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Nicky Seager
The New Zealand Society for Horticultural ScieThe New Zealand Society for Horticultural Science
PO Box 19 560
Christchurch
New Zealand
Abstract
The needs and expectations of the horticultural industry are discussed
using one crop, kiwifruit as an example from New Zealand. A brief
history of the development of the cultivar 'Hayward' is given
and the changes that have occurred. Examination of the future
needs and expectations of the kiwifruit industry in New Zealand
uses a selection of A. chinensis. The themes discussed
in this section include the role of research in the areas of plant
breeding, prediction, pests and people and some key influencing
factors.
1.1 The rise of the kiwifruit industry
The kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C.F. Liang
et A. R. Ferguson var. deliciosa cv. 'Hayward') must be
one of the most remarkable new crops of the 20th century. The
fruit has risen from being virtually unknown outside of China
at the beginning of this century to being a commonly available
fruit in supermarkets throughout the world less than 100 years
later.
To set the scene, I will give a brief history of kiwifruit in
New Zealand (NZ). The first kiwifruit seeds were brought from
China to New Zealand in 1904 and given to an enthusiastic plantsperson
(Ferguson and Bollard, 1990). These seed gave rise to all theantsperson
(Ferguson and Bollard, 1990). These seed gave rise to all the
important kiwifruit cultivars developed in New Zealand and grown
both here and elsewhere in the world. There may have been several
other introductions of plant material, but these were of no importance
in the development of the crop. The first commercial orchard was
producing good crops of fruit in the early 1930s which were sold
on the domestic market. In 1952 the first export shipment of fruit
went to the United Kingdom and by 1976 the exported crop exceeded
local consumption for the first time. The development of markets
in Europe, Japan and the USA was encouraged by successful marketing
strategies of NZ exporters. In turn, this success encouraged orchardists
to plant more and more kiwifruit. What part did research play?
While it is difficult to determine the benefits of research in
financial terms, there would be few people who could deny that
research has assisted the development of the kiwifruit industry
from its humble beginnings to the successful worldwide industry
it is today. The early kiwifruit growers recognised the value
of research and provided a close and valuable partnership with
scientists. Research has taken place on, for example, orchard
and vine management, flower and fruit physiology, pests and diseases,
postharvest storage, transport of fruit, sensory evaluation and
fruit processing.
1.2 Changes in the kiwifruit industry
FoP>
1.2 Changes in the kiwifruit industry
For some years, kiwifruit were the pacesetter in the development
of horticulture in NZ (Bollard, 1996). From 1965 the area planted
in kiwifruit grew rapidly and the value of exports continued to
rise until 1992 when returns to growers were reduced owing to
the oversupply of fruit in the international markets. The reason
for the reduced export returns was largely connected with the
increasing level of world production and from severe competition
for NZ from Chile, Italy and California. In addition, there has
been a changing in attitude to kiwifruit in many countries. Kiwifruit
was once regarded as a rare exotic seasonal crop (meriting high
prices) but has now become a year-round mainstream fruit. In NZ,
this resulted in a crisis in 1992 and a decision by the Kiwifruit
Marketing Board to tighten grade standards and fund a small vine
removal scheme. The vines removed were mainly from poor areas
of low production, however production subsequently continued to
rise as average yields per canopy hectare increased. The changes
in the New Zealand kiwifruit industry are clearly shown in Table
1.
Table 1. The extent of kiwifruit plantings, number of growers
and number of trays of fruit submitted (Bollard, 1996).
| Area planted (ha) | ||||
| No. of growers | ||||
| No. of trays fruit submitted (millions) |
The kiwifruit industry is now stable and profitable and it should
be remembered that kiwifruit is still a significant crop for NZ.
The production value of kiwifruit (fresh export, FOB), in the
year to 30 June 1996, was 406.9 NZ$M, this was 41% of the production
value (fresh export, FOB) of all horticultural crops produced,
second only to pipfruit (54%) (Anon., 1997).
Kiwifruit accounts for less than 1% of the world's fresh fruit
consumption and it is widely felt that this level will increase
steadily as familiarity with the fruit increases (Bollard, 1996).
What are the opportunities for the kiwifruit industry in the future
(Anon., 1997)? One option is to sell more fruit of the existing
cultivar, by: extending the selling season, communicating the
nutritional benefits, developing processing methodology, reducing
pal benefits, developing processing methodology, reducing
postharvest losses and developing new niche markets and product
options such as organic fruit. An alternative option, but not
mutually exclusive, is to develop new cultivars.
