Novel Varieties of Pears from HortResearch
Richard Volz is a scientist, and leader of the apple & pear commercial breeding programme, HortResearch.
Allan White is with Business Development - International, HortResearch. Allan has been involved with the programme since its inception and is now in a senior management role.
Over the past two decades HortResearch and its predecessors have crossed European and Asian varieties of pears to produce new highly coloured varieties that have the crispness, keeping quality and ready-to-eat characteristics of the Asian types with the flavours and aroma of the European types. Trees are earlier maturing than the traditional European types and some are more resistant to fireblight. Initial market reaction has been very positive, and they are now planning a larger marketing assessment in conjunction with a JV called PREVAR which has been established to commercialise the new varieties.
Allan White started the research programme in 1983. He and his group have used conventional breeding techniques (interspecific hybridisation) to cross various varieties of pear from around the world, including European and Asian types.
While European pears have beautiful flavour and wonderful texture they were losing their market share because they were not adapted to modern requirements for people being able to eat fruit straightaway rather than waiting for it to ripen, he says.
European pears when ripe are soft and difficult to handle. By contrast, Asian pears are crisp and juicy and can be handled really easily but they don't have the same flavour and aroma. HortResearch wanted to create pears that met current consumer requirements and also had a fabulous flavour. They were also trying to get good colour using red varieties of both European and Asian pears. The one they are focusing on now has bright red colour like a Chinese Lantern with a light bulb turned on.
European pears take a long time to come into production and so they have been working on reducing that time, and also on incorporating resistance to fireblight disease. They have now reached the third generation of intercrossing, and have produced a range of pears that they believe are quite outstanding. These characteristics will soon be tested in extensive marketing trials. (A generation in this context is between 5 and 10 years.)
"We have got pears that have beautiful red colour that can be harvested off the tree and can be eaten immediately. They can also be stored for quite long time, and they have interesting flavours -- we have found that we are getting new types of flavour like tropical fruit and plum flavours coming through. The next stage of proving market acceptability is critical."
Some initial market research has been done and they are confident that the new varieties will attract market interest. There has been good reaction from people in the trade and recent visitors from the Netherlands were very interested. The world fruit market is currently in the doldrums and dealers are looking for new products to interest consumers. The new varieties could well find a valuable niche and may well become very popular. Time will tell.
In the various crosses they have used traditional European varieties such as Red Bartlett, William Bon Chretian, Comice, Conference, Peter Barry, and on the Asian side they have used several varieties of nashi pear, Japanese and Chinese pears and hybrids. Chinese genetics have been particularly important in the progress that has been made.
A new joint venture called PREVAR has been established to commercialise these new varieties. Participants are Pipfruit Growers New Zealand, APAL (the Australian counterpart) and an international nurseryman's group called AIGN, of which the New Zealand member is The New Zealand Fruit Tree Company.
PREVAR has the rights to control the licensing of new varieties from the breeding programme (initially this work was done in association with ENZA but they withdrew from the programme some years ago). Several hundred trees are being propagated and extensive trials of new fruit are still going on.
The programme has been funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and by commercial partners.
Allan White is with Business Development - International, HortResearch. Allan has been involved with the programme since its inception and is now in a senior management role.
Over the past two decades HortResearch and its predecessors have crossed European and Asian varieties of pears to produce new highly coloured varieties that have the crispness, keeping quality and ready-to-eat characteristics of the Asian types with the flavours and aroma of the European types. Trees are earlier maturing than the traditional European types and some are more resistant to fireblight. Initial market reaction has been very positive, and they are now planning a larger marketing assessment in conjunction with a JV called PREVAR which has been established to commercialise the new varieties.
Allan White started the research programme in 1983. He and his group have used conventional breeding techniques (interspecific hybridisation) to cross various varieties of pear from around the world, including European and Asian types.
While European pears have beautiful flavour and wonderful texture they were losing their market share because they were not adapted to modern requirements for people being able to eat fruit straightaway rather than waiting for it to ripen, he says.
European pears when ripe are soft and difficult to handle. By contrast, Asian pears are crisp and juicy and can be handled really easily but they don't have the same flavour and aroma. HortResearch wanted to create pears that met current consumer requirements and also had a fabulous flavour. They were also trying to get good colour using red varieties of both European and Asian pears. The one they are focusing on now has bright red colour like a Chinese Lantern with a light bulb turned on.
European pears take a long time to come into production and so they have been working on reducing that time, and also on incorporating resistance to fireblight disease. They have now reached the third generation of intercrossing, and have produced a range of pears that they believe are quite outstanding. These characteristics will soon be tested in extensive marketing trials. (A generation in this context is between 5 and 10 years.)
"We have got pears that have beautiful red colour that can be harvested off the tree and can be eaten immediately. They can also be stored for quite long time, and they have interesting flavours -- we have found that we are getting new types of flavour like tropical fruit and plum flavours coming through. The next stage of proving market acceptability is critical."
Some initial market research has been done and they are confident that the new varieties will attract market interest. There has been good reaction from people in the trade and recent visitors from the Netherlands were very interested. The world fruit market is currently in the doldrums and dealers are looking for new products to interest consumers. The new varieties could well find a valuable niche and may well become very popular. Time will tell.
In the various crosses they have used traditional European varieties such as Red Bartlett, William Bon Chretian, Comice, Conference, Peter Barry, and on the Asian side they have used several varieties of nashi pear, Japanese and Chinese pears and hybrids. Chinese genetics have been particularly important in the progress that has been made.
A new joint venture called PREVAR has been established to commercialise these new varieties. Participants are Pipfruit Growers New Zealand, APAL (the Australian counterpart) and an international nurseryman's group called AIGN, of which the New Zealand member is The New Zealand Fruit Tree Company.
PREVAR has the rights to control the licensing of new varieties from the breeding programme (initially this work was done in association with ENZA but they withdrew from the programme some years ago). Several hundred trees are being propagated and extensive trials of new fruit are still going on.
The programme has been funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and by commercial partners.