Hayward green, the fruit which launched and sustained the New Zealand kiwifruit industry for 63 years, looks set to be superseded by a new variety.

And according to Zespri CEO Lain Jager, other countries – including China – are already breeding new cultivars.

Zespri CEO Lain Jager. Photo: File.

'If we don't replace Hayward, others will,” admits Lain. 'It is better we cannibalise it ourselves before someone else does.”

While Zespri is not revealing exactly what Hayward's successor is, together with Plant & Food, the kiwifruit exporter has new greens under development but none are ready for commercial release yet.

Hayward, says Lain, will be hard to replace. It is a fruit with excellent storage qualities, taste, digestive and nutrient attributes and a loyal following among international consumers.

Production of 30 to 40 tonnes or fruit per hectare is 'not that flash,” says Lain, although the fruit yields good financial returns for growers.

Consumers rank their preference for Hayward green at 6.5 out of 10, while the new Zespri SunGold already ranks 8 out of 10. 'Hayward has a small eating window which is not as long as some fruit.”

The variety is grown throughout the world, and while Zespri earns a premium for its branded green, it does not have exclusive rights over it as it does with the new gold variety SunGold.

If Zespri had a green variety with good storage qualities, pest and disease tolerance, high yields and consumer ranking of 8 out of 10, the fruit would take market share off other fruit, and be highly successful, says Lain.

'Our competition is not from Chilean kiwifruit, it is from the entire fruit category of which kiwifruit is less than one quarter of one per cent.”

The idea of replacing Hayward will not sit well with many growers, Lain acknowledges.

'The average age of New Zealand kiwifruit growers is 58. Some have been growing Hayward for a very long time and the idea can be provoking and upsetting, which is why it is important to have the dialogue now.

'We don't want to disengage or disenfranchise growers.”

The hairy green Hayward fruit was developed by horticulturalist Hayward Wright from seeds brought from China, and was first exported from New Zealand by Te Puke's Jim MacLoughlin in 1952.

Known as Chinese Gooseberries, the fruit's name was changed to Kiwifruit in 1959 by Jack Turner of Turners and Growers.