On July 9, senior manager of International Fruit Obtention (IFO) in France, Mr. Delapparent Emmanuel paid a visit to Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute (ZFRI) of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). This visit was expected to strengthen the cooperation between two parties and boost confidence. After the visit, an exclusive licensing agreement was signed to promote the commercial development of the new apple variety “Huaxiu” (or “Jinxiuhong”) in continental Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, North America, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Future collaboration in apple rootstock breeding was also discussed during the meeting.

In 2010, ZFRI and IFO had already reached a consensus on joint testing the apple varieties of “Jinxiuhong”, “Huashou”, “Huayu” in the Europe. After three consecutive years’ testing and evaluation, “Jinxiuhong” in France has shown good adaptability with slight increase in weight and improvement in coloring and flavor. It also reveals good potential for commercial development and will enter the second commercial evaluation stage. “Jinxiuhong” has then been the first Chinese apple variety to enter the IFO international testing phase.

In addition, ZFRI, IFO and the New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited (PFR) also intent to collaborate on apple rootstock breeding and evaluation.