The fastest growing new South African apple variety is currently planted in over 1000 hectares in South Africa with well more than 1.2 million Bigbucks trees sold.
FLASH GALA ™, is the full wine-red Gala apple improvement discovered by Tru-Cape’s New Variety Expert, Buks Nel, and the registered trademark for fruit that meets the colour specification from the Bigbucks tree. Like Pink Lady®, the registered name of the Cripps Pink apple that meets a particular specification, these improved varieties continue to prove popular with both consumers and growers.
According to Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, the marketer of the FLASH GALA ™ brand, the excitement continues to grow in the Middle East, The Far East and locally in South Africa too.
In January 2011 Nel noticed the improvement in a Corder Gala orchard on Oak Valley Estate in Grabouw. From 2015, when it received Plant Breeder’s Rights, until 2019, plantings and orders totalled over a million trees.
“A Gala apple, usually a striped apple, tends to be very unstable. Gala that has full colour coverage is very special. Nel notes that for growers the colour of the FLASH GALA ™ on the tree can be confusing and may appear ripe before it is ready to harvest. “We have worked hard in recent years to know when the correct time to harvest the Bigbucks trees is for FLASH GALA ™ apples,” he says, explaining that purchase of the trees comes with access to the collective experience of how best to manage the variety for the highest value pack-out.
Based on colour alone, the eye is inevitably drawn to this new apple which means it stands out on increasingly crowded fruit and vegetable supermarket displays.
FLASH GALA ™ is also supported by a marketing campaign, currently focussed on the Far and Middle East, to drive awareness and increase consumption.
Calla du Toit, Tru-Cape’s Procurement Manager, a grower and Chairman of the Bigbucks Grower’s Association says: “This unique apple keeps surprising us. It is really a grower-friendly apple. We are working on determining perfect maturity, which will give a more even eating experience. We have made good progress this season with the help of the technical committee. This is a true team effort from all exporters.”
See BigBucksApples.com and Tru-Cape.com for additional information.
