Berry-fruit growing was one of the first horticultural industries to be established in the colony. It reached its peak in the early 1900s when, to meet a demand for jam fruit, large areas of raspberries and strawberries were grown in Nelson, Central Otago, Canterbury, and the Wairarapa (Wellington). Between the two world wars there was a decline, due to a combination of disease and economic and climatic causes. Interest was renewed after improved strawberry varieties had been introduced in 1950, stimulated by higher prices for other berries. Present production, though increasing, does not meet the needs for fresh fruit, fruit for canning, and for quick freezing and jam making. Raspberry and other berry pulp for jam making was formerly imported from Britain, Australia, and Holland. During 1960–61 some 800,000 lb valued at £(N.Z.)48,000 were imported. Imports of fresh berry fruits and of berry pulp during 1962–63 are set out in the following table. (There have been no further imports.)
| Berry Fruit and Pulp Imports for Year 1962–63 | ||
| £(N.Z.) | lb | |
| Berry pulp other than raspberry* | 2,994 | 34,600 |
| Fresh strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, and blackberries† | 1,426 | 14,900 |
*From Australia and Holland.
†From Holland.
| Berry Growing: Acreage and Average Production | ||
| Area, 1963 | Average Production, 1957–63 | |
| acres | tons | |
| Raspberries | 518 | 976 |
| Strawberries | 364 | 1,052 |
| Black currants | 56 | 100 |
| Gooseberries | 46 | 107 |
| Boysenberries | 33 | 62 |
| Loganberries | 13 | 38 |
| Totals | 1,030 | 2,335 |
[Although later figures are not available it would appear that there has been little change in the averages given here. Ed.]
Raspberries are grown chiefly in the South Island, mostly in Nelson and Canterbury. Strawberries are grown in both Islands, mainly in Auckland and South Canterbury. Black currants tend to be restricted to Canterbury and Wellington. Commercial gooseberry production is almost entirely limited to Wellington. Most of the crop is sold for use in the home. Raspberries alone are processed in quantity (about 40 per cent of production), their marketing being organised by statutory producer committees in the main districts. Berry-fruit growing is usually associated with other farming or horticultural work, except for specialised strawberry growing in Auckland.
Popular varieties include Lloyd George and Marcy raspberries, Talisman, Red Gauntlet, and Captain Cook strawberries, Roaring Lion and Farmers Glory gooseberries. Many varieties of black currants are grown; new plantings favour Goliath and Cotswold Cross. Major disease problems are virus of strawberry, raspberry bud moth (Carposina adreptella), gall mite (Eriophyes ribes) of black currants, and “dryberry” of boysenberries, recently identified as downy mildew (Peronospora rubi). Research on berryfruits is carried out at the Horticultural Research Station, Levin (Department of Agriculture), Plant Diseases Division, Auckland (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research), and Marsden Research Station, Nelson (Cawthron Institute).
by Charles Stuart Richardson, A.C.S.F., Horticultural Advisory Officer (Stone Fruits), Department of Agriculture, Christchurch.
Although no part of New Zealand is actually “subtropical”, the climate is mild enough in much of the Auckland Province to produce successfully certain kinds of citrus and other subtropical fruits. Early European settlers introduced these plants. The earliest record is of a few sweet-orange pips brought from Sydney by the wife of James Kemp, one of the missionary party which arrived at Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, in August 1818. From these seeds Mrs Kemp raised two trees which survived for more than 100 years, one at Kerikeri and the other at Waimate North. As the colony grew, there were many more introductions of various kinds of citrus, and between 1875 and 1880 the first commercial citrus orchards were planted, the largest being at Whangarei. Today a relatively small but useful citrus industry, closely associated with the production of certain other subtropical fruits, is established at Kerikeri, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, and Gisborne. Enough lemons and grapefruit are now grown for the local market during the season, but large amounts of sweet oranges and mandarins still have to be imported each year from the Cook Islands, Australia, and other countries.
