In this edition: - The European Fruit Magazine
In this edition: - The European Fruit Magazine
In this edition: - The European Fruit Magazine
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Thinning Machines • Hail nets • Varieties • Organic fruit growing • Fertilisation • Plums • Rootstocks • Cherries • DCA storage • Research<br />
language:<br />
<strong>European</strong><br />
<strong>Fruit</strong>growers <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
Thinning machines<br />
Apple varieties in South Tyrol<br />
<strong>The</strong> nutrient element calcium<br />
Fire blight tolerant apple rootstocks<br />
Japanese plums<br />
DCA-storage and SmartFresh<br />
<strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong> <strong>edition</strong>:<br />
And much more ...
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Tel: 0031 (0) 167 566 924 Fax: 0031 (0) 167 561 042<br />
info@verbeek.nu | www.verbeek.nu<br />
www.fruitmagazine.eu<br />
Specialists in grading and packing<br />
apples and in particular pears
www.nicolai-johan.be • trees@nicolai.be<br />
n.v. Johan NICOLAÏ<br />
BOOMKWEKERIJEN - PEPINIERES - NURSERIES - BAUMSCHULE<br />
tel.: +32 (0)11 70 20 00 • fax: +32 (0)11 70 20 01<br />
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Early Jonagold – c.o.v. pending<br />
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Golden Delicious Crielaard®- Reinders® - Kl. B<br />
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Morren’s Jonagored Supra®<br />
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Red Cap® Valtod(s)<br />
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VERTEGENWOORDIGERS:<br />
België:<br />
nv Johan Nicolaï<br />
Johan Nicolaï: 0032 (0)475.450.258<br />
Gerty Wauters: 0032 (0)475.752.424<br />
trees@nicolai.be<br />
Nederland:<br />
Marco Van Beusichem: 0031/654.950.432<br />
info@loonbedrijfvanbeusichem.nl<br />
Frankrijk:<br />
Domaine des Croquantes<br />
Myriam Sohier: +33 684.602.221<br />
Johan Nicolaï: +32 (0)475.450.258<br />
Denemarken:<br />
H.B.H. Handel APS<br />
Henning Hansen: +45 253.220.90<br />
Spanje:<br />
Blay <strong>Fruit</strong>s S.L.<br />
Joseph Blay: +34 972.758.970<br />
n.v. Johan NICOLAÏ<br />
Lichtenberglaan 2050 - B3800 Sint-Truiden (België)<br />
COLOPHON<br />
Website:<br />
www.fruitmagazine.eu<br />
Publisher:<br />
Agrosan Ltd<br />
Mickiewicza 47a/4<br />
27-600 Sandomierz<br />
Poland<br />
Design / DTP:<br />
LeafMedia; Krzysztof Pilch, Mariusz Bibik<br />
Edited by:<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong>Media B.V / Gerard Poldervaart<br />
Rooimond 23<br />
NL- 4197 BS Buurmalsen<br />
Nederland<br />
Desk Editor:<br />
Debora Havenaar<br />
info@deborahavenaar.com<br />
contents list<br />
Articles:<br />
South Tyrol shows interest<br />
in Kanzi, Modi and Jazz .............................................. 10<br />
Both opportunities and challenges<br />
for the organic grower ............................................... 12<br />
<strong>The</strong> nutrient element calcium .............................. 14<br />
<strong>In</strong>creasingly more known about<br />
the eff ect of thinning machines ......................... 18<br />
Results with fi re blight-tolerant<br />
apple rootstocks .............................................................20<br />
Japanese plums<br />
conquer South Europe ............................................... 24<br />
Pear growers in Emilia Romagna<br />
plant cherry trees ........................................................... 27<br />
Stressed trees suff er<br />
more brown spot ............................................................29<br />
Practical experience with new storage<br />
technologies in Austria – Dynamic CA<br />
(DCA) storage and SmartFreshTM .....................30<br />
Automatic bagging machine<br />
saves labour ........................................................................34<br />
News/items:<br />
EFM Today ................................................................................8<br />
Production and market developments ........36<br />
