Kiwi Origins
The kiwifruit “Actinidia Deliciosa” belongs to the berry family of fruits. Descended from a wild Chinese vine, ZESPRI® GREEN Kiwifruit, or the Hayward variety, was nurtured in New Zealand in the early 20th century. Many kiwifruit varieties grow wild in China, but the Hayward variety proved superior in hardiness, with a notably long shelf life; attributes that have made it the most commercially grown kiwifruit variety in the world.
When first marketed in the early 1960s, green kiwis were known as Chinese Gooseberries. However as kiwifruit exports grew, the fruit was renamed “kiwifruit” after New Zealand’s national bird, the brown flightless kiwi.
ZESPRI GOLD Kiwifruit also has its origins in China, where several types of gold kiwifruit vines grow wild. Horticulturalists from New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty imported Chinese “Actinidia Chenisis” seeds in 1987 and began the eleven-year process of developing the commercial variety using traditional cross-pollination and grafting techniques. ZESPRI® GOLD Kiwifruit was first introduced to North Americans in 1999.
The Perfect Growing Environment
At a time when environmental awareness is at the forefront of global consciousness, we can take comfort that ZESPRI® Kiwifruit growers also make environmental protection a priority. Isolated and pristine, with fertile volcanic soil and artesian irrigation water from the country’s mountain ranges, it is no wonder that New Zealand grows some of the best kiwifruit in the world. No genetic modifications have been made to any ZESPRI® Kiwifruit variety at any time.
Look for the ZESPRI label to ensure quality.
