7.1.3 Stage 2: Product design and process development

The first cycle of selection was rapid screening of seedlings, from about 20,000 in glasshouses (six months) reduced to 8000 in the open ground nursery through selection for resistance to blackspot disease (18 months).

In the second cycle, about 5000 per year, after selection for resistance to powdery mildew, were planted out in the fruit selection orchards (4 years). About 2% were selected for fruit characteristics and these were then carried forward to the next cycle. A selection index was set up, and made into a scoring regime. The various desirable attributes were first established and then scored by members of the team as illustrated in Table 7.2, generally on a scale of one to ten, with ten being most desirable.


Table 7.2 BreedBase Report

Family A040 Seedling R04T119 Crop type Apple   Fruit shape Flat   Colour     Background colour Yellow   Overcolour Red   % Overcolour   0% |________3___________________| 100% Colour pattern Stripe   Colour intensity   Light       |____2_______________________|                                                          Heavy Lenticel:   Inconspicuous       |________3___________________| Very                                               Conspicuous Flesh     Flesh colour Cream   Flesh firmness   Soft        |___________________7________|                                                           Hard Flesh crispness   None        |___________________7________|                                                           Very Flesh grittiness   Soft        |0___________________________|                                                           Hard Flesh flavour     Juicy   Dry        |______________________8_____| Very                                                           Juicy Sweetness   Nil        |_____________5______________|                                                           High Sourness   Nil        |_____________5______________|                                                           High Aroma   Delicate        |_____________5______________|                                                           Rich Astringency   Nil        |0___________________________|                                                           High Bitterness   Nil        |0___________________________|                                                           High Skin     Skin thickness   Thin        |_____________5______________|                                                           Thick Skin greasiness   Dry        |____2_______________________|                                                         Greasy Skin texture   Non-chewy        |____2_______________________|                                                         Chewy Skin flavour Not significant   Harvest Date 12/3/96   Storage Days 107   Weight 176 g   Maturity OK   Eating Quality Very good   Attractiveness   Poor        |___________________7________| Very                                                           Good Overall quality Very good   Comments:     Note: The numbers and comments inserted represent assessment of a particular seedling.

Source: From HortResearch, Goddard Lane, Havelock North, New Zealand.


Table 7.2 shows the scores for one apple cultivar. All those cultivars with an 'overall quality rating' less than seven, when aggregated and averaged, were discarded.

In this particular case, the designation moved from a concept, to a tree number, to the final name Pacific Rose (technically the variety name was Sciros, marketed as Pacific Rose). The particular chosen characteristic factors, plus the desirable and more general factors, were pursued through all the generations and the selections. Some of these factors had sometimes, and regrettably, to be traded off to a degree as the selections evolved. To cope with such problems value hierarchies were established, and used to guide selection, and reviewed from time to time.