The main kinds of citrus grown commercially in New Zealand include “Lisbon” and “Eureka” type lemons, “Meyer” lemons, so-called New Zealand grapefruit (“Poorman” orange, selected strains), “Wheeny” grapefruit, sweet oranges (mainly navels), mandarins, and tangelos (mandarin/grapefruit hybrids). Successful use of Poncirus trifoliata as a rootstock for citrus trees has made it possible to produce oranges and mandarins of consistently high quality under the marginal local climate; hence the planting of these fruits has been encouraged. This trend is expected to continue and there may be many more local oranges and mandarins in future.
Many other subtropical fruits have been introduced and are often grown as novelties in home gardens. Commercial production is concerned mainly with two kinds of fruit which are not cultivated on a large commercial scale elsewhere in the world, even in their countries of origin – the tree tomato, Cyphomandra crassifolia (Syn. C. betacea), a native of Brazil and Peru, and the Chinese gooseberry, Actinidia chinensis, which originates from the Yangtse Valley in China. Passionfruit, Passiflora edulis, feijoas, Feijoa sellowiana, and avocados, Persea americana, are also grown commercially.
| Estimated Acreage and Production of Citrus and Other Subtropical Fruits in New Zealand for 1963 | ||
| Variety | Acres | Production |
| Bushels | ||
| Lemons (Lisbon and Eureka types) | 278 | 100,000 |
| Lemons (Meyer) | 58 | 20,000 |
| Sweet oranges* | 450 | 24,000 |
| New Zealand grapefruit | 284 | 169,000 |
| Wheeny grapefruit | 42 | 13,000 |
| Mandarins* | 123 | 9,000 |
| Tangelos* | 25 | 1,000 |
| Total, citrus | 1,260 | 336,000 |
| Tons | ||
| Chinese gooseberries | 184 | 440 |
| Passionfruit | 65 | 90 |
| Tree tomatoes | 377 | 1,150 |
| Total, other subtropical fruits | 626 | 1,680 |
*Many recent plantings of these varieties are not yet bearing.
The New Zealand Citrus Marketing Authority at present markets the oranges and lemons. It is a growers' cooperative, set up by the Citrus Marketing Authority Regulations of 1953, and it sells fruit to Fruit Distributors Ltd. at agreed prices. Other citrus and subtropical fruits are sold by auction or by growers direct to buyers. Strong competition for world markets from many other countries more ideally suited for citrus growing makes it unlikely that citrus fruits will become an important New Zealand export. But Chinese gooseberries, which grow very well here, show considerable export promise. Small annual shipments of up to 50 tons have been well received in Britain, Australia, and North America, and more are likely to be exported in future.
by William Arthur Fletcher, B.SC., formerly Senior Scientific Officer, Fruit Research Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
Apples and pears were first introduced into New Zealand in 1819 by the Rev. Samuel Marsden, who planted trees, brought from New South Wales, on the Church Missionary Society's station established earlier that year at Kerikeri, Bay of Islands. In 1835 the Society reported that apples and pears were flourishing on a number of their stations in the North Island.
Domestic orchards supplied the needs of the growing colony from 1840 until crops became seriously affected by introduced pests and diseases. Towards the end of the century the increasing demand for fruit led to the wide establishment of semicommercial orchards, but, due to ignorance of disease control, the yield was poor. The passing of the Orchard and Garden Pests Act in 1903 and the Diseases Act in 1908 led to increased production. In 1899 the first trial shipment of apples and pears to the United Kingdom, carried in cool storage by the S.S. Papanui from Lyttelton, had earned a fair price, and returns from a Nelson shipment in 1910 were also encouraging. With prospects of an export market, and a good local demand, apple and pear orchards expanded rapidly from 1910 to 1916 and for several years after the First World War. Exports, temporarily interrupted by the war, rose from the pre-war figure of 68,000 bushels to 112,000 bushels in 1922. The industry has now become firmly established. (In 1964 apple orchards covered 8,790 acres; pear, 1,445 acres.)
Apples are commercially produced successfully over a 750-mile range of latitude, with a consequent great variety of climates. The main apple districts of Nelson and Hawke's Bay are extremely sunny, with a moderate rainfall, which makes them especially suitable for this crop. Auckland, almost subtropical, and Central Otago, semi-arid with hot summers and cold winters, are the northern and southern limits of commercial apple growing. Central Otago and Marlborough apple orchards need irrigation; in other districts there is enough rain for tree growth and cropping, though irrigation is becoming more used in the drier areas. Late spring frosts often cause damage in Central Otago, and orchard heating with oil-burning firepots is then essential to protect crops. In some years damaging frosts strike Canterbury and Hawke's Bay. Apples are grown on soils ranging from sandy loams to shallow clays. The clays predominate in Nelson and Auckland orchards and those of part of the Loburn area north of Christchurch. In Hawke's Bay and most other districts the soils are alluvial and more fertile.
