Mt Pisa cherry orchard

Deep Creek Fruits NZ LP collaborated with the landowners of iconic Mt Pisa Station – a family owned and operated sheep and beef business – to establish this significant cherry orchard.

Project start date

2019

Orchard reaches maturity

2026

Technology such as wind and rain sensors and temperature probes are used throughout the orchard to grow cherries efficiently.

The emergence of white cherry flowers in spring signals that fruit-set is on the way.

Trees at Mt Pisa were planted over three successive stages. Cherry trees produce their first fruit within two years of planting.

The Mt Pisa orchard is the largest under Hortinvest development in the Central Otago region.

Orchard and project manager Ross Kirk worked with landowners to assess the feasibility of Mt Pisa for cherry production.

Cherry flowering leading up to the 2024-2025 harvest

Water at Mt Pisa orchard is drawn from the Clutha River via the Pisa Irrigation Scheme.

50,150

cherry trees planted

2022-2023

first harvest

8

varieties growing

Technology use is critical to managing large-scale orchards for optimal performance and efficiencies.

Fighting winter frosts

Frost fans controlled by a phone app suck warmer air from the inversion layer and channel it downwards to warm the blocks.

Irrigating on a large scale

Water treatment stations at Mt Pisa have the capacity to filter water at 480L per second for frost fighting as well as boost pumps to irrigate higher blocks.

From little things, big things grow

For Ross and Sharon Kirk, the development of Mt Pisa orchard has been the realisation of a dream.

In total, this orchard has some 51,150 cherry trees in production. The first trees were planted in 2019, followed by further plantings in 2020 and 2021. The first fruit was sent to market in 2022-2023.

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World leading orchard practices

The scope of work at Mt Pisa includes implementing world-leading orchard practices such as frost-fighting windmills, retractable bird nets and managing a state-of-the-art packhouse equipped with the latest in food production technologies.

Visit the Deep Creek Fruits website

Sophisticated packhouse systems ensure quality

Packhouse infrastructure includes an eight-lane Compac cherry processing machine, a Cascade Singulator, Small Fruit Sorter, CURO filling and packing solutions and more.

Visit the Southern Fruits website

Ardgour Valley Orchards spans 38 hectares within Ardgour Station, Tarras – a sheep and beef property owned and operated by the Jolly family since 1955.

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