Sweet Sensation pears have moved a step closer to year-round availability with the first harvest of fruit in Argentina.
Rights holder Licensed Varieties Editors (LVE) announced the development at Fruit Logistica in Berlin this week, where it also launched a new brand identity featuring a new logo, slogan and marketing campaign.
The Argentinean harvest – the first in the southern hemisphere – comes on the back of a wide-scale planting programme across the globe, with a large acreage having been planted in Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the UK.
Producers say it will still be some time before large volumes are available year round, but there are moves to grow the pear in Chile and South Africa, as well as 200 trees having gone into the ground in Australia. New Zealand, Canada, Turkey and the Far East will also see new trees.
To help the rollout LVE has designed a Variety Platform for Sweet Sensation to boost collaboration and knowledge exchange among growers.
“It is vital that we invest in optimum collaboration between license holders if we aim to create a solid foundation for increasing the scale of operations and guaranteeing a sustainable yield throughout the chain,” said Victor Eijkman of LVE.
