However, Tomua, an early harvest kiwifruit bred by HortResearch, appears to have been less affected in the Te Puke area by the mild winter and should give growers there a good crop of fruit this coming season.

The new variety is designed to fill the early market slot - its response to the mild winter is an added bonus, especially if mild winters occur more frequently in future.

In one Te Puke grower trial, Tomua vines had nearly twice as many flowers per bud as Hayward vines.

Other new kiwifruit varieties which have flowered well following the mild winter are already undergoing trials at HortResearch's research orchards.

Scientist Russell Lowe said a sweeter tasting Hayward selection is looking good as far as crop loading goes. "Young vines are carrying a good crop this year in spite of the mild winter. The harvest time of this selection will be similar to that of Hayward".

"There is the potential for us to breed a Hayward replacement that will overcome the sort of problems growers are having because of the milder winter," he said.

New varieties which naturally have a low winter chilling requirement for flowering could benefit the industry by eliminating the need to apply HiCane, a bud-break enhancing spray. Such varieties would be especially welcomed by organic kiwifruit growers who cannot use HiCane.

There are many factors to be taken into account when making a final selection. It must have all the good attributes of Hayward including good taste, good handling and long storage life.

Several new selections were grafted a year ago to produce a reasonable amount of fruit to enable detailed assessments of fruit quality and storage life. These same selections have been planted at three HortResearch orchards, Te Puke, Kerikeri and Nelson to assess regional differences.

Alan Seal, HortResearch's portfolio manager in charge of kiwifruit new varieties said there are many selections and species in the HortResearch collection which appear to be less sensitive to warmer winters than Hayward and Hort16A.

"This gives us the opportunity to produce new varieties for the future which should flower and fruit consistently well despite mild winter temperatures and without the need for HiCane sprays to promote flowering," he said.

For further information contact:

Russell Lowe HortResearch Te Puke Tel:  (07) 573 8013 Fax: (07) 573 8935

Dr Alan Seal HortResearch Te Puke Tel:  (07) 573 8013 Fax: (07) 573 8935