The average annual production of apples for 1960–64 was 4,670,000 bushels, an increase of 28 per cent over the preceding four-year average. The following table shows production in the main districts:
| Average Annual Production of Apples, 1960–64 | |
| (000 bushels) | |
| Nelson-Marlborough | 2,214 |
| Hawke's Bay | 1,386 |
| Auckland | 414 |
| Central Otago | 275 |
| Canterbury | 251 |
| Other districts | 130 |
| Total | 4,670 |
Exports for the same period averaged about two million bushels. The balance of the crop supplies the local markets from January to early December by means of long-term cool storage of late varieties. Processing factories take up to 460,000 bushels annually.
Harvest runs from January to May. The main varieties in order, with months in which harvesting begins are: January – Gravenstein; February – Cox's Orange Pippin, Kidd's Orange Red, Ballarat Seedling; March – Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Delicious; April – Sturmer Pippin, Rome Beauty, Granny Smith, Dougherty.
Pears are usually grown with apples, and in the same districts. Pears, being more tolerant of water than apples, are usually planted on the orchard flats. The average annual production of pears for 1960–64 was 843,000 bushels. Hawke's Bay (390,000) and Nelson (264,000) are important pear districts. The quantity of pears exported varies from about 20,000 bushels in light-crop years up to 150,000 in heavy. The local market is supplied from late January to December by cool storage of late varieties. About 140,000 bushels a year are processed, Williams' Bon Chretien being the main variety canned. Pears are harvested from January to April in this order of main varieties: William's Bon Chretien, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Packham's Triumph, Beurre Bosc, Winter Cole, P. Barry, Kieffer's Hybrid, and Winter Nelis.
Quinces thrive in all parts of the country, but commercial production is relatively unimportant. The average annual crop (chiefly Smyrna) is 20,000 bushels, produced mainly in Auckland and Hawke's Bay. By 1964 the area in quinces was 24 acres.
The Apple and Pear Marketing Act of 1948 vests the purchase and marketing of the apple and pear crop in the New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board, on which the Government and producers are represented. Growers are organised in many district associations affiliated to a national body, the New Zealand Fruitgrowers' Federation Ltd.
by Charles Edwin Woodhead, Horticultural Advisory Officer (Pip Fruit), Department of Agriculture, Palmerston North.
Commercial production of stone fruit in New Zealand is practically restricted to five species of the genus Prunus; namely, P. persica, peaches (including nectarines); P. salicina, Japanese plums; P. armeniaca, apricots; P. domestica, European plums; and P. avium, sweet cherries.
There are few districts where stone-fruit trees of one kind or another cannot be grown, but climate has an important effect on cropping. In the warmer places, partly because of lack of winter chilling, apricots, cherries, and European plums rarely crop satisfactorily. In the colder parts one limiting factor is the incidence of late spring frosts, which destroy blossoms or young fruit, while in some districts comparatively low summer temperatures do not allow the fruit to develop full flavour. Commercial growing is confined largely to a few fairly welldefined areas, which have various advantages in soil, climate, or nearness to market.
Central Otago, particularly around Alexandra and Roxburgh, with an area of approximately 1,600 acres, produces all five kinds of fruit, including about 80 per cent of New Zealand's total crop of apricots, 50 per cent of the cherries, and 25 per cent of the peaches. The soil is well drained, the climate is good, with a low rainfall, and low winter and high summer temperatures. In certain seasons the area is subject to late spring frosts, which would often destroy the apricot crop if fire pots were not extensively used. There is some local processing, but much of the fruit is distributed to the markets of the South Island, and apricots and cherries are sent to North Island markets as well.