However, it is development of new commercial cultivars that is
probably the key to the successful future of the kiwifruit industry
in NZ. There is a great diversity in the Actinidia species
and a wide range of germplasm has been collected and is now grown
in NZ. A cultivar soon to be released on the world market is a
yellow-fleshed, sweeter fruit, a selection of A. chinensis.
These fruit are a slightly different shape from the current cultivar
'Hayward', but have the characteristic green/brown skin although
it is hairless. The remainder of this report will focus on the
needs and expectations of the horticultural industry for research
on a selection of A. chinensis. It should be remembered
that the issues faced within the kiwifruit industry are just as
applicable to other horticultural crops.
2.1 The 4 P's
I have decided to examine the needs and expectations of the horticultural industry for research by looking at four areas - the 4 P's.
How does the kiwifruit industry in NZ (Zespri International Ltd.,
a 100% owned marketing subsidiary of Kiwifr International Ltd.,
a 100% owned marketing subsidiary of Kiwifruit New Zealand) packhouses,
growers roll out a new cultivar? What are the issues involved?
What part does research play?
2.1.1 Plant breeding
Breeding of a woody species is not a quick and easy task and neither
is bringing such a product into commercial production. There will
always be a lag period between marketer acceptance of a new selection
and full production within the industry, perhaps about 10 years.
It has taken many years to develop a selection of A.
chinensis to the point of commercial release. However, at
what point is a selection ready for commercial release? There
may well be conflict between the marketer who has at least partially
funded the work, growers who expect greater financial returns
from a new crop and researchers who are hesitant at releasing
a new selection until they are satisfied there has been enough
testing. What are the consequences to the industry in releasing
a selection that is a flop? In essence, this is management of
risk, but probably one that growers are prepared to gamble on
as the rewards for things going well far exceed returns from the
conventional crop.
There needs to be good communication between the producer board,
which has the marketing portfolio for kiwifruit, and the researchers.
The marketing requirements of a new kiwifruit should be incorporated
into thements of a new kiwifruit should be incorporated
into the research, for example, the Japanese like sweeter fruit
than Europeans. There are other aspects that may come from consumer
surveys that will help to quantify the type of fruit that will
be suitable, such as: fruit size, shape, colour, taste. The consumer
is becoming increasingly powerful in making demands on the type
of fruit, and other produce, that they prefer. In this type of
environment the consumer's concerns over genetically modified
fruit (by molecular biology) become a reality when they choose
not to buy the product. Currently there is molecular research
on kiwifruit, but it has not yet reached the advanced stage of
other crops like tomatoes, where genetically modified fruit is
available to the consumer. Will molecular biology remain as a
valuable research tool or be incorporated into food crops? Time
will tell! Consumer education must play a vital role.
The combination of plant breeding and marketing also brings into
play the nutritional value of kiwifruit as a food source. In NZ,
as in many other countries, the health department is pushing a
'5+ a day' motto to encourage people to eat at least five servings
of fruit or vegetables a day. Not only is 'Hayward' rich in fibre,
antioxidants and other nutrients, but it is exceptionally high
in Vitamin C (higher than oranges) and some Actinidia are
higher in Vitamin C than 'Hayward'. While a popular trend encourages
peoplard'. While a popular trend encourages
people to take vitamin supplements in the form of pills, will
they shortly be encouraged to eat a healthy fruit instead? Again,
consumer education is critical. What other nutritional 'goodies'
are lurking as a currently untapped resource in the other species?
Are there nutritional 'baddies' there too? Is there a potential
niche market?
2.1.2 Prediction
In order to be able to plan and manage industry needs, sufficient
knowledge about the crop is necessary to predict how it is likely
to behave in different situations. Prediction models are another
example of liaison between the horticultural industry and researchers.
What type of models do the industry require and what can researchers
offer? Prediction models can be tailored to almost any industry
problem such as predicting the time of harvest, rate of fruit
softening, incidence of disease, by encompassing a multitude of
scientific disciplines, for example, plant physiology, postharvest,
soil science, statistics, mathematics and environmental effects.
