The Australian Nurseryman Fruit Improvement Company and the Associated International Group of Nurseries met at Rullo Orchards with 30 international visitors.
AIGN international president Lynnell Brandt, from Washington state in the United States, said the organisation brought together a unique group of international efforts to guide the deciduous fruit industry in growing appropriate varieties.
“We are a worldwide organisation that works on behalf of tree breeders to try to sell their products,” Mr Brandt said.
“We don’t know how these new varieties are going to perform until after some time, so we need to come out and see on visits like this.
“These folks have been helpful and innovative.”
Gavin Porter, chief executive officer of ANFIC and AIGN, said although the process to fully import a fruit variety could take up to 10 years, the organisation had been running for 40 years so there was a continual rolling stock of varieties being trialled.
“Basically, we do variety importation and evaluation to see if we can commercialise a variety here in Australia,” Dr Porter said.
“Quarantine can take anywhere from two to three years, we then evaluate for another four or five years, and then it takes another couple of years to determine if it’s suitable.
“We always have some growing from the point of view of production because we have been doing this for some time.”
The process has resulted in many varieties being established in the Goulburn Valley.
Dr Porter said the success rate was also a “numbers game”.
“You do not commercialise everything; it can be as low as five per cent of varieties which succeed, even one per cent, which is why we need to continue this,” he said.
“Everything that happens overseas does not always suit other territories, and so from an Australian point of view, we have to trial everything fully.
“We have to keep searching for that nirvana of the fruit stock.
“And yes, it does pay off; it has to pay off.”
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