Colin Aiken Plant Breeding Bursary 2020

South Pacific Seeds would like to congratulate Moon Chen as the most recent recipient of the Colin Aiken Bursary for Plant Breeding. Moon is in her first year of PhD study with Massey University and is based with Plant and Food Research in the Hawke’s Bay.

Moon’s research concerns the on-going issue of apple dormancy. As climates continue to warm the current chilling requirement of apple cultivars is insufficient, i.e. too long in many production regions which can result in late flowering or poor production.

Moon is currently screening genetic material for early flowering traits as well as low chilling requirements in the hope to select cultivars with better adaption to a changing climate. The chilling period is critical for apple trees as this is when the hormone responsible for dormancy breaks down allowing buds to develop into flowers once temperatures begin to warm. Apples with a lower chilling requirement are better suited to modern day production systems as they require less exposure to low temperatures before dormancy is broken.

Through her research, Moon has designed a pollination plan for the upcoming apple season. Plant breeding programs are a long term process but it will be exciting to monitor how Moon’s research can assist in reducing the time period associated with the chilling process. Moon hopes her findings will benefit the Hawke’s Bay apple industry as well as production regions outside of New Zealand. Especially as the demand for cultivars with a low chilling requirement continues to increase!

The Colin Aiken Plant Breeding Bursary was established in 2015 in acknowledgement of Colin Aiken who produced the kumi kumi hybrid variety, Super Kumi. It was set up in association with South Pacific Seed Sales (NZ) Ltd in the aim to promote plant breeding as a career. Funding is provided through royalties associated with this variety. South Pacific Seeds, in conjunction with the Aiken family, are pleased to award this bursary to Moon and wish her all the best for her future endeavours.