increase font size
Plant & Food Research says it is making 11 new blueberry varieties available to New Zealand-based growers.
NZ blueberry growers now have access to new varieties with large, tasty fruit ideal for export.
Plant & Food Research says it is making 11 new blueberry varieties available to New Zealand-based growers, threee from the organisation's own breeding programme and eight licensed from Fall Creek Farm & Nursery in the USA.
Of the new varieties, three are Southern Highbush, seven are Northern Highbush and one is Rabbiteye.
According to Plant & Food, the new varieties produce large fruit with good flavour, with a range of seasonality. It adds that all have shown good adaptabilty fo New Zealand conditions in trials to date.
"These new varieties offer a significant opportunity for New Zealand growers to improve their blueberry production and offer new, tasty blueberries to consumers at home and overseas," says Gavin Ross, group general manager marketing and innovation.
"The new varieties produce tasty berries with high consumer appeal, and grow well in New Zealand conditions," he adds. "We hope the addition of these new varieties to the suite of plants available to growers will help expand the blueberry sector and increase export opportunities over the next decade."
Ross says growers are invited to apply for a non-exclusive licence to cultivate and grow the varieties for fruit production in New Zealand and for the marketing and sale of fruit worldwide.
Growers who sign up to a licence agreement will be able to place orders with authorised nurseries.
New Zealand currently produces 3,000 tonnes of blueberries from 640 hectares of land, earning $39 million in exports.
Plant & Food Research will gain royalty payments from the licensing arrangement, which it says will be used to further research that benefits New Zealand's AgriFood industries.
More information about the varieties and how to license them can be found on the Plant & Food Research website: www.plantandfood.co.nz.
A five-year New Zealand government-funded project to help Viet Nam build a more lucrative passionfruit industry was formally launched by the Prime Ministers of Viet Nam and New Zealand this week.
A recent Plant & Food Research study comparing the DNA of trees commonly called manuka in New Zealand and Australia has found such significant genetic differences between the two that the researchers are now recommending the two plants be designated as different species.
The inaugural New Zealand Wine Centre Scientific Research Conference was designed “by researchers for researchers”, says co-organiser Dr Stewart Field, Viticultural Researcher at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology .
A leading Plant and Food Research scientist is pleasantly surprised at how many apple trees in Hawke's Bay have recovered from the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle and other rains that hit the region this year.
Blueberries are likely to have a bumper season as the warmer El Niño weather pattern arrives in New Zealand ahead of peak blueberry season in mid-January.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.
