Intensive Cropping: Tropical Fruit Production

Front 1

Describe the essential chracteristics of tropical fruit growing.

Back 1

1. Intensive raising of bananas on small properties.
2. Very high carrying capacity.
3. Located in well watered areas.
4. Scientific contribution form the Frank J Wise institute for crop improvement.
5. Intensive applications of labour and capital to land.
6. Relatively intensive dispersed settlement patterns.
7. Located near the Ord- Duncan Highway
8. Bagged crops.
9. Irrigation channels.

Front 2

Explain how climate has influenced the location of tropical fruit growing.

Back 2

- located in the semi-arid tropical climate zone, 750-780mm average rainfall.
- high average yearly temps (35-39 celcius summer max, 18 degrees winter min).
- high sunshine hours (10 months per year).
- High evaporation rate exceeds total rainfall
- Limited to no morning frosts.
- high humidity in summer
- dry in winter
- tropical fruit must be grown in a hot climate, high average temperatures and will perish in morning frost.
- Needs plenty of water, Ord River Dam compensates for low rainfall.

Front 3

Explain how topography has influenced the location of tropical fruit growing.

Back 3

- Located on Ivanhoe Plain, built up by flooding of Ord River which deposited sediments.
- Flat, level topography good for farming.

Front 4

Explain how soils have influenced the location of tropical fruit growing.

Back 4

- Soils are red alluvial loams with high moisture retention capacity, fertile to provide plants with nutrients.
- Self mulching black soil, upper layers crack in summer heat and surface crumbles, falls into cracks.
- Causes nutrients to constantly circulate in soil and preevtn calcification, vital for survival of plants.

Front 5

Explain how vegetation has influenced the location of tropical fruit growing.

Back 5

- Natural vegetation is semi-arid scrubland e.g. Mallee, Mulga, saltbush.
- Rice and cotton crops were replaced by tropical fruit crops, land already prepared for farming.

Front 6

Explain how distance from market has influenced the location of tropical fruit growing.

Back 6

- Isolated from major markets, Perth 3500km away, Darwin 850km.
- Asia is increasingly looked to as a market but transport costs, import licences and currency exchange create difficulties.
- Farmers cannot respond to price fluctuations as they produce a seasonal fruit and must accept the market price.
- Isolated region attractes reduced federal tax levels providing incentives for farmers.

Front 7

Explain how transport has influenced the location of tropical fruit growing.

Back 7

- Darwin market is underdeveloped due to poor transport in the wet season.
- Costs of transport increase with increasing distance from market.
- Prefer road as it is quicker than rail but it costs more and packaging is expensive.

Front 8

Physical (5) and cultural (8)inputs of tropical fruit growing.

Back 8

Physical inputs:
1. High sunshine hours (10 months per year).
2. Average annual rainfall of 750-780mm.
3. Water from the Ord River
4. Deep alluvial loams.
5. High average temps (35-39 summer max, 18 winter min).

Cultural inputs:
1. Electronically controlled irrigation system.
2. Suckers.
3. Fertilizer
4. Insecticide & Herbicides.
5. Machinery
6. Buildings
7. Labour
8. Technology

Front 9

Farming Practices of tropical fruit growing.

Back 9

1. Cultivating
2. Planting
3. Fertilizing
4. Watering and irrigation
5. De-suckering
6. Weeding
7. Trashing.
8. Bunch covering
9. Harvesting
10. Washing
11. Packaging and storage.

Front 10

Outputs of tropical fruit growing.

Back 10

1. Bananas sold to market increases over a 3 year period
2. Maximum output of bananas.
3. 1/3 of bananas supplied to Perth markets.
4. Yield of other tropical fruits e.g. mango
5. Profit.

Front 11

Influence of historical and political factors on tropical fruit growing.

Back 11

- West Australian and Federal government jointly financed development of the Ord River Diversion Dam.
- Plan was to have 300ha broad acre farms to produce tropical fruit.
- Originall failed due to insect problems, crop failure and market conditions.
- New plan became to divide farms into smaller units and diversify crops
- By 1990 farms were worth 10 million
- Season flooding historically and continuously causes problems with isolating the region from markets.
- Rare Fruits Council established to encourage and assist diversification.

Front 12

Environmental impact of tropical fruit growing.

Back 12

- New ecosystem
- Bank erosion
- DDT pollution
- Damming

Front 13

Creation of a new ecosystem.

Back 13

- Built the Ord River dam caused an increase in animal, bird life e.g. more catfish and barramundi in lake, more crocodiles in the area.
- increase in water weed and Kebungi bushes spead along the shoreline.
- loss of natural vegetation causing destablilized topsoil and sheet erosion during heavy rainfall.

Front 14

Bank erosion

Back 14

- overgrazing before the construction of the Ord River Dam has caused bank erosion.
- caused high levels of silt to accumulate behind dam walls.
- reduces the Dam's capacity to hold water.

Front 15

DDT pollution.

Back 15

- DDT was poured onto crops as an insecticide and polluted the soil.
- killed crops and natural vegetation
- Frank J Wise institute looked at ways to reduce pollution and also use fertilizers that don't damage soil.

Front 16

Damming of the Ord River.

Back 16

- Damming of the Ord causes reduction of flooding and less fertile soils,
- less water flows from the river mouth.

Front 17

Discuss how technological change has influenced tropical fruit growing.

Back 17

1. Electronic irrigation - farmers can easily control the amount and times that they water.
2. Cooling system - now easier for farmers to prevent fruit from perishing due to advanced cooling technology.