Let us use an example: 'development of a model to predict time
of harvest in a selection of A. chinensis'. While this
sounds like a simple phrase, just think of all the research that
fits in behind! A. chinensis is a different species to
the currently grown 'Hayward', and although the two are likely
to behave simiHayward', and although the two are likely
to behave similarly (compared to apples or oranges) there are
also some relatively big differences. First of all, we need to
define fruit maturity, this requires examination of the complex
changes occurring in fruit while they are on the vine and during
subsequent postharvest storage. What is a representative sample
of fruit to take for maturity assessments? Therein lies further
research and another potential predictive model. What are the
effects of growing region, pruning and management strategies on
fruit maturation. Further research! At what stage can the development
of the predictive model for fruit maturity commence? In what form
does the industry want the model? How long are the industry prepared
to wait?
The kiwifruit marketer (Zespri International Ltd) like many others,
is under continuous pressure to perform. The pressure comes from
growers wanting good returns from their fruit by the marketer
being successful in selling the fruit in the international market
place. Currently, the marketer is a 'single desk seller' so there
is always a potential threat from unhappy growers to undermine
the selling monopoly. How does this affect research?
I believe there has been a change within the marketer as to what
they now require from research. It is expected to take about 10
years for a selection of A. chinensis to come into full
production from time of planting, so the industry wiuction from time of planting, so the industry will need answers
to their many questions before then. Hence, the research required
now needs to be more focused and the expectation is that the written
reports will contain usable information that is of direct and
immediate benefit to the industry. Scientists are renowned for
wanting to dot every 'i' and cross every 't', perhaps that is
not what the industry wants. Maybe it is the researchers who need
to change their attitude. There is now pressure on researchers
to produce the required results in a shorter time frame than they
have been used to. Will this attitude result in poorer quality
work? Does it matter? If the kiwifruit industry is taking a risk
in launching a new cultivar then maybe the researchers have to
take a risk in making their recommendations.
2.1.3 Pests
Pests and diseases can affect the kiwifruit crop in three ways.
Firstly, by directly damaging or infesting the crop and rendering
it unsaleable, secondly by passenger pests contravening quarantine
regulations and thirdly due to consumer perceptions of the possible
adverse side-effects of the pesticides and fungicides used to
protect the crop on consumer health and the environment.
Kiwifruit growers used to rely on a calendar schedule of broad
spectrum insecticides for pest control. In 1991/92 the kiwifruit
industry began to adopt an Integrated Pest Manaifruit
industry began to adopt an Integrated Pest Management system called
KiwiGreen which enabled a substantial reduction in pesticide use
and the production of residue free crops. This was achieved by
the use of monitoring to target spray applications and the introduction
of soft pesticides. Growers welcomed this change to such an extent
that by 1996/97 season, the whole kiwifruit crop was grown under
the KiwiGreen system. Why the change? The change has come about
mainly as a result of consumer pressure on overseas supermarkets
to deliver 'safe' food and in turn the supermarkets put increasing
pressure on horticultural industries to deliver these 'safe' foods.
Supermarket chains in Europe, Japan and USA have enormous buying
power and coupled with that is the strength to demand the type
of product they want from the relevant industry. If the NZ kiwifruit
industry cannot deliver the specified product to the supermarket
buyer then the sale is lost. That is big money lost to the NZ
industry.
However, is the current KiwiGreen scheme the final version or
will the requirements change still further? What is the potential
for producing a large proportion of the national crop organically?
The KiwiGreen system required a lot of research and this will
continue as the system is improved still further and pest control
becomes more integrated. As the consumers become more aware and
perhaps more emotive on issues of sustainably produced food then
e on issues of sustainably produced food then
it is highly likely that the kiwifruit grown under the present
KiwiGreen system may not be acceptable in a few years time and
I think the kiwifruit industry is aware of the moving target.
Again, there needs to be good communication between the researchers,
kiwifruit industry and the end markets. This may be an opportunity
for researchers to take the lead and show the industry what could
be achievable.
A continuation of this theme leads onto the environmental registration
of companies. In NZ the environmental standards are the ISO 14,000
series (International Standards Organisation). Environmental registration
of a company involves every aspect of the company and not only
the environmental impacts of, in our example, growing fruit. In
the future, it is quite possible that supermarket buyers may choose
an environmentally registered company in preference to a non-registered
company. The New Zealand kiwifruit industry has already begun
initiatives to develop an Environmental Management System. However,
research institutions, as partners with industry, also need to
practise what they preach. Speaking from my experience with HortResearch
and involvement with their Sustainability Policy Team, we felt
that in order to contract research with companies over issues
of sustainability, then we should be an environmentally registered
company. In order to investigate and facilitate environmental
re investigate and facilitate environmental
registration, HortResearch employed an Environmental Manager in
mid 1997.
