Although there are new breeds of GMO Apples heading to the US, and more and more GMO products available in Australia already, there is not likely to be an Australian ‘super apple’ any time in the immediate future, according to John Dollisson, CEO of Apple and Pear Australia Limited. “There is a lot of great research to show the various health benefits of apples and pears already so one of our aims is to help increase consumption of these existing healthy varieties,” he told Fresh Plaza. He also said that Australian fruit is renown for being ‘clean and green’ and grown in a supply and distribution chain that retains the high quality and safety of the fruit.
Genetically modified products are an ‘exciting technology’ according to Mr Dollisson, but not needed in Australian apples and pears because of a successful breeding program that is delivering new varieties that won’t result in GM apples or pears. One example given of a non-GMO apple which doesn’t brown is the Greenstar® and it is available in Australian supermarkets.
The prospect of a bigger crop yield is not a significant reason to turn to GMO growing technology either, and Australian crops are likely to increase production as growers adopt better orchard management practices. Yield is forecast to be an extra 4 tonnes per hectare in 2015, so up to 33 tonnes per hectare from 29 in 2014, Mr Dollisson said.
The key things that consumers are looking for are quality and safety from Australian grown produce, Mr Dollisson said. “Quality traits include freshness, taste and crunchiness but increasingly consumers want to know that the food they are eating is safe and has been grown and produced in a safe environment.”
When it comes to cross breeding, the development of new pears, which Mr Dollisson also overseas as CEO of APAL has had a lot of activity recently. There are two new pear varieties on their way to Australian supermarket shelves in fact, the European style ANP-0131, marketed as the Deliza®, a cross between Corella and Cornice pears, and ANP-0118, marketed as the Lanya®.
For more information
John Dollisson
Apples and Pears Australia Limited
Phone: +61393293511
E-mail: sclayton@apal.org.au
Website: www.apal.org.au