Growers tell growers .................................................... 37<br />
News of the world ..........................................................38<br />
Research news ...................................................................40<br />
New products .................................................................... 42<br />
Agenda .................................................................................... 43<br />
Advertisements:<br />
<strong>In</strong>formation:<br />
LeafMedia<br />
Mail: advert@fruitmagazine.eu<br />
Telephone: 0048 600489550 (in English)<br />
Telefax : 0048 15 8325789<br />
Translations:<br />
NL-EN: BRightWrite Text & Translation<br />
www.brightwrite.nl<br />
Agrolingua<br />
www.agrolingua.com<br />
NL-DE: Euro-com www.euro-com.net<br />
Agrolingua<br />
www.agrolingua.com<br />
Circulation: 12.500<br />
free copy<br />
This magazine has been carefully compiled by the authors and the publisher. However, the publisher accepts<br />
no liability for damage of whatever nature, resulting from the actions taken by readers based on its content.<br />
Furthermore, the publisher wishes to point out that products mentioned in <strong>this</strong> magazine are not available<br />
and/or allowed in all countries. <strong>The</strong> publisher also wishes to point out to the reader that he/she should always<br />
adhere to the legislation and regulations applicable in his/her own country.<br />
Nothing from <strong>this</strong> publication may be copied, stored in electronic systems or made public without the prior<br />
written approval of the publisher
Special <strong>edition</strong> of EFM<br />
<strong>The</strong> editorial board and the publisher of EFM are<br />
pleased to present you with the Best of EFM. This<br />
special <strong>edition</strong> of the <strong>European</strong> <strong>Fruit</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is<br />
a compilation of reprints of articles from previous<br />
<strong>edition</strong>s. <strong>The</strong> aim is to give you an impression<br />
of what you can expect from the <strong>European</strong> <strong>Fruit</strong><br />
<strong>Magazine</strong>, the monthly magazine for the professional<br />
fruit grower.<br />
EFM is diff erent to other magazines in that it crosses<br />
borders presenting, as the <strong>European</strong> fruit magazine,<br />
information from throughout Europe, written by<br />
correspondents from various countries. <strong>The</strong> EFM<br />
provides its readers with news, background information,<br />
research results and information concerning<br />
new products, varieties and cultivation techniques.<br />
A unique aspect is that EFM is published in<br />
three languages, English, German and Dutch.<br />
EFM is a valuable and almost indispensable source<br />
of information for the professional and futureoriented<br />
grower.<br />
Have we convinced you?<br />
You can subscribe to EFM through our website<br />
www.fruitmagazine.eu, by fi lling in the form enclosed<br />
with <strong>this</strong> <strong>edition</strong> and handing it to one of<br />
the EFM employees, or by sending a fax or e-mail<br />
to the publisher Agrosan in Poland. <strong>The</strong> fax number<br />
is: +48 15 832 57 89, and the e-mail address:<br />
offi ce@fruitmagazine.eu.<br />
Gerard Poldervaart<br />
Editor in chief<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo<br />
Target group<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>European</strong> <strong>Fruit</strong><br />
<strong>Magazine</strong> (EFM) is<br />
the magazine for<br />
the professional and<br />
future-oriented fruit<br />
grower, the fi rst <strong>edition</strong><br />
was published in<br />
January 2009. EFM is<br />
intended for growers<br />
of apples, pears,<br />
plums and cherries,<br />
and for companies,<br />
suppliers, consultants,<br />
researchers and anyone<br />
else who is active<br />
in the fruit sector. EFM<br />
is published monthly<br />
in three languages:<br />
English, German and<br />
Dutch.