Hawke's Bay, mainly around Hastings, has about 1,100 acres, three-quarters of which are in peaches, with a high proportion of canning varieties. Japanese plums are also grown extensively, but few of other kinds. Much of the orchard soil is deep and fertile and there is a reasonably good climate, with adequate rainfall, sometimes too wet during the harvesting period, with an occasional damaging late spring frost. Considerable quantities are canned locally, but much of the fruit is sent to the main North Island markets.
Auckland, within about 25 miles of the city, with an area of about 800 acres, produces mainly peaches and Japanese plums, which are practically all sold as fresh fruit. Several types of soil are used, some far from ideal, and rainfall is generally too high, but these disadvantages are outweighed by closeness to the largest market in New Zealand.
Canterbury, mainly near Christchurch City, on an area of 240 acres, grows all five kinds of stone fruit, especially apricots. There is no processing and most of the fruit is sold locally, though some apricots are shipped to the North Island. Nelson, in the Waimea Valley and near Motueka, has 220 acres, largely in peaches, much of the crop being canned locally. Poverty Bay, around Gisborne, with 75 acres, grows mostly peaches for canning. The Waikato, at Te Kauwhata and close to Hamilton City, with 75 acres, produces mainly peaches and Japanese plums for local sale. Marlborough, close to Blenheim, with 60 acres, grows peaches and cherries, the latter particularly for North Island markets. South Canterbury – North Otago, especially near Kurow, has some 60 acres in apricots, cherries, and peaches, mainly for South Island markets.
| Peaches | |
| Le Vainqueur | 6.4 |
| Mayflower | 9.1 |
| Briggs Red May | 9.9 |
| Hale's Early | 4.7 |
| Carman | 6.7 |
| Wiggins | 20.4 |
| A. 1 | 5.4 |
| J. H. Hale | 8.2 |
| Kalamazoo | 4.9 |
| Paragon | 30.2 |
| Stark | 8.7 |
| Mary's Choice | 11.0 |
| Black Boy | 4.1 |
| Golden Queen | 143.8 |
| Total, 14 varieties | 273.5 |
| Total, all varieties | 336.3 |
| Nectarines | |
| Early Rivers | 0.7 |
| John Rivers | 2.0 |
| Goldmine | 21.5 |
| Hunt's Tawny | 1.3 |
| Total, five varieties | 25.5 |
| Total, all varieties | 33.8 |
| Plums, European | |
| Cherry Plum* | 1.1 |
| Greengage | 7.6 |
| Diamond | 0.7 |
| Monarch | 0.9 |
| Prunes (various) | 1.0 |
| Coe's Golden Drop | 0.9 |
| Grand Duke | 1.7 |
| President | 1.3 |
| Total, eight varieties | 15.2 |
| Total, all varieties | 17.9 |
| Cherries | |
| Early Lyons | 0.4 |
| Early Purple Guigne | 0.3 |
| Early Rivers | 1.2 |
| Chapman | 0.4 |
| Bedford Prolific | 0.5 |
| Bigarreau Pelissier | 1.2 |
| Dawson | 4.2 |
| Florence | 1.4 |
| St. Margaret | 3.3 |
| Total, nine varieties | 12.9 |
| Total, all varieties | 19.3 |
| Plums, Japanese | |
| Wilson's Early | 7.7 |
| Sharpe's Early | 1.3 |
| Duff's Early Jewel | 5.3 |
| Billington | 5.3 |
| Satsuma | 2.6 |
| Burbank | 3.2 |
| Santa Rosa | 4.3 |
| Sultan | 5.4 |
| Purple King | 5.9 |
| Black Doris | 4.4 |
| George Wilson | 21.3 |
| Total, 11 varieties | 66.7 |
| Total, all varieties | 79.4 |
| Apricots | |
| Newcastle | 10.9 |
| Oullins Early Peach | 5.0 |
| Dundonald | 3.6 |
| Bolton | 4.7 |
| Roxburgh Red | 20.7 |
| Moorpark | 63.7 |
| Trevatt | 8.7 |
| Total, 7 varieties | 117.3 |
| Total, all varieties | 128.4 |
*Prunus cerasifera, but included in European plums for convenience
Production is steadily increasing, but can fluctuate widely from season to season. The main influences are the incidence of late spring frosts (which can affect particularly the apricot crop in Central Otago), disease (e.g., brown rot), and droughts (which prevent the fruit sizing normally and induce premature ripening). Much of the peaches and apricots are processed (mainly canned), but most nectarines, plums, and cherries are sold as fresh fruit. In some places orchards do a considerable retail trade, but the greater part of the crop is sold through the auction markets in the main centres. There is no organised distribution system, so that returns tend to be erratic, with alternate gluts and shortages in particular markets.
