Six top young horticulturalists are being put through their paces physically and mentally as they compete for the title of 2017 Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower of the Year at the Te Puke A&P Show today.

The day-long event sees contestants taking part in seven horticulture based practical and theoretical activities, ranging from seedling planting, knapsack calibration to orchard tractor driving, all in front of crowds at the show at Showground Road, SH2, East of Te Puke.

For the first time this year the contest is in two stages, with today's challenges followed by the final task for contestants – presenting a speech before guests at the gala dinner and awards evening on Wednesday, February 15, at ASB Baypark, where the winners will be announced.

The dinner event will be attended by some of the horticultures industry's key businesses, there to support of the talented young horticulturalists.

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening is Ruud Kleinpaste- aka 'The Bug Man' who is set to provide an entertaining and valuable insight into all things environmental.

Tickets for the gala dinner are still available for purchase from www.bopyoungfruitgrower.co.nz. Ticket prices are $90 with tables of 10 available.

The winner of the Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower competition receives a cash prize of $1500, the runner-up $1000 and the second runner-up $750. The overall winner has the opportunity to compete for the prestigious national title of NZ Young Fruit Grower and Young Grower of the Year at events held later in the year.

The 2017 Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower of the Year entrants are:

• Aaron Wright, 26, Regional Manager, EastPack based in Te Puke
• Danni van der Heijden, 23, Avocado Services, Trevelyan's Pack & Cool based in Tauranga
• Erin Atkinson, 29, Technical Advisor, Apata Group based in Te Puke
• Hamish McKain, 26, Production Manager Kiwifruit/Harvest Manager Avocados, DMS, Te Puna
• Hohepa Tatana, 29, Senior Assistant Orchard Manager, Onyx Horticulture based in Whangarei
• Nikesh Gurung, 27, Supervisor/Assistant Manager, BayGold Limited based in Te Puke