NZ Summer Fresh to commercialise three new apricot varieties

New apricot varieties, developed in Central Otago over the past 20 years, are due to hit the market this coming summer. Photo / Supplied

Tastier, juicier and brighter - new types of apricots are to be launched on the domestic and overseas market this summer which, long term, could bring millions of dollars to the Central Otago economy.

The newly established NZ Summer Fresh company announced on Friday it planned to commercialise the first three new apricot cultivars released by Plant & Food Research after nearly two decades of research and development.

Company chairman Stephen Darling said more than 50,000 trees of the new varieties, covering 60ha, were under trial in Central Otago and parts of the North Island.

The three varieties - yet to be properly named - have the potential to give apricot growers a significant boost and lead to increased planting of the fruit.

Darling, an orchardist in Ettrick, said the fruit was a real step forward and could revitalise what he called a "cornerstone" fruit of the Central Otago fruit industry.

Twenty growers, a mix of long-standing summer-fruit producers and newer growers, are trialling the varieties under licence in New Zealand.

Others are expected to jump on board with the new varieties, as the programme has an open-door policy.

"These varieties have the potential to revitalise and relaunch the premium apricot category on the global stage," Darling said.

"Bred for flavour, colour and sensory characteristics, the apricots are substantially better than nearly every other apricot I know of and could be the best in the world."

The new varieties have come after about 20 years of research at the Plant & Food Research site in Clyde, which involved thousands of crossbreeds being trialled before the final breeds were decided upon.

"The taste is more intense and is something quite different than a lot of other apricots. It has all the key attributes needed for an apricot - has real favour, a good colour, that real juiciness and tastes nice."

He had just over 4000 trees of the new varieties growing on his family orchard and they had been growing well, Darling said.

They had stood up to the vagaries of the Central Otago climate.

There were not likely to be too many available this summer but he hoped some would find their way to retailers, he said.

One of the advantages of the three new varieties - which have been named Nzsummer2, Nzsummer3 and Nzsummer4 - is they ripen at different times from current apricots.

The traditional New Zealand apricot season is from early January to early-mid February.

But NZsummer4, which is targeted for the domestic market, will be available in December.

The other two varieties will go to market in late February to suit overseas markets. They will also have a longer selling period.

Apricot seasons in other countries traditionally finish earlier than the New Zealand season, which will help spur demand.

Statistics for Summerfruit NZ show more than three million kg of cherries were exported last season, compared with 168,000kg of apricots.

Darling said the new varieties should help change that.

"Potentially, this could be worth millions of dollars for apricot growers.

"Over the last couple of years, apricots have dropped off, while there has been a lot of cherry expansion.

"But this could hopefully see more interest in apricots."

Higher demand would lead to better prices, which would help growers cover ever-increasing costs, he said.

The next step was to get proper names for the varieties.

- Email your name suggestions to stephen.hepburn@odt.co.nz.