Fact or Myth!

Pears are green...?

Myth! While green is the most common pear colour, they can also come in yellow, brown and red - like Piqa Boo pears! Pears and apples are both highly affected by the warming climate with their colour and crispness being affected. Plant & Food Research have different breeding programmes in different parts of the world to meet the differing needs of growers and consumers today and into the future. As well as their programme in Aotearoa New Zealand, Plant & Food Research have teamed up with researchers in Catalonia, Spain to develop new pear and apple varieties.

Pears are grown in Hawke’s Bay, Waikato, Nelson and Canterbury. Pear trees can live over 100 years and their wood has historically been used to make musical instruments. Pears are better when picked unripe and allowed to ripen off the tree. Pears are high in fibre, rich in antioxidants and have a low glycaemic index. They are also around 84% water, making them a hydrating choice of fruit. For more information on pear nutrition check out the New Zealand Food Composition database.

Traditional varieties of pears grow best in temperate climate – lots of varieties require a period of winter chill to produce high quality fruit. This makes many areas in Aotearoa New Zealand a good location to grow them in. It also means they are susceptible to warming climates. Hot temperatures can cause pears to grow smaller, misshapen, with poor texture and less sweetness. It can also lead to smaller yields. Plant & Food Research have teamed up with growers in Catalonia to develop the Hot Climate Partnership – a programme to breed pears specifically for warmer climates.

Plant & Food Research have been working on a pear breeding programme with New Zealand growers to develop new, better-quality pears. Through cross breeding pear varieties from Europe and Asia, they have developed Piqa pears, a variety that is known for its red skin, crunchy texture and sweet flavour.

Barley can be used to make milk...?

Fact! Plant & Food Research are currently developing a plant-based milk made from the barley grain. The barley used for this is a Plant & Food Research developed cultivar which has high amounts of beta-glucan which is known to be good for lowering cholesterol. This barley milk also contains high levels of fibre and is looking to be expanded into a barley-based yoghurt too!

Barley is a cereal grass in the same family as wheat, oats, and rye. It is one of the oldest cultivated grains in human history. Archaeological evidence suggests that it was one of the first crops domesticated around 10,000 years ago. It is self-pollinating and has a high tolerance to different climate, being a crop grown globally.

Barley is the star ingredient in most beers however it has a new life in dairy alternatives! Barley contains a type of soluble fibre called beta-glucan, which is beneficial for health. Beta-glucans have been shown to help lower cholesterol levels, boost the immune system, and improve gut health. Plant & Food Research have developed a barley with a high-beta glucan level. This is the cultivar, which is being developed into milk and yoghurt, meaning these new products will be richer in fibre than other plant-based milks.

Plant & Food Research’s barley milk is more environmentally friendly than other plant-based milks too. Barley requires a lot less water to grow than nuts. The barley cultivar used doesn’t have a husk and as well as this, the method used to make the milk used a process that used the entire barley grain meaning there is no waste.

Blackcurrants have black flowers...?

Myth! they have blueish pink flowers. In a study with Plant & Food Research, Ārepa and Callaghan Innovation, Aotearoa New Zealand Blackcurrants were shown to have high levels of a compound that stops/slows down the breakdown of the “good feels hormone” dopamine – meaning that consuming blackcurrant may positively affect mood and mental fatigue in healthy adults.

Blackcurrants are grown in the South Island, mainly in Canterbury and Nelson. The South Islands climate of cold winters and long sunshine hours with strong UV rays in summers, is ideal for cultivating blackcurrants. Along with consistent rainfall and fertile soils, this makes blackcurrants grown in Aotearoa New Zealand some of the best in the world.

Blackcurrants contain more vitamin C than oranges per 100g, making them excellent for boosting the immune system. As well as this, blackcurrants are abundant in anthocyanins. These are the pigments responsible for their deep purple colour, but they also act as antioxidants and have been shown to reduce inflammation, improve cognitive function and boost immune function.

Blackcurrants grown in Aotearoa New Zealand have been found to contain higher levels of anthocyanins compared to those grown in other parts of the world, meaning they have more health benefits. New Zealand’s high UV levels result in blackcurrants with more intense pigments and a unique chemical profile, which may explain their superior health benefits.

Studies have demonstrated that consuming anthocyanin-rich New Zealand blackcurrants assists with exercise recovery, helping regulate oxidative stress and inflammation and supporting immunity.

