Te Puke's Erin Atkinson has won the title of 2017 Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower of the Year, becoming the first woman to take the top award.

The 29-year-old Technical Advisor for Apata Group based in Te Puke, headed off strong competition from five other young growers to take the trophy, presented in front of an audience of 350 at the awards dinner at Mount Maunganui.

She has a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture degree and has spent most of her working life in the horticulture industry.

Erin is a strong advocate for horticulture as a career and to this end, has been involved in industry horticultural career expos.

In accepting the trophy, Erin, who placed third in last year's event, paid tribute to her mentor Dr Sonia Whiteman of Apata Grow. She also thanked the other contestants and the contest organisers.

'It was a tough battle against some of the Bay of Plenty and Northland's most capable young growers. I'm looking forward to competing at the national final and will be stepping up my preparation over the next few weeks.”

Erin will go on to represent that Bay of Plenty in competing for the prestigious national title of NZ Young Fruit Grower and Young Grower of the Year at events held later in the year.

This is the third year in a row that Apata employees have taken out the top award – in 2015 it was Craig Ward, and last year Chris Clements.

Runner-up was Danni Van Der Heijden, Avocado Services, Trevelyan's Pack & Cool, Tauranga and second runner-up was Aaron Wright, Regional Manager, EastPack, Te Puke.

Last weekend, in the first past of this year's event, the six contestants competed in seven horticulture based practical and theoretical activities at the Te Puke A&P Show.

Last night was the final stage of the contests with contestants each presented a three minute speech and took part in a quiz.

It was based on their overall performances that the final winners were decided.

Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Mike Chapman says the competition develops skills and fosters leadership.

'It's an important part of retaining top talent in horticulture which is a rapidly growing industry making a significant contribution to New Zealand's economy.

'Today's competitors are a great example of young people who are passionate about the industry's future and their role in it.

"The ambitious growth predicted for horticulture is dependent on our ability to attract young growers like Erin who are highly skilled, enthusiastic and able to quickly adapt to change. We wish her all the best as she prepares to compete in the national competition in August.”

With six competitors aged under 30, five from the Bay of Plenty and one from Northland, the competition is very well supported by local and national horticulture companies.

'It was fantastic to see so many local organisations recognise the benefits of the competition for the industry by supporting our future leaders,” says Kate Longman, Chair of Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower Upskilling Inc.

'We would especially like to thank all of our sponsors of the Bay of Plenty competition, including our Gold sponsors Zespri, GPS-it, EastPack, and Eurofins Bay of Plenty.”

The national Young Grower of the Year competition is an annual competition run by Horticulture New Zealand to select the finest young fruit or vegetable grower in the country.

Sponsored by the Horticentre Trust, the winners from five regional events go forward to contest the final. The competition is part of Horticulture New Zealand's strategy to support the growth and development of New Zealand's future horticultural leaders.