8<br />
EFM Today<br />
ELEVEN HECTARES OF ANTI-HAIL NETS FOR<br />
THREE-ROW SPRAYER<br />
Berend Jan van Westreenen, a fruit grower in the Dutch town of<br />
Echteld, will be putting up anti-hail nets over 11 hectares of his<br />
orchard <strong>this</strong> season. <strong>The</strong> structure will be fi tted such that he can<br />
still drive a three-row sprayer under the nets. <strong>The</strong> plot concerned<br />
has already been planted with 8 hectares of Kanzi, which will be<br />
expanded by 3 hectares <strong>this</strong> winter.<br />
“My company suff ered three incidents of severe hail damage in the<br />
past four years,” says Van Westreenen. This explains why he decided<br />
to put up anti-hail nets. <strong>The</strong> concrete posts are not planted in<br />
every row, as is customary for an anti-hail net structure, but there<br />
is one post every three rows. This enables a machine which sprays<br />
three rows at a time to be driven under the nets. Such sprayers are<br />
supplied by both Munckhof and KWH.<br />
As the rows are 3.25 metres apart, the centre-to-centre distance<br />
between the posts is 9.75 metres instead of 3.00 to 3.50 metres as<br />
is customary. To still give the anti-hail nets suffi cient support, the<br />
posts in the rows have been placed at centre-to-centre distances<br />
of 3.00 metres. Contrary to regular hail net structures, the net will<br />
not be suspended from the steel wires, but will be above them.<br />
<strong>The</strong> anti-hail net structure is supplied and constructed by <strong>Fruit</strong><br />
Security of Austria and by Van Nifterik of the Netherlands.<br />
SCAB RESISTANT JUNAMI IN 2012<br />
Plant Research <strong>In</strong>ternational (PRI), based<br />
in Wageningen, the Netherlands, intends<br />
to present a scab resistant Junami<br />
during the World Horticultural Expo,<br />
Floriade 2012. Scab resistance will be<br />
introduced into Junami by incorporating<br />
genes that provide scab resistance<br />
into the genetic material of <strong>this</strong> variety.<br />
PRI has already been able to isolate<br />
the Vf-gene, the resistance gene<br />
<strong>The</strong> Dutch PRI wants to present a scab resistant Junami at Floriade 2012.<br />
<strong>The</strong> anti-hail net structure has a ridge height of 4.75 metres and<br />
enables a three-row sprayer to be driven under it.<br />
Photos: EFM<br />
derived from Malus fl oribunda, and is<br />
currently working on isolating several<br />
other genes that could provide scab<br />
resistance. <strong>In</strong>corporating various resistance<br />
genes in a single variety creates a<br />
more stable polygene resistance, that is<br />
more diffi cult to erode than resistance<br />
based solely on the Vf-gene. <strong>In</strong> virtually<br />
all the scab resistant varieties currently<br />
available on the market, the resistance<br />
is based on that single Vf-gene.<br />
<strong>The</strong> process by which genes can be artifi<br />
cially transferred between related<br />
organisms that could also be bred conventionally<br />
is referred to as cisgenesis.<br />
With transgenesis, another form of genetic<br />
modifi cation, genes from nonrelated<br />
plants are transferred. Research<br />
conducted by the University of Twente<br />
in the Netherlands has revealed that<br />
cisgenesis appears to be more socially<br />
acceptable than transgenesis.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Junami variety was selected as PRI<br />
works in cooperation with <strong>In</strong>ova <strong>Fruit</strong>,<br />
the <strong>European</strong> variety manager of Junami.
