The deal signed in 2002 between New Zealand's HortResearch and the Catalonian regional research body Irta has seen its first exchange of business in DNA fingerprinting of apples and stone fruit, reported HortResearch this week.

The New Zealand organisation, famed for developing leading new top fruit, summer fruit and kiwifruit varieties, last month sent apple and pear seed developed in a collaborative breeding programme to Irta. The aim is to select varieties especially suited to climatic conditions in the key growing areas in Catalonia and the material arrived just last month.

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