2.1.4 People
People are the most valuable resource in the horticultural industry.
People are involved at many different levels in the industry and
so the needs and requirements for each sector will obviously be
different.
New Zealand is probably unusual among developed nations as there
has been a tradition of growers having very little formal academic
training and university courses were not perceived as necessarily
being appropriate for growers. However, this has been changing
over the last 10 years or so as growers children have attended
university and then returned to work on the property. Most growers
are now computer literate and this allows for the development
of computer based management software as available in other horticultural
enterprises. As packhouses become more sophisticated and technologically
advanced there needs to be a greater understanding of the competencies
required. Packhouse operators will also require competent trained
staff for picking and packing and the training requirements will
change with the introduction of new kiwifruit selections. The
horticultural industry will also require high competency standards
from researchers, who are generally highly trained people. Researcher
training has often been in related disciplinesearcher
training has often been in related disciplines such as botany
or biochemistry and not horticulture. Are the courses relevant
to research? I think there has been a beneficial change in the
last few years which will take time to flow through into the research
institutions.
Does the horticultural industry have a high enough profile to
attract the top students? Certainly in NZ, professions such as
accountancy, medicine, law and engineering have the 'prestige'
image and the pay packets to go alongside where horticulture does
not appear to stand a chance. The reasons for the poor public
perception of horticulture as a profession are varied and complex,
although some would argue that there is a good perception of science
and uptake of technology in New Zealand. In this country, education
at the tertiary level is becoming more expensive and many students
are in debt by the end of their degree, as the funding is largely
'user pays' not 'taxpayer pays', after recent economic reforms.
What are the incentives to train further at the postgraduate level
in horticulture only to incur further debt, be uncertain about
future employment and to know that the salary levels are lower
than in other industries.
So, is it possible to increase the profile of the horticultural
industry and to encourage and educate the best people at every
level? I would hope so, without this the industry would eventually
die. Increasing profit is a key fact eventually
die. Increasing profit is a key factor in solving some of the
people issues. There probably needs to be a push to increase the
profile at all levels, from growers, packhouses, marketers, researchers
and the media who tend to accentuate the negative. Implementation
of a nationally recognised professional development programme
tailored for horticultural professionals may well help, as will
positive reports in newspapers and general education of the public.
The key to the success of horticultural research in the future
will be flexibility and communication. If the kiwifruit industry
is to remain competitive in the world market and the marketer
makes good returns for growers, then they too need to be adaptable
and to communicate within all facets of the industry. For researchers
to effectively assist the horticultural industry to achieve its
objectives then there needs to be regular two way dialogue with
Zespri coupled with an understanding of the concerns of the industry.
Researchers in the future need to be flexible and dynamic, to
move quickly with changes within the industry and to tailor their
research to industry requirements.
Within kiwifruit research in NZ, I believe that effective relationships
have been developed between researchers and Kiwifruit New Zealand,
and that the researchers are beginning to understand the philosophy
of the new research culture widerstand the philosophy
of the new research culture with the research demands of a new
species. This should bode well for a good future for the horticultural
industry and research on kiwifruit in NZ with quick uptake and
application of research findings.
Peter Berry, Industry Liaison Officer, Kiwifruit New Zealand.
Roger Buchanan, Business Manager, HortResearch.
Malcolm Cartwright, Board Member, Kiwifruit New Zealand and Chairperson, New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated.
Ross Ferguson, Scientist, Plant Breeding Group, HortResearch.
Alistair Hall, Scientist, Environment and Risk Management Group, HortResearch.
Craig Jensen, Personnel Manager, HortResearch.
Bob Martin, Market Access Manager, Zespri International Ltd.
Andrew Tomkins, Scientist, Plant Protection Group, HortResearch.
Ian Warrington, Chief Executive Officer, HortResearch.
Anon. 1997. Fruit research in New Zealand 1996. New Zealand Fruitgrowers
Federation. pp. 48.
Bollard, E.G. 1996. Further prospects for horticulture: The continuing
importance of research. New Zealand Fruitgrowers Charitable Trust.
pp. 94.
Ferguson, A.R. and Bollard, E.G. 1990. Domestication of the kiwifruit.
p165-246. In: Kiwifruit: Science and Management. Warrington, I.J.
and Weston, G.C. (Eds), New Zealand Society for Horticunagement. Warrington, I.J.
and Weston, G.C. (Eds), New Zealand Society for Horticultural
Science, Wellington.