EFM Today<br />
IFO SEARCHING FOR THE NEW SUPER<br />
VARIETY<br />
IFO, the French company, thinks that it will be able to launch<br />
an apple onto the market in a few years time that is scab resistant,<br />
has a sugar level above 15 Brix, a storage life of a year and<br />
a shelf life of at least a month. At the start of February, IFO offered<br />
a glimpse behind the scenes of its breeding programme.<br />
Elsewhere in <strong>this</strong> <strong>edition</strong> you can fi nd an extensive article that<br />
addresses IFO’s variety breeding and selection programme.<br />
ONE THIRD OF THE APPLE HECTARAGE<br />
AROUND THE BODENSEE UNDER HAIL<br />
NETS<br />
After several years of very heavy hail, since 2000, the hectarage<br />
of hail nets on farms on the German side of the Bodensee<br />
has increased markedly. Now an estimated one third of the<br />
FEWER APPLES AND MORE PEARS<br />
IN THE EU<br />
Across the 27 countries of the <strong>European</strong> Union, apple production<br />
is forecast to be 7% down on last year, while 16%<br />
more pears are expected to be picked. <strong>The</strong>se fi gures were<br />
announced on 7 August at the Prognosfruit 2009 conference<br />
in Maastricht.<br />
Apple production across the 27 EU countries is expected to<br />
be 10,743,000 tonnes <strong>this</strong> year. <strong>The</strong> pear harvest is estimated<br />
at 2,521,000 tonnes.<br />
<strong>The</strong> lower apple production in 2009 is the result of much lower<br />
production in Poland and Hungary. After a poor harvest in<br />
2007, there was a record harvest in these countries in 2008.<br />
<strong>The</strong> harvest forecast for almost all apple varieties is lower <strong>this</strong><br />
year. Only production of the new varieties including Braeburn,<br />
Fuji and Cripp’s Pink is set to increase.<br />
Pear production, on the other hand, is likely to be higher<br />
than 2008 for almost all varieties. Last year’s crop was below<br />
average on account of poor setting caused by bad weather<br />
during the fl owering season. Production for 2009 is expected<br />
to be at the same level as in 2007 and previous years.<br />
Blue plums<br />
On 13 August in Randwijk (the Netherlands) fruit growers could examine<br />
and taste Ras 1 (Variety 1) from the series of new blue plum varieties<br />
from <strong>The</strong> Greenery. Ras 1 has the earliest ripening fruit from a series that<br />
currently consists of three new varieties that will be marketed under the<br />
brand name Lazoet. <strong>The</strong> intention is to off er plums that look and taste<br />
the same for a period of eight to ten weeks. <strong>The</strong> fi rst variety from the series<br />
ripens later than Opal but earlier than Reine Victoria. <strong>The</strong> two other<br />
varieties ripen after Reine Victoria.<br />
hectarage is protected by hail nets. When new orchards are<br />
planted, long poles are erected as standard to allow hail nets<br />
to be installed later.<br />
MANY PROBLEMS RELATED TO PEAR<br />
DECLINE IN ITALY<br />
Poor growth of pear trees due to Pear Decline is a major problem<br />
in the Italian fruit region of Emilia Romagna. Pear Decline is<br />
caused by a mycoplasma, a virus-like organism. Aff ected trees<br />
grow poorly, have lightly coloured leaves and small pears and<br />
often colour red in the autumn. <strong>The</strong> mycoplasma is transmitted<br />
by the pear psylla. Experts think that the origin and viral status<br />
of the planting material also has an infl uence on the level of<br />
infection. Abate Fétel, the most important variety grown in<br />
Italy, has proved to be very susceptible to Pear Decline.<br />
9
Gerard Poldervaart<br />
gerard.poldervaart@fruitmagazine.eu<br />
South Tyrol shows interest<br />
in Kanzi, Modi and Jazz<br />
Walter Guerra, variety<br />
researcher at the<br />
Laimburg research<br />
station in South Tyrol.<br />
As in every other fruit-growing region in<br />
Europe, new varieties are also closely monitored<br />
in South Tyrol. <strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong> North Italian<br />
