A $4 million project to develop the "world's best late-season apricot" in Clyde has been approved by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
But it could be up to 10 years before the new fruit is on the market.
HortResearch's Centre of Excellence for Summerfruit at Clyde is being given $4 million over five years, from $735 million of contestable and negotiated funding, as part of its "Sumptuous Summerfruit" research proposal to develop a sweeter apricot that will travel and store well.
Such a fruit could be used to target a six-week gap in the European and Australian markets potentially worth asmuch as $15 million a year.
HortResearch business manager Declan Graham said the Clyde centre would be fully resourced to develop the new variety of apricot.
The new programme follows a successful programme to grow sweet, crunchy peaches.
"We have been able to identify traits of interest in the peaches that help to produce fruit such as Coconut Ice, a stoney hard gene that gives the peach its crunchy sweetness," Mr Graham said.
HortResearch will use the same traits to identify sweetness, ability to store and firmness in apricots, he said.
Testing for travel ability is done in Auckland, in a series of chambers and atmosphere rooms, where atmospheric oxygen is reduced almost to nil and the fruit perspiration is measured.
A sensory team works on texture sweetness and taste.
"It's all about that mouth feel. We need an apricot that is sweet and firm," he said.
Developing the perfect fruit requires the growth of seedlings into young trees, which are tested and rated until the top parents are found.
"We select elite parents and produce perfect fruit," he said.
Generally, about 800 trees are sent out into grower trials and new trees are propagated from them.
"Researchers don't have to wait until the fruit appears, as they can look at the leaf and see what genes they are actually carrying," he said.
The four international apricot suppliers are South Africa, picking from the end of September to the end of January; Chile, from November to the end of December; Australia, from November to the end of January; and New Zealand, January to the end of February.
Mr Graham said the idea was to develop varieties that could be picked in March and marketed in April.
