Zespri has approved three new kiwifruit types to be grown and sold in New Zealand, as well as export. It has also decided to begin on-orchard grower trials on two new Red varieties.
Zespri is granting licences for 600 hectares of orchard space for the three new varieties. This amounts to about five per cent of all kiwifruit planted land currently in New Zealand.

Zespri has announced it is licensing 600 hectares to grow three new types of kiwifruit.

The three new varieties for planting or grafting are an early-season Gold (Gold3), a potentially long-storing Gold (Gold9), and a new sweet Green (Green14).
The two new varieties for on-orchard grower trials are both Red kiwifruits and are now on the shortlist for future commercialisation.
Reaching this stage of developing new kiwifruit varieties was a considerable project.
"This has been the most thorough and rigorous product development process ever undertaken by the New Zealand horticulture sector, and, as a joint industry/government initiative, it is New Zealand Inc at its best," says Zespri chief executive Lain Jager.
More than 50,000 varieties were tested as part of the programme, more than 10,000 had made the initial shortlist, 40 went to initial growing trials, four made it to on-orchard trials and underwent on-orchard, storage, shipping and taste tests, and three have reached the stage of commercialisation, says Lain.
Zespri is anticipating first significant sales volumes of these new varieties to be in 2013.
For the two Red varieties, now at the orchard trial stage, nearly 2000 different options were considered with more than 10 making it to initial growing trials.