Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
plant variety rights (aside from subsequently selected strains) and consequently no
proprietary revenues were secured reflecting the commercial successes that both
had achieved. New Zealand scientists initiated apple breeding research in the 1960s
and crosses were made between 'Royal Gala' (as the pollen parent) and 'Braeburn'
(as the seed parent) in 1984-85. The initial selection of the seedling which would
subsequently be named 'Scifresh' and marketed under the Jazz
TM
brand was made
in 1990 and this was chosen for commercial advancement in 1995 following initial
regional trials and evaluation. Assessments by consumers in European supermar-
kets in 1998 confirmed the outstanding prospects for this selection.
Plant variety rights were secured in both New Zealand (2002) and in overseas
countries and the marketing name was also trademarked. Trial plantings were made
in the USA (1999) and in France (2000) and following proven performance by
2003, 495,000 trees were planted in New Zealand, France, the United Kingdom
and the USA (Aitken et al.
2004b
). In 2011, the cultivar represented 11 % of the
total New Zealand production (following 'Royal Gala' (27 %), 'Braeburn' (19 %)
and 'Fuji' (11 %) representing an export production of 32,500 t (Anon
2012a
). In
2012, it is estimated that some 17,000 t will have been produced in France alone.
It is important to understand that the development of a new cultivar is not solely
focused on the initial crossing of selected parents and the early selection of a de-
sirable progeny. In fact, the successful release of Jazz
TM
('Scifresh') included the
integrated and collaborative efforts of plant breeders, tree physiologists who identi-
fied appropriate rootstocks and tree training methods, postharvest scientists who
identified appropriate maturity standards and storage methods, plant protection spe-
cialists who managed all aspects of pathogen and pest management to meet strin-
gent minimum pesticide residue requirements, and a specialised business unit who
managed the cultivar protection and licensing requirements. The development of
Jazz
TM
('Scifresh') also involved the product development and marketing expertise
of ENZA Ltd and close collaboration with the apple industry which co-invested in
the original breeding programme, affirmed the selection criteria and managed the
release of the trees to suppliers.
Royalties for Jazz
TM
are paid on the fruit sold from the orchard, not on the trees
sold (which is the usual method used by breeders to collect plant royalties). Royalty
fees from New Zealand and overseas producers come back to The Plant and Food
Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd where they are used in tree management and
integrated fruit production programmes, as well as the continuing apple breeding
programme. The release of Jazz
TM
('Scifresh') was driven through the ENZA Global
Variety Development programme, which aimed to complement a production base in
New Zealand with licensed production in other parts of the world. The advantages
of these arrangements include the fact that the year-round supply of fruit to market
can be managed by sourcing apples successively from New Zealand's southern
hemisphere orchards, and in the counter season from northern hemisphere orchards.
This approach provides a continuous and reliable supply of apples to supermarkets
and to consumers worldwide. Suppliers are required to meet the New Zealand qual-
ity standards. In 2005, the estimate of the internal rate of return was 14 % and of
net present value was $NZ 29 million based on the production projections for 2009
(Aitken et al.
2004b
) (Fig.
2.1
).
