Back in 1985, the New Zealand apple growing sector was doing well. But looking to grow New Zealand's standing in the global apple market, government scientists needed to innovate.
It took over 20 years of development to produce Scifresh and Scilate apples, later commercialised in 2008 and 2008 as Jazz and Envy.
The apples were bred from a cross between Royal Gala and Braeburn - and grown in the fertile soils of Hawke’s Bay, Nelson and Otago.
Now, 40 years down the line, 120,000 Jazz and Envy apples are harvested in multiple locations annually - and they are sold in more than 50 countries.
Kathryn speaks to Shane Kingston, who is T&G’s chief operating officer for Apples, and Dr Richard Volz, who has been the Bioeconomy Science Institute apple breeder since 2001.
Jazz apples are considered one of New Zealand's relatively faster genetic developments taking around 15 years to come to market, using traditional breeding techniques cross-breeding Braeburn and Royal Gala cultivars. Photo: CC 1.0 BY-SA / Daderot
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