Giant fruit makes feijoa lover's day

Jayne Scales posted a photo online of the 272g feijoa. Photo / Facebook

It seems for some it's the season for monster fruit.

Jayne Scales says the feijoa trees in her backyard in Hamilton have produced good-sized fruit this year but she was amazed to find one that weighed 272g.

"My husband brought a bucketful in the other day and when I saw it I said, 'Gosh, that's a whopper'," she said.

"Overall the fruit seems to be generally quite large," Ms Scales said.

The giant feijoa was from a 7-year-old tree that has been fruiting for two years.

However, it was by no means the largest grown this season.

Roger and Julie Corbett of Havelock North produced a 316g feijoa, and there have been reports of a 284g fruit in the Bay of the Plenty.

Tim Harper, president of the New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association, said while it had been a "pretty solid year" for the fruit, giant feijoas were due to natural variation.

And good news for those whose trees produce giant fruit; size does not necessarily affect the taste.

"If it's grown with the right nutrients, then all of them taste great."

A bit of water and fertiliser was all that was needed to help a tree along with a bumper crop, he said.

Meanwhile, Ms Scales said though she was happy with her harvest and that she and her son enjoy eating the fruit, other members of her family weren't feijoa fans.

"That's the way it seems to be with feijoas, you either love them or hate them."