Business trip to New Zealand (7/28/2009)

Keigo Nakamura
Thank you for your cooperation.
I have tripped to New Zealand and checked harvesting situation, Bulbs, sprout, and growers, etc. here I report about.
From Santiago (visiting last week) to Auckland takes 13 hours, and time difference is 16 hours from CH to NZ. (My body looks feeling as 8 hour difference (=24-16).

▲Difficult climate made enlargement less!?
Season of 2009 crop is big fluctuation. After planting in Sep-Oct, late frost and hail occurred in November and January, especially in Rakaia.
So, impression was not good already when I visited in February.
After that, early frost started since end of March, then April was normal, May (harvesting of LA) was more rain, June was dry and harvesting went well, first half of July was many rains delayed harvesting, second half of July was good weather (when I visited temperature was warm like spring), and now harvesting was done mostly.
(Sorry for writing in long sentence maybe make you complicated.)
As a conclusion, climate was not good, enlargement is average to little less (last few years were too good?), and harvesting finished 1 week earlier than normal. (3 weeks earlier than late harvesting last year!!).

Please refer the attached “climate graph of Christ church.

You will see this year is quite different from normal year, in good and bad.

○Average Bulb and average Sprout
As above mentioned climate, outlooks of bulbs are not bad. Hardness and weight of bulb are normal, and especially very fat and many roots in this year.

(Due to that influence, bulb grading looks little small. But when we visited there, most variety was already graded and we couldn’t ask revise).

Following is checking data compare with list year.

	outside scale	Inside scale	Sprout length	Sprout width	Leaf number	Stem length	Stem width
09/08	91%	105%	96%	94%	90%	95%	97%

Crop 08 (last year) was one of the biggest sprouts in my record, “impression is big. Some variety looks like sprouting”. (Referring from SH report on August 6, 2008)Sprout of 09 is smaller than 08, but average size in comparing to last 4 years data.

Although, It’s hard to make one comment, because impression is quite differ depend on production area (not by grower), or harvesting time.
Comparing to last year’s data per variety, some is bigger, some is small, and some is very high sprout.

If I force myself to make conclusion, power of bulb which expected from bulbs and sprout development is “ Less than powerful last year ( it was too much?), and 09 will be average year.

Again, I feel micro climate in NZ, and we should consider when to use, according to bulb condition same as CH crop.

If one variety was grown at one place, taking information and transportation is easier (my checking will be easy as well), but risk will be high. (That way we deal of all the growers more or less.)
Probably how to use is more important than talk about just difference of Chile and NZ.

In 2010, cutting of flower in April to May by late planting SH bulbs will be very important, in expectation of flower demand.
We do try to deliver bulbs in good condition till the end, with staff of quality control, and based on checking data of this time.
By the way, harvesting of this year is faster, but to import before down to stable temperature is dangerous. Also in consideration of temperature in Japan, we suggest you not plant too early in difficult.

□Other
Earth quake happened on July 15th in New Zealand which was magnitude 7.8. Each production company is located far from hypocenter of earth quake, and didn’t suffer damage.
At Rakaia (Van Zanten, Bakker), most NZ houses are one floor, just ceiling light swing, and personally nobody in business relationship had injury and loss.


Bulb of Aktiva（BK）	Sprout of Constanta（VZ)	Bulb of Siberia（VZ)	Bulb of Colorado（IB)

Bulb of Siberia（BK)	Bulb of Akemi（SF)	Bulb of Sanna（VZ)	Sprout of Sorbonne（SF)

Field of Rialto（IB)	Bulb of Party Diamond（SF)	Bulb of Willeke Alberti（VZ）	Bulb of Santander(IB)

Bulb of Sorbonne（BK)	Bulb of Le Reve（BK)	Sprout of Robina（BK)	Bulb of Couplet （VZ)

Sprout of Shiberia（IB)	Line of selection(BK)	Line of selection(SF)	Field washing(IB)

Flock of Ram	Souvenir photographs(IB)	Packing Line(IB)	The news program of foreign