PLANTINGS of a new pear variety have begun in Australia.
The QTee, originally from Norway, is in the pipeline to eventually be on Australian shelves in 2023/24.
Horticulture Brand Management Australia (HBMA) has the Australian licence for the fruit.
The pear is a described as a "medium-sized fruit with an intense red blush and green background", boasting a "sweet, aromatic flavour and can be eaten either hard and crunchy or juicy and soft".
QTee is characterised by its delicate, juicy flesh which it inherited from its parents Williams and Broket July.
QTee is an early-ripening pear variety that will be harvested in mid to late February.
The variety was first planted in Belgium in 2015 and have since been planted in Slovakia, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa, Spain, Austria and France.
RELATED READING
HBMA general manager, Elisa King, said the QTee pear would be planted in the pear growing regions of Goulburn Valley, Victoria, Adelaide Hills, SA and Manjimup, WA.
"We have the Australian license from ABCz and Fruithandel Wouters and plan to plant for many years to come," Miss King said.
"We are supporting growers with international co-ordination and taking valuable learnings garnered from Europe to apply to Australian conditions."
Growing will be controlled with strict quality specifications.
"Consumers' biggest barrier to purchase is not knowing how to ripen a pear, so the fact QTee can be eaten crunchy or soft is brilliant," she said.
Horticulture Brand Management Australia is a new vertically integrated company formed by five growers:
- N&A Group (NSW)
- 9 Mile Fresh (Tynong, VIC)
- Newton Orchards (Manjimup, WA)
- Ceravolo Orchards (Adelaide Hills, SA)
- Flavells Fruit Sales (Adelaide Hills, SA).
HBMA also co-ordinates the growing, packing and marketing of Kanzi apples in Australia.
Sign up here to Good Fruit and Vegetables weekly newsletter for all the latest horticulture news each Thursday...