New Raspberry Variety: Moutere Red Raspberry

Filed in archive Food and Agriculture on February 26, 2009

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 5788741

A team of plant breeders from Canada and New Zealand has developed a new variety of red raspberries dubbed 'Moutere' Red Raspberry.

The new variety boasts of high yields of large, uniform size, bright red berries, suitable for consumption as early season high-grade fresh berries. The scientists note that high yields of large attractive fruit can be produced in fertile soils with good management and sufficient winter chill. The plant adapts well to a wide range of environments and is a useful breeding parent for resistance to Raspberry bushy Dwarf Virus (RBDV) and the North American raspberry aphid.

The name 'Moutere', a Maori word meaning "island", was chosen because the cultivar was selected near the rural area and townships (Upper Moutere and Lower Moutere) adjacent to Motueka, New Zealand.