Mr Russell Lowe, of Te Puke, ONZM for services to horticulture and the kiwifruit industry
Mr Russell Lowe spent over 51 years at the Department of Scientific Industrial Research and Crown Research Institutes. He pioneered significant innovations in the kiwifruit industry, including the selection of the Hort16A vine and its polleniser cultivars, which created the first Zespri Gold kiwifruit. Zespri Gold established New Zealand as a world-leader in the kiwifruit industry. Mr Lowe led the creation of Zespri SunGold, after commercial crops of Hort16A were wiped out by a bacterial canker in 2010. He was involved in the selection of rootstocks Kaimai and Bounty 71, which have enabled SunGold to grow in a wider range of locations. Zespri SunGold now accounts for 60 percent of all kiwifruit orchards in New Zealand, earning $2.2 billion annually. Mr Lowe also led the development of Zes008, the Zespri RubyRed.