A South West nursery now has the equipment it needs to speed up propagation to meet demand from growers for high-quality grafted grapevines, with support from the State Government.
Through the Regional Economic Development (RED) Grants, a total of $120,960 has made it possible for ARM Nursery in Capel to purchase state-of-the-art automatic grafting technology.
The machinery will increase the speed of the nursery propagation process, allowing a greater quantity of high-quality grapevine material to be produced to service the Western Australian market, with the potential to expand into the Eastern States markets.
Rootstock grown on-site is grafted with desirable scion material, including some new material that is originally sourced from overseas.
Up until now, the preparation of pieces for grafting had been carried out by hand, primarily by seasonal workers. The skills of workers can now be better used, with the improved efficiencies allowing staff to focus on high plant quality and consistency.
This provides the grape industry with opportunities to access new table and wine grape varieties for existing markets and the development of new markets.
