ZESPRI’s research and evaluation process tell us that consumers are driven more by taste than by fruit price or size.
Our taste management programme, ‘Taste ZESPRI®’, is committed to producing great tasting kiwifruit that has a minimum ‘dry matter’ content level (a measure used to calculate the ratio of dry to fresh weight, the higher the dry matter the better the taste).
ZESPRI growers test their kiwifruit throughout the growing season to monitor and track the dry matter content. By measuring the ‘Brix level’ the grower can assess the dry matter and hence taste of their kiwifruit as it matures on the vine. Only when the Brix level achieves a measure of 2 does the grower have clearance to harvest their kiwifruit. This guarantees all
ZESPRI® GREEN and GOLD Kiwifruit achieve a high taste standard.
Changes in orchard practices, soil fertility, rainfall levels and daily sunshine hours influence the taste of naturally grown ZESPRI® Kiwifruit.
As part of the ZESPRI® System, ZESPRI collaborates with kiwifruit growers to research innovative orchard practices and provide orchard management protocols to create consistent, superior tasting ZESPRI® Kiwifruit, with exceptional health-giving properties.
Trunk and cane girdling is one orchard practice that is known to improve the taste of the kiwifruit. By ‘ring-barking’ or removing a strip of bark and plant tissue from the circumference of the trunk or main branch (cane), the essential plant sugars are directed to the growing fruit rather than the roots, resulting in increased fruit size and enhanced taste.