Positive results from consumer testing and nutritional analysis indicate a bright future for an exotic fruit variety developed by The University of Queensland, Australia. Daryl Joyce, director of the Center for Native Floriculture at U Queensland’s School of Land, Crop, and Food Sciences, developed new varieties of the red bayberry (Myrica rubra) that thrive in the Queensland subtropics. Red bayberry fruit are bright to dark red, round, and berry-like. The flesh has a slightly chewy texture, is sweet and mildly acid, and has a mulberry-like flavor. Nutritional analyses of the fruit show high levels of antioxidants and other beneficial phytochemicals. The fruit of the red bayberry has been produced in China for centuries, valued for its flavor, high commercial value, profitability, and health benefits. UniQuest, U-Queensland’s primary TTO, initiated a commercialization pathway for the new red bayberry varieties based on their performance in Queensland field trials and positive results from consumer groups. Although many fruit trees don’t start to produce reasonable volumes of fruit until five or six years after transplanting, the mature fruit trees currently growing in South East Queensland started to produce commercial yields just three years after transplanting, Joyce says. The variety may become a high-value fruit crop in Australia, according to Cameron Turner, UniQuest manager of innovation and commercial development. “Peak harvest occurs in early November in South East Queensland,” he says. “However, we expect to extend the supply period from early October into December, ideally to Christmas, through production in areas further to the North and South, respectively.” UniQuest is seeking investors and growers to commercialize the crop.

Source: Science Alert

Posted November 4th, 2009 under Tech Transfer

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