Stone fruit is attacked by many insect pests, physiological disorders, and fungous, bacterial, and virus diseases. The most serious of those affecting the actual trees are silver leaf, caused by the fungus Stereum purpureom, and blast of stone fruit, due to the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae. The former, in particular, takes a steady toll each year, more especially of peach trees. No satisfactory economic control has yet been developed for either of these diseases. The main disease attacking the fruit is brown rot, caused by the fungus Sclerotinia fructicola. Incidence fluctuates widely from season to season and from district to district; in some seasons, in spite of frequent spraying, much fruit of individual varieties may be lost just before harvest. Research on these and other problems is being carried out by Plant Diseases and Fruit Research Divisions of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and field trials are being made by the Horticulture Division of the Department of Agriculture.
Some of the varieties grown are old standard overseas ones brought here either direct from England or through Australia in the early days of commercial planting, from 1870 onwards. Others having since been imported at various times from Australia and, to a lesser extent, from the United States (e.g., many of the Japanese plums introduced by Luther Burbank). A few, such as Golden Queen peach and Goldmine nectarine, were raised in New Zealand.
by Alfred Thomas John Watts, B.A., Horticulture Division, Department of Agriculture, Hamilton.
Grape vines were first planted by the Rev. Samuel Marsden at Kerikeri in 1819. James Busby who came to the Bay of Islands in 1833 as the British Resident, planted vines at Waitangi and made wine, some of which he sold to the Imperial troops stationed at the Bay of Islands. Charles Darwin, when he visited New Zealand in 1835, observed grapes growing at Waimate and recorded this in his book, A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World. French settlers established vineyards in 1840 at Akaroa, in the South Island. Wine was made commercially at the Bay of Islands from 1856 to 1866 and, in 1865, French Roman Catholic missionaries established a vineyard in Hawke's Bay for producing sacramental wines. Lack of experience in growing vines in the New Zealand soils and climate handicapped early attempts to establish vineyards. The advent of the root-destroying phylloxera insect in the Auckland Province about 1890 retarded progress there for a time, but quarantine measures checked the migration of the insect. It was not until 1964 that phylloxera was found to have migrated to the extensive vineyards of Hawke's Bay. Areas further south are still free from phylloxera. In 1898 the Government set aside an area at Te Kauwhata as an agricultural experimental station, the first experimental wines being made there in 1902. Most of the vineyards throughout New Zealand have been established from stock and scion wood supplied from the Te Kauwhata station, which is still the centre of viticultural research. One of its greatest contributions has been the importation, testing, and distribution of a large range of grape varieties.
Viticulture made little real progress until the turn of the century, when a few large vineyards were established in Auckland and Hawke's Bay, and by 1914 the area had increased to approximately 280 acres of wine grapes, producing 90,000 gallons, and 105 acres of table grapes. There was a gradual increase until 1938 when import control regulations raised the duty on imported wines, reducing the amount imported. In 1939 there were an estimated 422 acres of vineyards, producing 174,000 gallons of wine. During the Second World War, with an influx of American servicemen and an acute shortage of all spirits, there was a ready market for New Zealand wines and large new areas were planted in vines. Wine production rose quickly and much inferior wine was marketed. In 1946 a Royal Commission on licensing investigated the wine industry and made recommendations for improvements. A more competitive market has since brought more efficient production and better wines.
New Zealand wines have won a number of awards in international wine competitions. Restrictions on the importation of wines and spirits and the high taxation on spirits and beer have served to promote sales of local wine. Production has, however, always rapidly overtaken and exceeded the demand. In 1957 a Select Committee was appointed to inquire into the state and prospects of the wine-making industry. This led to easier sales of local wines, with a fresh impetus to further production.