Peanuts are nuts...?

Myth! Peanuts, despite their name, are not nuts—they are classified as legumes, which means they are part of the same family as beans, lentils and peas.

Peanuts are originally from South America. They are grown on a small bush, which can grow up to 50cm high. The peanuts develop underground at the very end of live shoots called “pegs”. Peanut plants are also a great rotational crop for farmers as they add nitrogen and restore the soil.

Peanuts are a good source of protein, fibre, vitamin B, and good fats. They contain a high 24g of protein per 100g. Eating just a handful a day can provide numerous health benefits, including reducing inflammation, improved heart health and weight management. For more information about the nutrition of peanuts go to the New Zealand Food Composition Database!

Plant & Food Research experts are involved in a project in Northland alongside Pic’s Peanut Butter and Northland Inc to explore the potential for high quality peanuts to be commercially grown right here in Aotearoa New Zealand. The results so far are promising - not only do peanuts grown in New Zealand soil yield well in many nutrient areas they seem to be superior to those imported from abroad. They are slightly lower in fat, and higher in protein, dietary fibre and other vitamins.

White wine is only made from green grapes...?

Myth! Some white wines and champagnes are made from red grapes. The colouring of wine is largely dependent to the length of time you leave the skin on them when fermenting that changes colour – the longer the skin ferments the darker the wine. When pressed gently, the juice is extracted without much skin contact, resulting in a white wine.

Aotearoa New Zealand has over 700 wineries and 600 grape growers. Sauvignon blanc is New Zealand's most widely planted variety. 17% of the world's Sauvignon blanc originates from New Zealand. Marlborough is the largest wine-producing region, but Hawkes Bay is the oldest.

Plant & Food Research have just opened a new experimental facility in Blenheim which will help growers of winegrapes and other perennial crops learn to adapt to the changing climate. Te Whenua Tupu, the Living Lab, is an indoor space for plants to be grown and studied in a highly controlled environment to learn and future proof the wine industry from any potential climate problems.

Diseases that damage grapevines and grapes are a huge issue for the wine industry. Plant & Food Research scientists are investigating how these can be managed using different tools and technologies. Using robotics and AI in vineyards, Plant & Food Research are developing new technologies for disease control to offer real-time monitoring that is faster, more accurate and more cost-effective than manual detection.

One example is VinEye, used to detect the presence of grapevine leafroll disease. Robots equipped with cameras collect photos of the vineyards in incredible detail. This footage is then analysed and run through a machine learning tool to assess if there is any disease on the vines, so growers can make decisions about how to manage their vines.

Zespri SunGold kiwifruit have more vitamin C than oranges per serve...?

Fact! A single serving, or roughly 100g, is packed with 161mg of vitamin C. That’s more vitamin C than one medium orange! (which has 85 mg per 100g)

Kiwifruit is an excellent source of dietary fibre, which aids in digestion, especially if you eat it with the skin on. Kiwifruit provide as much potassium as bananas. They also contain high amounts of serotonin which helps improve sleep quality. You can find out more kiwifruit nutrition in the New Zealand Food Composition Database.

Aotearoa New Zealand developed the first commercially viable kiwifruit, the Hayward green variety and established export markets, creating the demand for the fruit that exists today. New Zealand, along with Italy and China are the top kiwifruit producers worldwide. Kiwifruit is New Zealand's largest single horticultural export by volume and value. Exports exceeded $4.21 billion in 2023/24. 79% of kiwifruit are grown in the Bay of Plenty (Katikati, Ōpōtiki, Tauranga, Te Puke, Waihī, Whakatāne).

Pseudomonas syringae actinidiae (Psa) is a disease that severely damaged gold kiwifruit populations in the past. With a new gold cultivar, industry has recovered and since then Plant & Food Research has working tirelessly to explore different ways to manage the disease. Recently a team has found a compound from seaweed called a plant elicitor – think like a plant vaccine –that can help protect kiwifruit from Psa in advance. This is a naturally occurring and sustainable compound that could decrease the use of chemical protectors and vitally help kiwifruit in the future.

Kiwifruit are reliant on insect and native pollinators as male and female flowers are located on separate plants. To increase numbers of pollinators Plant & Food Research are planting carefully selected native plantings in the Bay of Plenty that support insects known to pollinate kiwifruit, while reducing the risks of harbouring pest species.

