FLASH GALA ™, the beautiful full-red apple of the Bigbucks tree, is a popular choice with South Africans who, like their counterparts globally, are seduced by the perfect, cherry-red colour which makes it stand out on supermarket grocery shelves.
And, in recent months, a lot of attention and many requests for trees and additional information has been coming from India.
Anthony Rawbone-Viljoen, of Oak Valley Estates, and one of the holders of the Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR) to Bigbucks and FLASH GALA ™ explains: “India has been of particular interest as the variety has drawn widespread interest from local growers and marketers. Nursery trees are being sold into India from nurserymen in Italy who ship directly to the country. This needs to happen under the authority of ABCz Nursery in Belgium who are the master licensees worldwide, outside of sub-Saharan Africa where Pink Vein manages the process.
“We continue to promote the FLASH GALA ™ brand in the markets of the world using fruit grown in, and exported from, South Africa.
Bigbucks has been, or is in the process of being, established in the following countries: the EU, the USA where Plant Patent Rights have been granted, and in Australia so far. PBR for the variety Bigbucks is still pending is China, New Zealand, Chile, and India. The process is time consuming as for each country a licensee needs to be appointed, followed by the supply of plant material. Trees then need to be made and planted out in trial blocks. The fruit must thereafter be examined by the relevant authorities in order to obtain Plant Breeders Rights for each country individually. This process takes a minimum of five years after which the variety can be supplied to local nurseries for sale to growers,” says Rawbone-Viljoen.
Rawbone-Viljoen explains that India is the fifth largest apple producing country in the world with production centred almost exclusively in the northern states of Kashmir and Himachal, located on the foothills of the Himalayas. “A modernisation process for orchard plantings has been underway in recent times, led by the Italians who have been supplying rooted trees of modern cultivars to India. The proven ability of Bigbucks to develop exceptional colour in warmer areas should create an opportunity for the expansion of the variety in that country where the consumer preferences are for red and sweet apples, making FLASH GALA ™ the perfect fit for this market,” he says.
According to the FLASH GALA ™ brand manual, for a Bigbucks fruit to be a FLASH GALA ™ apple, it needs 80% surface colour in a continuous block and at least an average of 12% brix, a measure of sugar content, or greater. Pressures (a ripeness measure) of 6.8 kg\cm2 on arrival with not more than 25% below 6.3kg\cm2 or greater.
Bigbucks’ apples are already full red two-to-three weeks before optimum maturity. Due to its full red colour, the background colour is virtually invisible and growers can make the mistake of harvesting too early. In striped Galas the background colour is a useful indicator of maturity; not so with Bigbucks’. The advice is that starting 14-days before anticipated harvest, the fruit maturity and extent of variation within the orchard should be assessed through iodine testing of starch breakdown. Select and mark representative trees within the orchard; if it is a large orchard or one that lacks uniformity, more trees should be selected. On fully grown trees, collect seven fruit samples from each tree. On young trees less categories will suffice. The aim is to be able to pick Bigbucks within one or two picks. This, and other technical advice about root-stock selection and various treatments, are contained in the technical manual. And the latest and best practices are shared amongst working groups.
See bigbucksapples.com.
