Kiwifruit researcher Dr Ross Ferguson has been awarded one of the highest honours in horticultural science.

Ross, a scientist at Plant & Food Research, has been named a new Fellow of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), one of only 17 ever given the title, in recognition of outstanding contributions to horticultural science.

Dr Ross Ferguson will receive his award at the International Horticultural Congress in Brisbane in August.

He has undertaken research in kiwifruit for nearly 40 years and is one of the leading authorities on kiwifruit biology. Ross will be presented with the award at the ISHS General Assembly, held at the International Horticultural Congress in Brisbane in August.

'Dr Ferguson's research has made a valuable contribution to the New Zealand kiwifruit industry, supporting the development of new cultivars that appeal to the global consumer,” says Dr Bruce Campbell, chief operating officer of Plant & Food Research. 'This award is great recognition of his research and his commitment to horticultural science.”

It is not the first major award Ross has received. In 2010 he was awarded the Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contribution to the scientific knowledge of kiwifruit.

The Jubilee medal is the premier award of the New Zealand Institute for Agricultural and Horticultural Science, and was created to celebrate 50 years of leadership in and service to the primary resource sciences. It is awarded to a member to recognise an outstanding contribution to primary resource science.

Ross has published nearly 150 papers, including peer-reviewed science in international journals and popular articles for horticulturalists. He is one of the leading world authorities on kiwifruit, and his research has been fundamental to the development of New Zealand's $1 billion kiwifruit industry.

Ross' research has made a valuable contribution to the growth of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry, supporting the development of new cultivars, such as Hort 16A, the highly successful gold kiwifruit variety which has now largely been replaced by new varieties more tolerant of the bacterial disease Psa-V.

Dr Ferguson is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture and the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science. He is an Associate of Honour of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, was awarded the New Zealand Science and Technology Medal in 1995, and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2008.