In 1964 there were 137 licensed grape-wine makers and production was estimated at 1,604,428 gallons from the estimated total area of 1,045 acres in vineyards. In 1960 the Department of Agriculture conducted a precise field survey of the vineyards and the actual area covered by vines, excluding headlands and other working areas, was 958 acres. Grape-wine production in 1960 was 878,148 gallons. There were 863 acres in wine grapes, 72 acres in table grapes, and 23 acres in grapes for juice. Vineyards were located mainly in Auckland (425 acres), Hawke's Bay (387 acres), Waikato (63 acres), Gisborne (45 acres), Northland (21 acres), Thames (10 acres), Bay of Plenty (3 acres), and the South Island (4 acres).
The most extensively grown grape in 1960 was Albany Surprise. It occupied 145 acres and was mainly grown for table use and for grape juice. The variety originated as a mutation of the American grape Isabella in a vineyard at Albany, near Auckland, hence the name. The two leading wine varieties were the Franco-American hybrid grapes called Baco 22A (107 acres), and Seibel 5455 (68 acres), followed by Chasselas (53 acres), Black Pinot (52 acres), Palomino (50 acres), and Riesling Sylvaner (45 acres). These last four grapes are vinifera or European grapes. Then followed Seibel 4643 (43 acres), Gamay Gloriod (34 acres), Pedro Ximines (29 acres), Seibel 5437 (27 acres), Baco No. 1 (25 acres), Iona (23 acres), Seibel 5409 (17 acres), Cabernet (16 acres), Black Hamburgh (15 acres), Malbec (14 acres), Baco 9–11 (11 acres), White Muscat varieties (11 acres), and Niagara (10 acres). These include vinifera, hybrid, and American varieties. There were many minor varieties. Vineyard extensions since 1960 have been mainly with the varieties Palomino, Pinotage, Riesling Sylvaner, and various Franco-American hybrids.
The large vineyard areas of Auckland and Hawke's Bay together comprise almost 85 per cent of the national total. In Hawke's Bay vinifera varieties predominate, while in Auckland these are subordinate to the Franco-American hybrids. Most of the Auckland production comes from numerous small growers, mainly of Yugoslav origin, whereas in Hawke's Bay several large vineyards accounted for most of the grapes grown.
New Zealand growers should be grateful to the French vine genetists for the Franco-American hybrid grapes. These were imported by the Department of Agriculture from 1927 to 1930. Because of their fertility under adverse climatic conditions and resistance to fungous diseases, the Franco-American hybrids have made viticulture in the higher rainfall areas (Auckland and Northland) far more economical than it would have been with vinifera grapes.
Equipment and hygiene in most New Zealand wineries compare more than favourably with those overseas. Vineyard management generally conforms to a high standard of efficiency and operations are, on an average, more highly mechanised than in many other countries.
Although the New Zealand climate is recognised as being particularly well-suited to the production of still and sparkling white table wines, the people, like most who are of British descent, prefer the stronger sweet wines, such as sweet sherry, port, muscat, and madeira types. Though the industry has mainly produced these sweet fortified wines, it has also kept pace with the growing demand for table wines. In 1960 table wines comprised nearly 16 per cent of all wine made. Production of dry sherry has also increased.
Up to the present the high cost of grape production in New Zealand and the traditional bias of overseas wine markets have discouraged concerted efforts to develop a wine export trade. Greater interest has, however, recently been displayed by the industry in this direction and the prospects for export to Pacific countries have been rather encouraging. There is also a largely unexplored potential on the home market for good outdoor dessert grapes and grape juice beverage.
To assess the prospects for the production of commercial brandy in New Zealand, the Government granted experimental brandy distillation licences to some wineries in Auckland and Hawke's Bay. These experimental brandy distillations commenced in 1964 in conjunction with similar trials at the Te Kauwhata Horticultural Research Station.
The best-quality dessert grapes are produced in glasshouse vineries and are much dearer than those grown outdoor. In 1960 there were approximately 439,000 sq. ft. in glasshouse vineries, mainly at Auckland (215,100 sq. ft.), Canterbury (54,150 sq. ft.), Manawatu (53,700 sq. ft.), and Oamaru (43,700 sq. ft.).
by Francis Berrysmith, R.D.OEN, Government Viticulturist, Department of Agriculture, Auckland.