A new quarantine facility which will make it easier to test new plant material for orchardists has been built in Hawkes Bay.
The sealed greenhouse, built at Pakowhai, 7km north of Hastings, for the New Zealand Fruit Tree Company, will help plant breeder Pattullo's Nurseries streamline the importation of new cultivars
for orchardists.
The company's chairman and Pattullo's Nurseries managing director Kerry Sixtus said that in the past plant material for quarantine had gone through an Agriculture and Forestry Ministry station in Auckland.
The new greenhouse is divided into sealed rooms and is totally insect-proof.
It will be used to hold new fruit trees and grape varieties and rootstocks in quarantine until they are cleared for planting outside.
The New Zealand Fruit Tree Company was formed by five nursery owners - three from Hawkes Bay and two from the South Island.
The company imports new fruit tree and grape varieties for trial in New Zealand conditions.
The new facility would cut costs and improve flexibility and security for new varieties.
The company plans to bring in 45 new varieties this year, most of it for trials.
Some rootstocks can take 10 years to evaluate before new material is ready for planting out.
- NZPA