Te Puke holds an annual Kiwifruit Festival where you can enjoy kiwifruit-themed activities, food tastings, and even kiwifruit-eating competitions! Te Puke is also where The Kiwifruit Breeding Centre was opened in late 2021, a joint venture by Plant & Food Research and Zespri to focus on breeding healthier, better tasting and more sustainable kiwifruit range to the industry, more quickly than ever before.

Kiwifruit are originally from China, and they used to be called the ‘Chinese Gooseberry’. However, in the late 1950s it was worried that the name “gooseberries” might be associated with the risk of anthrax. After this they were marketed as “Kiwi fruit” after its similar appearance to a kiwi bird.

Kiwifruit vines can produce fruit for more than 30 years and can survive more than 80 years. The leaves on the vines can be heart shaped.

Snappers are all born female...?

Fact! All snapper begin life as females. During their third and fourth years of life, about half of them change sex, going through a hermaphroditic stage, to become males. By the time they mature, at about 3 – 5 years old, the population consists of about half males and half females.

Snapper, known as "tāmure" in Māori, is a highly prized, native fish in Aotearoa New Zealand's culture and cuisine. It features prominently in traditional Māori cooking and fishing practices.

Snappers are typically found in warmer coastal waters around New Zealand, often in sandy or rocky environments. They prefer depths ranging from 20 to 200 meters and are known to inhabit estuaries and harbours.

NZ has a fantastic opportunity for sustainable aquaculture being an island with a very long coastline and a marine estate far greater than its land area. Currently only one species of fin fish is farmed at scale in NZ – the chinook salmon, a cold-water fish originally from the pacific coast of North America. Plant & Food Research are currently investigating the feasibility of breeding snapper, a native fish, for commercial aquaculture in NZ. Snappers thrive in warmer waters than Salmon and so offer aquaculture opportunities in alternative locations.

Plant & Food Research are also exploring approaches to farming further offshore. One project is developing an open-ocean mobile aquaculture system with low environmental impact that can move around the ocean. This is a technical and regulatory challenge, but in principle, fish like snapper could experience optimal water temperatures, currents and water quality year-round accelerating the production of healthy premium fish.

Snapper can live to a ripe old age of up to 60 years. They are normally characterised as being ‘shy’ and will dart away from you in the water, if approached.

Snappers have teeth! Teeth changes between species and life stages based on their diet. The juveniles eat crustaceans which they find just above the sand and have sharp teeth at the front for soft bodied creatures. Larger snappers have big molars at the back for hard shelled creatures such as crabs, worms, and shellfish

Potatoes were the first food ever to be grown in space...?

Fact! In 1995, NASA grew potatoes in space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, making them the first food crop cultivated in space. This was part of research to explore sustainable food production for long-duration space missions. Potatoes are very hardy and adaptable plants so can be grown in various climate conditions (including low gravity)

Potatoes are the fourth most important crop in the world, following rice, wheat, and corn. They are rich in carbohydrates and have the highest protein content in the family of root and tuber crops. There are over 4,000 different types of potatoes grown worldwide, ranging in size, shape, and colour. There are over 50 varieties grown in Aotearoa New Zealand, mostly in Pukekohe, Waikato, Manawatu and Canterbury. New Zealand is known for its diverse potato varieties, including the popular "Agria," "Rua," and "Moonlight." Each type has unique flavours and uses, from baking to frying.

New Zealand potatoes are rich in vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C and potassium. Most New Zealanders get around 30% of their vitamin C requirement from potatoes. The skin of potatoes especially is packed with nutrients and fibre. Different-coloured potatoes also offer varying levels of antioxidants, with purple potatoes being particularly rich in anthocyanins. Check out the New Zealand Food Composition Database for more information on nutrition.

Plant & Food Research are working with potato growers to develop sustainable practices for growing potatoes, such as crop rotation, the use of advanced irrigation systems and developing cultivars that require less nitrogen. Recently, Plant & Food Research along with Potatoes NZ, MPI and the Vegetable Research and Innovation board have launched the Sustainable Vegetable System tool. This is a decision support tool to help potato growers, among others, optimise nitrogen management practices and reduce environmental impact.

Keeping pests under control is also a major issue for potato growers, particularly powdery scab. Plant & Food Research scientists are working hard on these issues to make sure your potatoes are coming to you healthy and nutritious!

