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Fruitful Biodiversity

The cold climate of southern New Zealand may see such exotic plants as papaya, the delicious South American tuber mashua and the outdoor ornamental begonia, if Crop and Food Research's biodiversity programme succeeds.

Early indications are promising, with the cold-tolerant papaya apparently having set a world record for its genus by surviving two eight-degree frosts at Invermay, near Dunedin, in the past winter.

Several hundred plants form the basis of the biodiversity programme. Programme leader Stephan Halloy says the programme's aim is to maintain and strengthen genetic resources of new and under-used plants useful to New Zealand. His collection is made up of many species including timber, fruit, vegetable, medicinal, forage, flower, crop and ornamental plants.

"New germ plasm must be sourced and New Zealand's existing genetic resources must be described," he says, adding that when current crops lose their popularity, it's essential producers have access to new possibilities, already researched and ready to go.

"We're not necessarily looking for a new `kiwifruit' plant that will be prominent in the next century. Rather, we're trying to build a large base of plants that will be useful, and be more sustainable to New Zealand's future than a single or a few major crops," says Halloy.

An important part of the biodiversity programme is finding plants that suit wide climate variations. A South American tamarillo successfully grown in the programme has produced fruit which have been praised for their taste and texture quality. Plants obtained tend to have multiple uses, thus giving a broader, safer commercial base. Many require reduced inputs by having inherent pest deterrent mechanisms and self-fertilising capacity, reducing the needs for environmentally destructive and costly pesticides and fertilizers.