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Naresh Singh

Australia: From zero knowledge to top tomato yields

Adelaide Plains tomato producer Naresh Singh has achieved a lot in a relatively short time in agriculture.

The regional winner of the SA grower productivity segment of the Syngenta Growth Awards moved to New Zealand from India in the late 1990s with no agricultural experience whatsoever.

After finding work picking and spraying horticulture crops he decided this sector was where his passion lay. Fast forward less than 20 years and Mr Singh is a world leader in the tomato industry. As head grower for D’VineRipe he has achieved world best yields in both the Dunne and Perino varieties.

Increasing plant density
D’VineRipe is becoming one of the largest active greenhouse growing facilities in Australia and New Zealand, based out of Virginia, north of Adelaide. It focuses on varieties that will improve their return on investment through increased shelf life, product flavour and overall quality.

Kumato is a big success story for the business. D’VineRipe has the highest per capita consumption of the high value tomato variety in the world. As head grower, Mr Singh is constantly trying to push the envelope in terms of productivity, principally by growing yield but also by cutting costs. Central to his methods has been focusing on increasing the density of plants, achieving a 25pc yield increase in varieties such as Dunne from the accepted European yield rate.

Reverse osmosis
In terms of water D’VineRipe has implemented a reverse osmosis system which allows them to use reclaimed water from Adelaide. “We are in a dry area and water is an issue so using reclaimed water makes sense,” Mr Singh said.

Along with that there is also an on-farm water collection system that collects all the rainwater that lands on the glasshouse rooves. The irrigation system into the glasshouse can help cut fertiliser costs too.

Read more at Queensland Country Life
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