Consumer driven selection of red bayberry cultivars for Australia

Red bayberry (Myrica rubra) is a summer season fruit crop traditionally grown in Zhejiang and nearby provinces of China. The fruit is typically deep red in colour when ripe and is about the size of a lychee fruit. It has a soft, juicy texture and a central seed approximately the size of a cherry stone. It is best consumed fresh. However, there are also markets for its processed products. Potential exists to establish a red bayberry industry in Australia. Initial field trials showed that red bayberry performs well in the subtopics of Queensland. There, some cultivars yield >40 kg tree-1. A consumer driven approach was applied to the selection of red bayberry cultivars suited to the Australian marketplace. Queensland-grown fruit of four high yielding cultivars were assessed by a trained consumer panel for flavour, texture, and appearance. Good overall likability scores were recorded for three of the cultivars. A second survey involving untrained panellists found that Australian consumers consider red bayberry fruit to be attractive with an agreeable taste and a novel texture. In both studies, consumers anticipated that red bayberry would be found in the berry fruit section of fruit and vegetable shops and be priced similarly to strawberries.