Honeybees dance to communicate with each other...?

Fact! Along with buzzing and pheromones, honeybees communicate with a “waggle dance” to tell their hive mates things like locations of good sources of nectar or pollen

Aotearoa New Zealand has 500,000 beehives that produce an average annual crop of 12,000 tonnes of honey. These hives are owned by nearly 5,000 beekeepers and are spread over 22,000 apiaries.

New Zealand’s wild pollinators such as native bees are really important pollinators and many of New Zealand’s crops such as kiwifruit are reliant on them alongside honeybees. Populations of native bees and other pollinators such as insects and birds are declining due to things like habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use.

Plant & Food Research scientists are coming up with novels way to support these declining populations of pollinators. By understanding what environments certain pollinators like Plant & Food Research are designing specific on-farm habitats to promote populations and minimise populations of pest species. Also, more native plantings based on plant-insect interactions can bolster wild pollinators: a win-win for improving yields and protecting native biodiversity.

Plant & Food Research is also using drone flies to pollinate crops. This can help improve both crop yield and support declining pollinator populations in many ways such as alleviating pollination burden and increasing resources for them.

Varroa mites are a pest transmitting viruses in many NZ apiaries. Understanding how infected a hive is with varroa is important for scientists to know how to treat hives. Counting all those tiny mites on each frame in a hive can be a challenge for one person so Plant & Food Research have developed ways for AI to recognise and count the number of mites on a frame to make treatment much quicker and efficient.

Plant & Food Research scientists have also found a pattern in honeybee activity that align with Maramataka – the Māori lunar calendar. This indicates that lunar phases are another contributing factor to bee behaviour, and this has the potential to support practical decision-making for beekeepers in New Zealand.

Dragon fruit grow on trees...?

Myth! They are the fruit of the cacti - the white-fleshed pitahaya. Dragon fruit grows on a climbing cactus plant that can grow from 15-20 feet high and can live for as long as two decades.

The flowers of the dragon fruit cactus bloom at night and are large, white, and fragrant. They only last for one night, attracting pollinators like bats and moths. The flesh of dragon fruit can be white, pink, or red and is speckled with tiny black seeds. Its flavour is often described as a blend of kiwi and pear.

Dragon fruit is low in calories but high in vitamin C, fibre, and antioxidants. It’s known for its potential health benefits, including boosting the immune system and improving digestion. You can find out more dragon fruit nutrition in the New Zealand Food Composition Database.

Dragon fruits are native to the Americas, but they have been cultivated for a long time in parts of Southeast Asia. Through its international development programme Plant & Food Research have been working for over 10 years in Viet Nam with the Southern Horticultural Research Institute to help breed new varieties and boost the dragon fruit industry.

Knowledge from this collaboration has led to a pilot trial at Plant & Food Research’s Kerikeri site to study the feasibility of cultivating this fruit in Aotearoa New Zealand!

When trialling growing a new fruit like dragon fruit in New Zealand, scientists at Plant & Food Research will be researching varieties that are suited to the climate and will produce a nice flavour, high yield and will disease resistance. Growing practises like soil management, irrigation and pest control also need to be tested out to ensure the fruit can be sustainably grown in New Zealand.

Cherries always grow in pairs...?

Myth! Don’t be fooled by the emoji - they can grow on their own or in bunches of 3 or more. More than 720 hectares of cherries are grown in New Zealand, mostly grown in Otago. Cherries are New Zealand’s largest summerfruit export crop - In 2023, cherry export volumes represented 98% of all summerfruit exports and 99% of total summerfruit export values

Cherries are packed with nutrients and antioxidants, making them a healthy choice. They are rich in vitamins A and C, potassium, and melatonin. Cherries can help with sleep, memory arthritis, and are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. Learn more about cherry nutrition in the New Zealand Food Composition database.

Plant & Food Research has developed the two-dimensional planar cordon system, also known as Future Orchard Planting System (FOPS), to try raise productivity in summerfruit orchards. Orchards are designed with the rows grown closer together so that the trees capture more of the sunlight coming into the orchard. Doing this allows for much greater yield in a small space. The trees have a more two-dimensional canopy structure to enable a more even light distribution within the trees, to help with uniform fruit quality and maturation.

