Esteemed New Zealand kiwifruit breeder and scientist Russell Lowe has been awarded the 2020 Kiwifruit Innovation Award for his work breeding the first commercialised red kiwifruit cultivar, Zespri Red.
Mr Lowe, who has recently retired from his role at Crown Research Institute Plant & Food Research, first began working on the challenge of breeding a new red kiwifruit in 1993, for the new varieties breeding programme jointly run by Plant & Food Research and Zespri.
NZKGI Chairman Doug Brown, Plant & Food Research Chair Nicola Shadbolt, Russell Lowe, Zespri Chairman Bruce Cameron
First planted at the Kerikeri Research Centre in 2007, the cultivar was commercialised in December 2019 following many years of research, including exploring the fruit’s tolerance to Psa.
Zespri Chairman and awards judge Bruce Cameron says Mr Lowe epitomises innovation within the industry, not just with his work on developing the red cultivar, but throughout his distinguished career spanning 50 years. That’s also seen him involved with selecting gold varieties which have proven exceptionally popular with consumers across the world.
“Russell’s success in developing this red cultivar has again enabled the New Zealand kiwifruit industry to provide the market with a new, distinctive great-tasting fruit which will strengthen kiwifruit’s share of the global fruit bowl in the years ahead,” says Mr Cameron.
Mr Cameron says the commercialisation of the red cultivar was based on extensive trial work and consumer demand for new and unique products, and would help Zespri continue to provide the world’s leading portfolio of branded kiwifruit for all 12 months of the year.
“While it’s still relatively new, its already generating real excitement in international markets and the industry is indebted to Russell for his efforts,” says Mr Cameron.
Mr Lowe says, “I am very pleased and honoured to be recognised with this Kiwifruit Innovation Award, and am grateful for the support over many years by my colleagues in Plant & Food Research and Zespri Innovation. This breeding success has been very much a team effort by Breeders, our Operations team, Research Orchard Network teams and subsequent evaluation systems.
“Developing a commercial quality red kiwifruit has been quite a mission, as much of our breeding material was lost during the Psa epidemic. However by using the remaining Psa-tolerant parent vines we have been able to develop advanced material leading to the release of Zespri Red.
“The joint research partnership between Plant & Food Research and Zespri has been the key to the support of the breeding programme and the subsequent success in releasing world-class varieties for the New Zealand kiwifruit industry. I feel we can expect to see more innovative varieties released in future from our strong breeding and research teams.”