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Plant & Food Research
13 February 2018

New Zealand Prime Minister recognises science that saved kiwifruit

Plant & Food Research is proud to be the recipient of this year’s Prime Minister’s Science Prize for its rapid response to the vine-killing kiwifruit disease Psa.

In November 2010, Psa (Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae) was first discovered in New Zealand. Plant & Food Research immediately mobilised a team of more than 100 people, including plant pathologists, breeders and orchard management specialists.

In the 2016/17 season, kiwifruit marketer Zespri exported $2.3 billion of fruit, almost 20% more than the season before Psa was discovered, and is on track to double global sales to $4.5 billion by 2025. A recent report from the University of Waikato forecasts that by 2030, the industry will have created 29,000 new jobs in New Zealand and tripled GDP contribution to more than $6 billion.
“Psa was potentially devastating for the New Zealand kiwifruit industry,” says Dr Bruce Campbell, Plant & Food Research’s Chief Operating Officer. “When the disease was discovered, we knew we had limited time to find the solutions the industry needed to manage the disease and remain viable. Being able to pull together a highly effective team of scientific expertise was paramount.

“It was an incredibly stressful time for our scientists, not only in terms of how fast the scientific process was having to deliver answers but also the emotional impact the disease was having on their friends and neighbours. I’m incredibly proud of how the Plant & Food Research team responded, and this prize really demonstrates the importance of their work to New Zealand.”
Initially, the Plant & Food Research team worked with the industry to contain the spread of the disease by developing new orchard management techniques. The science team also developed diagnostic tests to inform growers’ management decisions and identified agrichemicals that could protect against the disease.

Longer term, a new cultivar was required to support ongoing growth of the industry. The New Zealand industry had gained significant market growth through the gold kiwifruit cultivar ‘Hort16A’, marketed globally as Zespri® Gold Kiwifruit, but this was found to be particularly susceptible to Psa. Plant & Food Research, in collaboration with Zespri, operates the world’s largest kiwifruit research programme, with a key focus on breeding new cultivars. When Psa was discovered, a new gold kiwifruit cultivar ‘Zesy002’, referred to by growers as Gold3 and sold around the world as Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, was in the initial commercialisation phase. After an intensive screening programme of the hundreds of genetically-diverse varieties from the breeding programme, ‘Zesy002’ was discovered to be tolerant to the disease.

“Identifying a new cultivar is complex, as it has to have the right characteristics to meet grower requirements as well as meet consumer demands for taste,” says Dr Campbell. “Having a cultivar that met these requirements and also had tolerance to Psa was an important step in the industry’s recovery. We screened hundreds of plants to make sure Gold3 was the best option for the industry, we really didn’t want to get that wrong.”

Forty-eight million trays of Zespri SunGold were sold last season, with an export value of $686 million, up 70 percent on the previous year and increasing by around 10 million trays a year as newly-grafted vines reach production.

The Prime Minister’s Science Prize includes a $400,000 prize fund to be used to support the team’s work. This prize money will be used to establish New Zealand as a hub for bioprotection technologies and further the development of new science technologies to protect plants against biosecurity threats.

“Having to operate in this incredibly demanding situation really has put the team in a world-leading position in dealing with Psa, and sets an example for responses to pest and disease incursions in the wider horticultural industry,” says Dr Campbell. “This prize will help us to accelerate the strong positioning of New Zealand internationally as the leader in ensuring food security.”

The 2017 Prime Minister’s Science Prizes were presented to winners at the Banquet Hall, Parliament Building, Wellington.

For more information on the science behind the prize, watch the video below.

Contact:
Emma Timewell
Communications Manager, Corporate Communications,
Plant & Food Research Mt Albert,
120 Mt Albert Road, Sandringham
Auckland, 1025, New Zealand
EMail: media@plantandfood.co.nz
https://www.plantandfood.co.nz/page/news/media-release/story/kiwifruit-estimated-to-generate-6.14-billion-by-2030/
28 June 2017

Kiwifruit estimated to generate $6.14 billion by 2030

The joint Plant & Food Research - Zespri kiwifruit breeding programme will support a $3.5 billion increase in New Zealand’s GDP by 2030 and the creation of 29,000 jobs, according to a new economic report.

This industry growth is based primarily on the success of Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, which was released in 2011 from the breeding programme. The University of Waikato report concludes that without Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit the New Zealand kiwifruit industry would be less than half the size of its 2030 projections.

“Our kiwifruit breeding programme is a true partnership between science, industry and government,“ says Dr Bruce Campbell, COO of Plant & Food Research. “The long-term commitment by both Zespri and the New Zealand Government in the kiwifruit breeding programme has allowed us to deliver a game-changing new kiwifruit, for the horticultural industry and the nation. This is a great example of a NZ Inc investment focused on creating value by delighting consumers.”

The kiwifruit breeding programme is funded through a partnership of investment by Zespri, the New Zealand Government and Plant & Food Research. Research is conducted into breeding new cultivars, as well as protecting them from disease and pests, and optimising growing, harvesting, nutritional content and storage to ensure consumers can rely on a consistent product with every purchase.

“The cultivar ‘Zesy002’, known to growers as Gold3 and marketed as Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit, is the result of many years of research, not only the breeding of the cultivar but understanding how it grows and the best way to manage the orchard to produce a fruit that consumers will enjoy,” says Dr Kieran Elborough, General Manager Science New Cultivar Innovation. “Knowing our cultivars are a success on the international market is incredibly rewarding. This report demonstrates the value that our science can contribute, not only for growers but for the wider New Zealand economy.”

Key highlights of the report include:

• The kiwifruit industry contribution to New Zealand GDP will increase from $2.6 billion in 2015/16 to $6.14 billion in 2030, driven by SunGold.

• The kiwifruit industry generates 10,762 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs for the BOP, 380 FTE jobs for Northland and 2,475 FTE for Maori today.

• By 2030, 14,329 more jobs will be created in the Bay of Plenty and 506 in Northland thanks to kiwifruit industry growth.

• The employment contribution to New Zealand of the kiwifruit industry is expected to be an additional 29,000 FTE by 2030.

• The kiwifruit industry contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) for Bay of Plenty will increase 135 percent by 2030 (from $867 million in 2016/17 to $2.04 billion), and by 135% for Northland ($30.6 million to $72 million).

• Maori grower revenue is estimated to increase from $271 million to $638 million per year by 2030 and BOP Maori wages and salary set to double from $22.1 million to $52 million (+135 percent).

• Zespri’s new gold variety (SunGold/Gold3) is expected to create an additional $310 million revenue per year for iwi across New Zealand by 2030.

• Without Zespri SunGold, the NZ industry would be less than half the size of its 2030 projections.

Contact:
Emma Timewell
Communications Manager, Corporate Communications,
Plant & Food Research Mt Albert,
120 Mt Albert Road, Sandringham
Auckland, 1025, New Zealand
EMail: media@plantandfood.co.nz