For cherry orchards in particularly, Plant & Food Research scientists are using FOPS alongside the Upright Fruiting Offshoot (UFO) system. The systems involve training cherry trees to have one almost horizontal cordon (UFO) or two almost horizontal cordons (FOPS) and developing multiple upright shoots so that the tree looks like a giant candelabra.

Having a two-dimensional structure canopy also means the trees are more suitable to automation and robotics as the fruit are easier to reach e.g. by pickers standing on moving platforms. In the future, harvesting can be done using robots which will help with any labour shortages.

There are more than 1000 different varieties of cherries. there are more than 500 varieties of sweet cherries, and almost as many tart ones. A typical tree produces 7000 cherries. However, the pink and white cherry blossom you see in parks and other places for viewing don’t produce cherries. They have been developed for ornamental purposes from various wild species

Avocados are a vegetable...?

Myth! Botanically, they are a fruit. Avocado is classified as a fruit because it develops from the ovary of a flower and contains a seed.

Avocados are native to South America but came to Aotearoa New Zealand in the early 1900s. Avocado is now New Zealand’s third largest fresh fruit export (after kiwifruit and apples). There are more than 4,000 ha of commercial avocado orchards in New Zealand, primarily in the Bay of Plenty and the Far North.

New Zealand currently produces just 2% of the global supply but is the ninth largest international avocado exporter. Most of the 25,000 tonnes of avocados that New Zealand exports go to Australia.

Plant & Food Research primarily supports the New Zealand avocado sector with research related to producing more and better avocados. Two major challenges for avocados that science is trying to address is ensuring fruit is beautiful and blemish free as well as irregular bearing - a phenomenon in which trees that fruit heavily one year can struggle to produce much the next.

Avocado quality starts in the orchard by controlling by any of five different pathogens. Trying to understand how trees can be managed to reduce the presence of diseases and produce perfect fruit is a major research focus, as is finding ways to store avocados in transport to ensure fruit reaches you blemish free.

Similarly, the issue with irregular bearing might be solved through managing trees in a different way. Scientists are investigating whether it’s possible to prune the trees so the crop load is balanced year-on-year and whether there are ways to make sure the right number of flowers get pollinated.

A serve of avocados is roughly one-half avocado. Per serve, they have the highest protein content of the fruits and contain more potassium than a serving of banana. You can find out more about how nutritionally valuable avocados are in the New Zealand Food Composition Database.

The avocado is unique in that it is harvested mature, but unripe. The avocado will not ripen while it is attached to the tree. An avocado tree will produce roughly 200 avocado in a season, but will grow over a million flowers. Make sure to shop in late winter/early spring as that’s peak avocado season

Apples are members of the rose family...?

Fact! The rose family is considered one of the six most economically important crop plant families, and includes other fruit such as apples, pears, peaches, cherries and strawberries among many others.

Apples have been grown in Aotearoa New Zealand since 1819. Apples are the 2nd highest fruit export from New Zealand. Over 65% of the apples grown here are exported overseas.

Aotearoa New Zealand grows more than 80 varieties and in 2018, Americans picked the Plant & Food Research developed Envy apple as their favourite apple in a consumer competition run by the U.S Apple Association. Other apples Plant & Food Research have helped develop are Jazz^™, Smitten^™, Pacific Rose^™, Joli^™ and Rockit.^™

Apples are rich in dietary fibre, vitamin C, potassium and various antioxidants. They are known for their health benefits, including promoting heart health and aiding digestion. You can find lots more information about apple nutrition in the New Zealand Food Composition Database.

The two-dimensional planar cordon system, also known as Future Orchard Planting System (FOPS) is a growing system established by Plant & Food Research where the trees are grown closer together and their branches trained into 2-D architecture, maximising light energy available to each tree. This system increases the yield and quality of apples grown. For example, the tree that produces the Rockit^™ apple, an on-the-go snack sized apple, can produce yields of 90 tonnes per hectare, compared with the average yield of apple trees grown in New Zealand of 65 tonnes per hectare.

High temperatures can affect apples red colour and crisp texture. To learn to adapt to climate change, Plant & Food Researchers have teamed up with apple growers in Spain to develop the Hot Climate Programme to breed an apple specifically for hot climate. STELLAR^™ is the most recent apple from this partnership to be launched. This apple matures 2 weeks earlier than other varieties and has a good flavour, texture and appearance despite being grown in high temperatures in summer.