and efficient horticultural practices
• pricing strategies
• weather conditions.

You will need to consider your production costs, which can include:

• labour
• rootstock costs
• fertilisers
• irrigation
• pest and disease management
• machinery maintenance
• storage
• packaging
• marketing costs.

These costs can be affected by having efficient horticultural practices and effective cost management.

Each orchard will have factors specific to them and different market dynamics. Keeping accurate records of your production and financial records can help you see where improvements could be made and increase your operating profit.

Key export markets for New Zealand apples include the UK, continental Europe, the USA, and South-East Asia. The authorities can provide information on what's needed to export apples, including:

• procedures
• documentation
• fees or licences
• packaging standards
• biosecurity requirements.

Learn more about export requirements for apples here.

To export apples, you need to follow legislative requirements, including:

• paying levies to New Zealand Apples & Pears Inc. on the sale of your apples
• meeting export requirements, like documentation and packaging standards. This includes extra plant health requirements as stated by the importing country under an Official Assurance Programme agreement between governments.
• ensuring food is grown so it can be sold under the Food Act 2014
• meeting regulations around risks to freshwater.

Learn more about Official Assurance Programme.

You would pay $1.15 cents per kilogram of apples sold to New Zealand Apples & Pears Inc.

Learn more about levies.

You must comply with National Programme 1 requirements under the Food Act 2014. This includes:

• following safe food practices, like checking for pests and using clean water
• registering your business with either your local council or MPI
• getting your business verified.

Learn more about National Programme 1.

You will need a freshwater farm plan, either now or by 2025 if your whenua will have:

• 20 hectares or more of arable and/or pastoral use, or
• 5 hectares or more of horticultural use, or
• 20 hectares or more of combined uses.

These plans identify actions to manage and mitigate risks of on-farm activity to freshwater. They must be certified and audited, then recertified every 5 years.

Learn more about freshwater farm plans.

Some additional certifications and registrations may make your apples more appealing to buyers.

You can choose to get certified with New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice (NZGAP) for a yearly fee. Some retailers and wholesalers only take crops from an NZGAP-certified supply channel.

Learn more about NZGAP.