Xylella fastidiosa, a high priority biosecurity threat for the Australian avocado industry

The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa is one of the most serious biosecurity threats to all of Australian agriculture, as it has one of the widest host ranges of any plant pathogen and causes economically-important diseases in many crop and ornamental plant species including grape, citrus, olive, coffee, oleander, peach, plum, almond, lucerne and avocado (for a regularly updated database of host species, see www.efsa.europa.eu/en/microstrategy/xylella). This bacterium inhabits the xylem of the plant and causes blockages that prevent water and mineral transport. It is speculated that almost any xylem-feeding insect could transmit the bacterium, hence there is a strong likelihood that an endemic insect species could act as a vector, in the event that only the bacterium was introduced into Australia. Known vectors elsewhere in the world include sharpshooter leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae) and spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Cercopoidea).

Xylella fastidiosa is a genetically diverse bacterium, with five recognised subspecies (subsp. fastidiosa, multiplex, pauca, sandyi and morus) and additional strains within each subspecies. The strong consensus is that X. fastidiosa evolved in the Americas but with different geographical origins for each subspecies; subsp. multiplex is believed to have originated in North America, subsp. fastidiosa in Central America and subsp. pauca in South America. Understanding genetic diversity is important, as the different subspecies and strains have different host ranges, and are transmitted at varying efficiencies by the different insect species. How different bacterial genotypes, insect vectors and host plant species interact to cause disease epidemics is poorly understood. In the USA, X. fastidiosa is transmitted by native sharpshooters but the introduction of the glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis) to California in the late 1990s led to a dramatic increase in the incidence of disease in grapevines.

For much of time, X. fastidiosa remained confined to the New World. However, X. fastidiosa was detected for the first time in Europe in 2013 as part of studies to determine the cause of a disease that was devastating ancient olive groves in southern Italy. Following this incursion, delimitation surveys were undertaken and the pathogen was also found in France and Spain in more than 30 host species, including Oleander, cherry, almond and many endemic species in the Mediterranean flora. Genetic studies suggested a single, recent introduction of the pathogen into southern Italy from Costa Rica. This pathogen incursion would have been facilitated by humans, as the insect vectors would not have had the capacity to cross the Atlantic Ocean by their own means. Trade in ornamental plants is thought to be the pathway by which the bacterium entered Europe.

Given its very broad host range, it is not surprising that X. fastidiosa also infects avocado. The first published report of disease in avocado trees caused by this pathogen was from Costa Rica in 2007 (Montero-Astúa et al., 2007). In this study, infected trees were found at two distinct geographical locations, in mountains to the north and south of the Central Valley (Alajuela and San José provinces). Disease symptoms included:

  • chlorotic mottling, marginal scorch and deformation of the leaves (wavy edge; sometimes shorter on one edge, giving a crescent shape)
  • defoliation
  • shortening of internodes;
  • branch dieback;
  • an uneven distribution of symptoms across the tree, with some branches appearing healthy.

Some of these symptoms are illustrated in the accompanying photographs (Figures 1-3).

Leaf showing chlorotic mottling caused by Xylella fastidiosa (photograph courtesy of Mauricio Montero Astúa)
Figure 1. Chlorotic mottling caused by Xylella fastidiosa (photograph courtesy of Mauricio Montero Astúa)

Little is known about the nature of epidemics of X. fastidiosa in avocado in Costa Rica. It is likely that the pathogen is more widespread within avocado orchards in Costa Rica and in neighbouring countries of Central America. Knowledge of pathogen strain diversity and insect vectors in avocado orchards is also non-existent, which is critical information for understanding disease epidemiology. Finally, problems were encountered with obtaining pure cultures of X. fastidiosa from avocado, possibly due to the mucilaginous sap that was released when the leaves were sampled. Clearly, more research is needed considering the seriousness of this disease.

The only other report of X. fastidiosa infecting avocado is from California (California Minor Crops Council, https://ipmdata.ipmcenters.org/documents/pmsps/CAavocado.pdf). While avocado is not a preferred host of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, this insect pest will infest avocado trees when other suitable hosts are not available for feeding or when populations of the sharpshooter are very high, particularly when avocado and orange are grown in proximity to each other. X. fastidiosa has been detected in avocado but these infections were not associated with any symptoms. These observations contrast with those from Costa Rica, most likely due to genetic differences between the bacterial populations in the two regions. In California, the glassy-winged sharpshooter alone causes economic losses to the avocado farmers as it feeds on the fruit stalk and deposits excrement over the fruit, reducing its marketability.