region, Pink Lady has claimed a secure position<br />
and its hectarage is still increasing.<br />
Other varieties, such as Fuji, Pinova and<br />
Rubens, have proved to be less suitable for<br />
the South Tyrol climate than originally envisaged.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se varieties are now hardly ever<br />
planted there.<br />
North Italy is showing increasing interest in the<br />
new apple varieties Kanzi, Modi and Jazz. Researcher<br />
Walter Guerra from the Laimburg research<br />
station in Pfatten assesses Kanzi to be<br />
a suitable variety for South Tyrol. <strong>The</strong> variety is<br />
recommended for planting at sites at a somewhat<br />
higher altitude in <strong>this</strong> region. Since the spring<br />
of 2005, around 310,000 Kanzi trees have been<br />
planted here (see Table 1).<br />
Guerra has still too little experience of the new<br />
varieties Modi and Jazz to be able to provide advice<br />
about them. But the growers in South Tyrol<br />
are very interested in these varieties. <strong>The</strong>y have<br />
ordered a total of 133,000 Modi trees for planting<br />
in the spring of 2009. <strong>The</strong> interest in Jazz is even<br />
greater: they have already ordered 280,000 of<br />
these trees for planting in the spring of 2010.<br />
Table 1. <strong>The</strong> number of Kanzi, Modi and Jazz trees planted in South Tyrol.<br />
Year Kanzi Modi Jazz<br />
2004 1.100 20 -<br />
2005 4.300 450 9<br />
2006 44.000 4 130<br />
2007 126.000 4.500 2.000<br />
2008 130.000 14.500 35.000<br />
Total up to and<br />
including 2008<br />
310.000 20.000 38.000<br />
2009 (ordered) 76.000 133.000 -<br />
2010 (ordered) - - 280.000<br />
Source: Walter Guerra, Laimburg research station<br />
10<br />
Modi colours easily, also in warm regions.<br />
Photos: Allround<strong>Fruit</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> new varieties must compete with Golden<br />
Delicious, the main apple variety grown in South<br />
Tyrol. Golden gives high yields and still attracts<br />
a good price. Moreover, the production levels<br />
of the new varieties lag behind that of Golden<br />
(see Table 2).<br />
Kanzi favourable<br />
Nicoter, the variety behind the Kanzi brand, was<br />
created by cross breeding Gala and Braeburn in<br />
1990. <strong>The</strong> production level of Nicoter in South<br />
Tyrol is 10% lower than that of Golden Delicious.<br />
According to Guerra, the fruit size does not pose<br />
a problem. However, the researcher does question<br />
Kanzi’s colouring. <strong>The</strong> apples colour poorly,<br />
in particular under hail nets, in regions where<br />
there is little diff erence between day and night<br />
temperatures and in the middle of the trees. Kanzi<br />
needs cold nights to colour. For <strong>this</strong> reason, the<br />
variety is only recommended for planting in orchards<br />
where fruit colouring is good, for instance<br />
in the mountains. Kanzi is harvested at the same<br />
time as Golden Delicious.<br />
According to Guerra, in 2008, the total Kanzi hectarage<br />
in Europe was 750 ha. <strong>The</strong> variety owner’s<br />
objective is to develop Kanzi into a basic
<strong>In</strong> South Tyrol, Kanzi is recommended for mountain<br />
areas.<br />
<strong>European</strong> variety with an annual production of<br />
100,000 tonnes.<br />
Modi colours easily<br />
Modi is a scab-resistant variety resulting from a<br />
cross between Gala and Liberty. <strong>The</strong> apple skin<br />
has an intense dark red colour. <strong>The</strong> variety does<br />
not require cold nights to colour and is therefore<br />
very suitable for growing in the lower altitude,<br />
fl at regions in South Tyrol and the Po Valley. <strong>In</strong><br />
some cases, some russeting was found on the<br />
skin. According to Guerra, <strong>this</strong> mainly occurs in<br />
the northern <strong>European</strong> growing regions.<br />
Alessio Martinelli from CIV, an Italian company,<br />
