Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Spotlight on new pome fruit cultivars
New varieties of apples were presented to various stakeholders at an exhibition, writes Glenneis Kriel.
New Gala apple varieties seemed to be the most popular among farmers who recently attended a South African Plant Improvement Organisation (SAPO) exhibition of just over 20 early-season apple varieties in Joubertina in the Langkloof.
Johan Kotzé, director of Dutoit Agri Eastern Cape, singled out three of the Gala varieties on display, namely Gorgeous Gala, Gala 1 and Royal Beaut.
“The advantage of Gala cultivars is they can be sold everywhere, including the East where consumers generally don’t like the sour apples that are in good demand in Europe,” Kotzé said.
He added that the improved varieties generally had better colour and taste than the old traditional varieties, which usually translated into higher packouts and, in effect, farm income.
‘ZOUK 13 IS VERY SIMILAR TO A GALA IN TERMS OF COLOUR, TASTE, TEXTURE AND AROMA, SO SHOULD SELL WELL ANYWHERE’
Royal Beaut stood out for Deon Lötter of Joubertina Nursery because of its intense dark red colour, delicate sweet taste, flavour, texture and because it can be sold anywhere. “We have seen a huge increase in Royal Beaut sales over the past couple of years in testimony to the good demand for this variety,” said Lötter.
Another variety that grabbed his attention was Parys Granny. “The Parys Granny has good size and a dark green colour. It will probably be a winner because Granny Smith have been earning good income for farmers over the past few years, especially when planted under nets, and the Parys Granny ripens earlier than the traditional Granny Smith.”
Cornelius Strydom, who farms at Vryheid Plaas near Louterwater, really liked Gorgeous Gala, but liked Zouk 13 the most.
“To me, Zouk 13 was superior to all the varieties on exhibition in terms of colour, taste, texture and aroma. It is very similar to a Gala, so should sell well anywhere.”
Willie Lötter, from Joubertina Nursery, said he liked the Maribelle the most. “Maribelle was not necessarily the best in terms of size, colour or taste, but I like the business model of the owners of this variety. They first test and establish a market for their varieties before seeking growers to supply this demand.
“The business model should help to reduce some of the risks currently associated with the launch of new varieties.”
Matthew Del-Frate, who also works at Joubertina Nursery, liked the Asfari because of its stunning yellow colour and well-rounded flavour; Regal You, because of its nice strong flavour; and Zouk 13 because of its delightful flavour and good texture.
Danie Heyns, plant certifying technician at SAPO who hosted the event, told Farmer’s Weekly that SAPO evaluated the varieties in terms of production, and also used market feedback and feedback from farmers during evaluations to gauge the potential of these varieties, and to give feedback to breeders.