It is no wonder that X. fastidiosa is rated the most important biosecurity threat to Australian horticulture by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. If symptoms similar to those in Figures 1, 2 and 3 are noticed by anyone in Australia, it is very important to notify biosecurity agencies as soon as possible (please call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881) or contact us by email (L.Parkinson@uq.edu.au). If X. fastidiosa was to establish in Australia, the viability of many horticultural industries would be at risk.

Leaf deformation caused by Xylella fastidiosa (photograph courtesy of Mauricio Montero Astúa)
Figure 2. Leaf deformation caused by Xylella fastidiosa (photograph courtesy of Mauricio Montero Astúa)
Leaves showing the shortening of internodes caused by Xylella fastidiosa (photograph courtesy of Mauricio Montero Astúa)
Figure 3. Shortening of internodes caused by Xylella fastidiosa (photograph courtesy of Mauricio Montero Astúa)

Further reading

 

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Mauricio Montero Astúa for useful discussions and kindly providing photographs of disease symptoms. This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the avocado research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government.

Hort Innovation - Strategic Levy Investment (Avocado Fund)

 

 

This article was prepared by the authors for the Autumn 2019 edition of Talking Avocados (number 30, volume 1).

Japan 2019 season

Applications to export avocados to Japan for the 2019 season have been opened by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR).

If you are in a recognised Queensland fruit fly free area, and interested in exporting, contact Export Coordinator Joy Tang at export@avocado.org.au or call 07 3846 6566.

Farm and packhouse managers must complete the application form and submit the completed form to Avocados Australia by 7 June 2019. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Please download the documentation directly from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources by clicking here.

Key points from the DAWR Industry Advice Notice

  • Only fresh avocado (Persea americana) fruit of the Hass cultivar are permitted to be exported to Japan.
  • Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) protocol conditions apply to fresh Hass avocado sourced from officially recognised areas free from Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) in Western Australia and Riverland (South Australia).
  • Avocados Australia will forward accreditation applications to the department.
    The department may conduct audits prior to confirming accreditation.

This article was prepared for the 17 May 2019 edition of the Guacamole.

New Kangaroo Labels

Avocados Australia has managed the Kangaroo Label for use on Australian grown avocados since 2011, and there’s recently been a significant update. Avocados Australia CEO John Tyas said the major change was the introduction of databar by GS1 and the need for packhouses and growers to manage their own databar requirements.

“Avocados Australia is proud to continue with and support the use of the uniquely identifiable Kangaroo Label for use on Australian grown Avocados,” Mr Tyas said.

“With the introduction of the new databar requirement (GS1) to replace the previous barcodes managed by Avocados Australia, we have worked with our registered printers to update and refresh the label to accommodate the databar.

“All packhouses using barcode labels will be required to apply to GS1 for their own databar, which can then be easily inserted into the Kangaroo Label of your choice (options pictured).”

The industry now has a variety of new designs for its Kangaroo Labels. Images courtesy of Warehouse Design & Packaging.

Kangaroo Label 2019. Images courtesy of Warehouse Design & Packaging.

Kangaroo Label 2019. Images courtesy of Warehouse Design & Packaging.

Kangaroo Label 2019. Images courtesy of Warehouse Design & Packaging.

Packhouses will still need to apply to Avocados Australia for a Packhouse Registration Number (PRN), which will authorise them to use the Kangaroo Label. Once a PRN application is approved by Avocados Australia, the packhouse will receive a unique PRN and the Registered Label Suppliers will be informed of the new PRN.

Packhouses may then contact any of the Registered Label Suppliers directly to order Kangaroo Labels. Please contact one of our registered printers to discuss your labelling requirements.

More information

New avocado extension project starting

By Simon Newett and Bridie Carr, Maroochy Research Facility, Nambour, Queensland

Fifteen months after the completion of the avocado industry’s last extension project, a new three-year project is scheduled to commence in April.

The project will be led by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) Queensland and co-delivered with Avocados Australia Ltd (AAL) with collaboration from the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).

The avocado industry in Australia continues to expand, however, to remain profitable in the long term quality and yields need to improve to raise consumption and successfully compete with anticipated imports from countries with lower production costs.

The project will deliver a range of events and resources, and is aimed at improving fruit quality and yields.