reports that at the end of 2008 there were 512,000<br />
Modi trees in Europe, which corresponds to 171<br />
ha. CIV is a joint venture of three large Italian tree<br />
nurseries. <strong>In</strong> addition, it is the breeder and owner<br />
of the varieties Civni/Rubens and CIVG198/Modi.<br />
<strong>In</strong> 2008, the production of Modi was still limited at<br />
424 tonnes, but if the variety owner has any say in<br />
the matter, <strong>this</strong> will grow to 6,846 tonnes in 2010<br />
and to more than 17,000 tonnes in 2012.<br />
Following the 2008/2009 planting season, 1.2<br />
million Modi trees will be growing in Europe,<br />
which corresponds to about 400 ha. <strong>The</strong> trees can<br />
mainly be found in the warm growing regions of<br />
Southern Europe: the Po Valley and South Tyrol<br />
(both in Italy) and Spain. <strong>In</strong> South Tyrol, Modi is<br />
harvested seven to ten days earlier than Golden<br />
Delicious.<br />
Jazz smaller than Gala<br />
<strong>In</strong> 1985, the New Zealand research institute Hort-<br />
Research selected the variety Scifresh from a cross<br />
Jazz has a particularly good aroma.<br />
of Braeburn and Gala. Since 2002, <strong>this</strong> variety has<br />
been marketed under the brand name Jazz by the<br />
New Zealand sales organisation ENZA. According<br />
to Guerra, in 2008, Scifresh/Jazz had a worldwide<br />
hectarage of 2,300 ha. <strong>In</strong> Europe, <strong>this</strong> variety is<br />
grown in Great Britain, France, Switzerland and<br />
Italy (South Tyrol).<br />
<strong>In</strong> Guerra’s opinion, Jazz is a very tasty apple with<br />
good fruit properties. A point of attention is the<br />
fruit size. <strong>In</strong> part due to poor pollination, the apples<br />
often have a long shape and are smaller than<br />
Gala apples (see Table 3).<br />
Scifresh/Jazz needs cold nights to allow the fruit<br />
to colour and therefore it is unsuitable for growing<br />
in the lower altitude regions of South Tyrol.<br />
You often see apples in a cluster that lag behind<br />
in size and colour with respect to the other fruit.<br />
Jazz ripens fi ve to seven days before Braeburn.<br />
Sensory profi le<br />
Table 2. <strong>The</strong> total production in 2006 through 2008 (in kilos per<br />
tree) of Golden Delicious, Kanzi, Modi and Jazz on the trial site in<br />
Latsch (Vinschgau). <strong>The</strong> trees were planted in the spring of 2005;<br />
the planting distance is 330 by 90 cm.<br />
Variety<br />
Production<br />
2006-2008<br />
Golden Delicious 40<br />
Kanzi 37<br />
Modi 32<br />
Jazz 27<br />
Sensory profi les show that Kanzi and Jazz score<br />
better than Braeburn with respect to fi rmness,<br />
crispness and juiciness. When compared to Braeburn,<br />
Kanzi has a lower sugar content, and Jazz a<br />
higher one. For Jazz in particular the high score<br />
for aroma stands out.<br />
During storage, Modi looses a relatively large<br />
amount of acid and as a result has a rather sweet<br />
fl avour. This variety is mainly seen as a competitor<br />
to the frequently grown (in South Tyrol) Red<br />
Delicious. <strong>The</strong> advantage of Modi is that the apples<br />
become mealy slower than Red Delicious<br />
apples.<br />
IFTA Conference<br />
From 1 to 3 February,<br />
the <strong>In</strong>ternational<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong> Tree Association,<br />
a fruit growers’ association<br />
with approximately<br />
1100 mainly<br />
American members,<br />
held its annual conference<br />
in Potsdam, near<br />
Berlin. For two and a<br />
half days, the attendants<br />
could listen to<br />
lectures about product<br />
developments,<br />
growing techniques,<br />
new varieties, cherry<br />
cultivation and organic<br />
fruit growing.<br />
<strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong> article, you will<br />
fi nd the most striking<br />
news about the<br />
lectures on new apple<br />
varieties in South-<br />
Tyrol.<br />
Table 3. <strong>The</strong> average percentage of Gala, