Growers on the east coast have successfully grown a new variety of melon better-suited to New Zealand’s climate.
Melon growers at Gisborne-based food producer LeaderBrand have been busy taste-testing their latest melon variety.
They’ve never been mass-grown in the country before and are so new, they don’t even have an official name.
Anyone wanting to have a taste for themselves will get the chance soon, with the melons hitting supermarket shelves in the coming weeks.
LeaderBrand head melon grower Andrew Rosso told 1News the melon is something most Kiwis haven’t had before.
“It’s really nice and it’s not as musky as the rock melon,” he said.
“It’s an orange melon, commonly eaten throughout Europe. The whole idea here is expanding the New Zealand melon market, trying to do something different.”
“We’d like to get more Kiwis eating a wider range of melon, right from breakfast to dinner.”
The latest melon creation is better suited to colder summers. LeaderBrand believes it could thrive on the east coast unlike our summer staple – the watermelon.
LeaderBrand chief executive Richard McPhail said watermelons are a “tricky crop” and by far the hardest for the company to produce.
“A lot of the varieties are designed for North Queensland or Florida weather. Watermelon love desert-like conditions, and we just do not have that,” he explained.
“We are right out on the edge of where you can produce them.”
This year’s crop, however, was given the edge thanks to last November’s hot temperatures, helping to produce one of their best seasons. While some of the team reported average weights that were larger than normal, it isn’t always a good thing.
“Bigger isn’t necessarily better. One of our focuses is on varieties that produce smaller fruit, so we reduce food waste at home,” McPhail said.
“We are only about a quarter of the way through. And look, we’re in about 50,000-60,000 melons every single day. Now go through our pack house and out to consumers.”
