The Italians who took part in the Symposium. (Photo: Gianni Tacconi, CRA-GPG).
The international kiwi symposium is organised every four years by the International society for horticultural science. This year, the theme was "Quality and Sustainability". There are two issues that are the focus of current research: first of all, the new cultivars - golden, green, early, late, the important thing is that each variety is exclusive. Secondly, there is the fight against the Psa bacteria."
The Chinese are putting more effort into packaging. (Photo: Ugo Palara).
"New Zealand can count on more partnerships with China and with the institutions than us, we are a little behind when it comes to that."
Red HongYang kiwi tree. (Photo: Gianni Tacconi).
After two days of conference time, visitors could visit the orchards. "I've seen a country that is trying to change and has all it takes to do it well. It is orienting towards more productive and Psa-tolerant cultivars with a better shelf-life."
Bagged fruit. (Photo: Ugo Palara).
"There have been some improvements also from an agronomic and pruning point of view."
Kiwi protection or also a system to conceal superficial imperfections? (Photo: Ugo Palara).
"The big development of China should not damage the market, as the country mainly produces for its internal market. What is surprising though, is the presence of processed products such as fruit juice, as it is very popular over here but not so much in Italy."
(Photo: Ugo Palara).
References to Italy can be found in quite a bit of the kiwi museum. In particular, a panel showcases the work of professors Guglielmo Costa (Università di Bologna), Raffaele Testolin (Università di Udine), Ross Ferguson (director of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture) and Hongwen Huang (convener of the VIII Symposium).
The researchers protagonists of the symposium (Photo: Gianni Tacconi).
"Thanks to Testolin, we now have a reputation of being reliable kiwi researchers, although in Italy it's impossible to work full time on a single fruit like they do in New Zealand because of the lack of resources," explains professor Costa from the University of Bologna.
Left to right, Guglielmo Costa, Ross Ferguson, Hongwen Huang and RaffaeleTestolin. (Photo: Gianni Tacconi).