The DAF project team includes Simon Newett and Bridie Carr in Nambour, Helen Hofman in Bundaberg, Noel Ainsworth in Brisbane, Ingrid Jenkins in South Johnstone, Geoff Dickinson and Ebony Faichney in Mareeba, and from Avocados Australia in Brisbane John Tyas, Liz Singh, Amanda Madden and Lisa Yorkston, and from DPIRD in Western Australia, Declan McCauley.

A range of events will be available, including:

  • Regional forums – These events will include shed and field sessions similar to the Regional Study Group and Qualicado workshops delivered in previous projects. There will be one per year in each of the eight major production regions in Australia.
  • Foundation workshops – these two-day events incorporating instructional and practical aspects will be held in each of five production regions. Growers and resellers are encouraged to attend
  • Advanced management workshops – three invitation-only events will explore key topics such as canopy management, irrigation and nutrition. Detailed reports and updated recommendations will be delivered via the industry best practice resource. It is expected that these workshops will also identify potential areas for further R&D. Associated with these events will be in-depth literature reviews, consultation with local and international experts and surveys of current practices
  • Capital city wholesaler meetings – two meetings will be conducted in each of the five capital city markets to keep agents and wholesalers up-to-date with recommended fruit handling procedures and relevant industry developments
  • Tour of avocado industry in California and the World Avocado Congress in Colombia – in conjunction with the World Avocado Congress (WAC) in Colombia in September this year a short tour will be organised to visit key avocado sites in California. Participants will need to fund their own attendance. Some members of the project team will attend the WAC and will report findings to the Australian industry at Regional forums.

Additional resources and services in the new project will include:

  • Avo Alerts – timely lists of key orchard practices that fall due each month for six different regions during the 36 months of the project
  • Avocado Problem Solver Field Guide – an updated edition will include information on new pests and diseases and fresh information on others
  • Best Practice Resource (BPR) – new information as well as updates to existing information. The BPR will be the ‘go to’ site for almost all information produced by the project
  • New scientific literature – the project team will monitor and review new scientific papers and make relevant information available to growers
  • Online forum – a new module for growers’ questions and answers that will be accessed via the BPR
  • Posters – two new educational/instructional posters for growers
  • Phenological cycles – new growth cycles will be developed for important new varieties and production regions
  • Videos – three new educational/instructional videos will be produced that will be accessible via the BPR.

The project team is looking forward to working with growers, consultants, resellers and those in the supply chain to deliver these events and resources. The aim of the project is to improve the productivity and fruit quality from Australian avocado orchards. As the project progresses we will be seeking feedback to maximise its effectiveness.

More information
If you are interested in offering your venue/farm to host an event, or have any further enquiries please contact Liz Singh (idm@avocado.org.au) or Amanda Madden (admin2@avocado.org.au).

Acknowledgement
This project – Avocado industry development and extension (AV17005) – is a strategic levy investment under the Hort Innovation Avocado Fund. The project is delivered by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Avocados Australia Ltd and the Western Australia Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and funded by Hort Innovation using the avocado industry research and development levy, with co-investment from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, and contributions from the Australian Government.

Hort Innovation - Strategic Levy Investment (Avocado Fund)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article was prepared Autumn 2019 Talking Avocados magazine.

 

 

Verticillium wilt in Western Australia in summer 2019

By Dr Liz Dann

What is Verticillium wilt?
  • Verticillium wilt is a fungal disease of avocado and a broad range of other crops including potato, tomato, grapes, stone fruit, nuts, cotton, strawberry, and some weeds including nightshade.
  • The characteristic symptom is a rapid wilt of young trees, or single branches in older trees, followed by desiccation of leaves (Figures 1 and 2). Young trees may die.
  • Streaky browning of the vascular system in young wilted stems about 1cm thick is apparent when a 1mm deep shaving is made with a sharp knife (Figure 3).
  • Trees may recover, usually with warmer temperatures when growth of the fungus is arrested, and new vigorous growth may occur below the affected parts of the branch within several weeks (Figure 4).
Figure 1. Rapid wilt and dieback of 2-year-old tree with Verticillium wilt
How to manage it
  • There are no effective fungicide treatments.
  • Prune out the dead wood once dieback has ceased, or remove the entire dead tree, and remove completely from the orchard. Do not chip and use as mulch.
  • Fumigation of infested sites (eg, where tree had died and been removed) prior to re-planting may be effective.
Figure 2. Rapid wilt of new flush
A bit more about the disease, and occurrence this year in WA

Verticillium wilt is usually not a major problem in avocados. It not seen every year, however, the occurrence in young trees in south-west Western Australia this summer has been fairly high. In a couple of the cases of which I am aware, trees have been planted into ex-potato or grapevine ground. While the disease is of minor importance in grapes, spuds are an excellent host of Verticillium. The fungus can survive in soil for many years as “microsclerotia” (Figures 5 and 6), which are very small (<1mm), compact masses of thick-walled, pigmented cells which have budded off from the fungal mycelium.

These microsclerotia germinate under the right conditions and in the presence of root exudates and infect the roots. The fungus then produces very small spores, which are easily transported to upper parts of the tree in the vascular tissues with high sap flow in spring and summer. This causes damage to the tree’s vascular system, and the tree produces tyloses, or gums, which plug the vascular system, blocking the sap flow and causing wilt. I was able to isolate the fungus from the areas of vascular discolouration (Figure 3) from samples of wilted branches from four young trees in two separate orchards collected in late February. Microsclerotia then form in these senescing branch tissues, completing the disease cycle, so it is important to remove the prunings so that the source of inoculum is reduced.

From our experience with cases in the eastern states, Verticillium wilt is mostly seen earlier in the season, eg August and September, and has been associated with damage to roots. See Talking Avocados Summer 2009/10 Volume 20 (pages 32-33) and for those who have registered and are signed in, you can also read more in the Growing section of the Best Practice Resource, click here. More can also be found in the Verticillium wilt of deciduous fruit trees fact sheet from Agriculture Victoria.

Discussions with a potato grower confirmed that Verticillium in that crop is commonly seen at this time of the year in south-west WA. A link between compromised root systems (eg, from previous disease or rootbound trees at planting), cannot be ruled out in the recent West Australian cases. The fungus is very slow growing in culture and further testing will be undertaken to confirm species, although it is likely to be Verticillium dahliae.

Figure 3 (a)
Figure 3 (b)
Figure 3 (a-c). Streaky brown necrosis (discolouration) of the vascular tissues about 1mm deep. Verticillium fungus was isolated onto media in Petri dishes from these areas of vascular streaking.
Figure 4. Limbs and young trees with Verticillium dieback may recover when growth of the fungus is halted by warmer temperatures. Prune out and remove all dead branches/trees from the orchard.
Figure 5a: Verticillium growing on media in a Petri dish. The microsclerotia form in a ring around the margins of the fluffy white fungal colony.
Figure 5b: Verticillium growing on media in a Petri dish. The microsclerotia form in a ring around the margins of the fluffy white fungal colony”.
Figure 6: Micrograph of microsclerotia at 40x magnification. The thick, pigmented cells are highly resistant to environmental degradation, allowing the fungus to survive in soil for many years.

 

More information

Please contact Associate Professor Elizabeth Dann, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) by emailing e.dann@uq.edu.au or call 07 3443 2455. Growers are welcome to contact me if they would like more information, or if they want me to try to confirm whether they have Verticillium wilt or not.

The Improving avocado orchard productivity through disease management (AV16007) project has been by Hort Innovation, using the Avocado Fund research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government.

 

Hort Innovation - Strategic Levy Investment (Avocado Fund)

 

 

 

This article was prepared by Dr Elizabeth Dann for the 22 March 2019 edition of the Guacamole and the Autumn 2019 Talking Avocados magazine.

Chile risk analysis released

The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) has opened the consultation period for its draft report for the review of the biosecurity import requirements for fresh avocado from Chile.

Avocados Australia will be putting in a submission before the 29 April deadline and our Board and DAWR representatives will be meeting in coming weeks to discuss this report and potential implications.

The draft report proposes importation of fresh avocado fruit from all commercial production areas of Chile be permitted, subject to a range of biosecurity requirements.
It’s important that any imports in no way jeopardise the biosecurity of the Australian avocado industry.

Read more

 

 

This article was prepared for the 8 March 2019 edition of Guacamole. 

Avocado partners with Michelin in France

After the successful collaboration between the World Avocado Organization (WAO) and the 2019 Michelin Guide Revelation for Great Britain and Ireland, the avocado will now join the Michelin Guide for the prestigious 2019 Michelin Revelation in France.
Regarded as the Oscars of the food world, the hotly anticipated Michelin Revelation awards stars to fine dining establishments in recognition of quality cuisine.
Avocados are the first fresh produce product to be invited to collaborate with the Michelin Guide in its 110-year history; the partnership highlights the ever-growing popularity of the superfood across Europe.
“We are very proud to continue our collaboration with the Michelin Guide,” WAO President & CEO Xavier Equihua said.
“The revelation of the stars is the most important gastronomic event of the year in France. Numerous star chefs feature the avocado in their creative dishes and we want to further enhance its versatile uses and flavours in the world of gastronomy.”
Food stylist Colette Dike, FoodDeco, will create the first ever edible Michelin Star sculpture made entirely from fresh avocados.
A special edition of the 2019 Michelin Guide for France will also be created to celebrate the collaboration.
“The guide’s cover will fuse the traditional red of the iconic Michelin Guide with the green of the avocado,” Mr Equihua said.
“In honour of the event we are also creating a special edition cookbook dedicated to cooking with avocados – a first of its kind.”
The cookbook is available to download by clicking here.
In 2018, Europe and the UK consumed close to 650 million kilograms of avocados, a 35% increase over 2017. The UK, after France is the second largest market for avocados in Europe and continuing to grow in double digits’ year on year with sales up 26% in the last 12 months alone.
France has been Europe’s number one consumer of avocados for more than 20 years and the avocado has been a French food staple since the 1960s. It is widely considered as one of the most popular superfoods, with almost 159,500 tons consumed in France in 2018 (+30% VS 2017).

This article was prepared for the Guacamole newsletter of 25 January 2019.

Air freight security changes coming

On 1 March 2019, export air cargo, regardless of destination, will need to be examined at piece-level by a Regulated Air Cargo Agent under an Enhanced Air Cargo Examination Notice, or originate from a Known Consignor.

According to the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, this change is necessary to ensure Australia is responding to the evolving terrorist threat.

If you haven’t already done so, please talk to your air cargo supply chain about:

  • if and how the change will impact your current export arrangements. For example, possible changes to delivery times or delays, and possible increases in costs
  • your options to minimise the impact of the change. Think about things such as packaging of your products, handling of consolidated cargo, scheduling of your deliveries, and how your cargo is transported
  • considerations for your business becoming a Known Consignor. Information on the Known Consignor Scheme is available on the Home Affairs website via http://bit.ly/TA294AIR.
More information

Information on the Known Consignor scheme is available via http://bit.ly/TA294AIR.

Information on the piece rate changes is available here.

If you have questions, please contact the Department of Home Affairs at guidancecentre@homeaffairs.gov.au or call 1300 791 581.

 

This article was written for the Summer 2019 edition of Talking Avocados.

 

 

Australian Avocados Marketing Update 21/12/18

Television

Television plays a key role in driving mass awareness of campaign communications, ensuring key messages for Australian Avocados are established at scale.

The Australian Avocados television campaign kicked off on 9 September 2018, and was on air for four weeks. In Burst 2, Brisbane wasn’t included as that market was flush with New Zealand avocado product. This spend was reallocated to the remaining four metro markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth) where Western Australian fruit was in good supply, and the ad also on air in northern and southern New South Wales Regional Markets.

The campaign was very successful, hitting all the reach goals: at least 40% of our target audience saw the avocados ad two or more times.

During the campaign, Australian Avocados appeared in nine of the top 10 programs across September and October, including Masterchef, Australian Survivor and The Bachelor. Australian Avocados underpinned this key programming by appearing in consistently rating programs such as news, current affairs shows, Family Feud and The Project. The television campaign then wrapped with a Block finale spot in all markets with the show pulling its largest audience for a finale since 2014, and ensuring the ad was seen by a huge amount of Australians.

Out of home

Out of home advertising plays a key role in driving a frequent reminder of key messages, prompting the audience to consider and act.

The second burst of out of home retail activity for the Smash an Avo campaign launched included three pieces of advertising creative featuring three different meal ideas, encouraging shoppers to ‘smash an avo’ to ‘make sangas better’, ‘make desserts better’ and ‘make salads better’. This was delivered with the overarching campaign message that ‘avos make everything better’, as well as delivering inspiration and purchase reminder, the materials pointed consumers to the www.australianavocados.com.au website.

The advertisements were placed on television screens located at select shopping centres across Australia to inspire consumers while grocery shopping. Australian Avocados were booked on a total of 336 screens nationwide from 5 August to 22 September 2018, across a variety of shopping targeting Grocery Buyers 25-54. The activity reached more than three million people on average of 5.3 times. These results were achieved across 48 paid HD screens and five bonus screens per week across the seven-week campaign. These placements were crucial as a last point of contact for the buyers as this is one of the last interactions on their path to purchase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social media

The ‘always on’ approach to social media for the industry has continued, ensuring avocados remain top of mind for consumers. For the month of October 2018 alone, the Australian Avocados Facebook activity reached 731,758 Australians and served 1.7 million impressions. What is great to see is that since 1 August 2018, 92% of Facebook reaction sentiment has been positive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Myfoodbook

The Australian Avocados subscription with Myfoodbook has been active since November 2017. In that time, there were more than 255,000 recipe views and loyalist actions (saving/sharing recipe). Video content has also been created and shared, with more than 92,500 views, and there are nearly 27,000 engagements with Avocado content on the Myfoodbook social media page. The most popular recipe was the Avocado and Salmon Poke Bowl, viewed by 35,000 people. These figures all show that consumers are loving avocado content!

Avocado recipes have also been featured in the ‘Good for you’ foodbook, which has been downloaded more than 12,600 times, and the ‘Around the World’ foodbook which launched in August 2018 and has already been downloaded nearly 9,000 times. Find all the recipe content and cookbooks at www.myfoodbook.com.au.

Public relations

The aim of the public relations campaign is to give less frequent avocado buyers the confidence to purchase more avocados more often BY reminding, educating and inspiring them with selecting/storing hacks, health tips and mouth-watering recipes BECAUSE avocados make everything better!

To celebrate 25-years of smashed avocado in Australia, Australian Avocados collaborated with Ambassador Bill Granger to create the new avocado dish of 2018. Have you tried Bill’s avocado and smashed cucumber salad, with mirin and sesame?

The dish was seeded to media, alongside a beautifully designed Australian Avocado infographic timeline and a series of new avo-dishes. The program photographed three new exclusive recipes for Australian Avocados to offer to media as ongoing content that celebrates 25 years of ‘smashed avo’. The recipes were developed to showcase the versatility of avocados. The PR program reached more than 12 million Australians, well exceeding the anticipated KPIs of eight million.

 

 

About the marketing program

This is the latest marketing activity that’s helping Aussie consumers connect with (and eat!) Australian avocados. The industry’s marketing is managed by Hort Innovation and funded by the avocado marketing levy. Hort Innovation develops consumer-focused promotions using a variety of mediums including social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube as well as targeted partnerships with consumer-related publications and platforms.

This update was provided by Hort Innovation for the Summer 2019 edition of Talking Avocados.

Hort Innovation - Strategic Levy Investment (Avocado Fund)

Australian Avocados Marketing Update 7/12/18

It has been a big few months for Australian Avocados, with a range of high reaching activity in market.

Television

The most recent television campaign kicked off on 9 September, and was on air for four weeks. The strategic decision was taken to remove Brisbane from Burst 2 of the television campaign for avocados, as the market was flush with New Zealand fruit. This meant the spend could be reallocated to the other four metro markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth), and the northern and southern NSW regional markets where Australian fruit was prevalent.

The campaign was very successful, hitting all the reach goals – at least 40% of our target audience saw the avocados ad two or more times.

During the campaign, Australian avocados appeared in nine of the top 10 programs across September and October, including Masterchef, Australian Survivor and The Bachelor. The television campaign then wrapped with a spot in The Block finale in all markets; the show pulled its largest audience for a finale since 2014, ensuring the Australian Avocados ad was seen by a huge amount of Australians.

Digital

The second burst of digital activity ran in August and September, with Programmatic Video, YouTube 6” Bumpers and Spotify 15” Audio making up the asset mix. During the course of the campaign, 10 million impressions were served and all facets of the digital campaign achieving an above-benchmark result including viewability and completion rate.

Out of Home (OOH)

OOH digital screens are the last form of advertising to communicate to the shopper before the purchasing decision is made. They reinforce the message in consumers’ minds and help to drive action before consumers enter the grocery store. Australian Avocados had 689 screens across the August/September burst, and these were seen by more than three million people, on average 10.5 times.

About the marketing program

This is the latest marketing activity that’s helping Aussie consumers connect with (and eat!) Australian avocados. The industry’s marketing is managed by Hort Innovation and funded by the avocado marketing levy. Hort Innovation develops consumer-focused promotions using a variety of mediums including social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube as well as targeted partnerships with consumer-related publications and platforms.

This update was provided by Hort Innovation for the 7 December 2018 edition of Guacamole.

Hort Innovation - Strategic Levy Investment (Avocado Fund)