New Zealand kiwifruit marketer Zespri has informed growers it will decide in June whether it will release one or two of its new varieties for commercial production.
The new varieties will come from Zespri's 30ha breeding programme, a cooperation with New Zealand's Plant & Food Research. The programme is currently in commercial block trials.
Zespri's industry liaison manager Neil Malcon has hailed the benefits of bringing new varieties promptly into production, but has also admitted the new varieties are unproven and involve financial risks for growers, reported Radio New Zealand.
Mr Malcon said that while Zespri's evaluation process is robust, growers will face costs from converting orchards to the new varieties, as well as the risk of the variety proving commercially unsuccessful.
Peak body Kiwifruit Growers' chainman Peter Ombler told Radio New Zealand there was at least one variety in the Zespri trials that showed a lot of promise.
Zespri's breeding programme has drawn praise from the New Zealand industry, which has benefitted significantly from the programme's earlier Zespri Gold variety.
Kiwifruit packer EastPack chief executive Tony Hawken voiced his support for the programme, and stated his company planned to be the leading post-harvest supplier of any new varieties released onto the market.
'We see our current industry structure with its integrated marketing and world leading research and development as being good not just for growers and the industry but also for New Zealand,' Mr Hawken said in a press release.
Zespri and Plant & Food Research's breeding programme was given a leg-up last November, with an announcement from the government that funding would be increased to NZ$35.7m (US$26.3m) over the next seven years.
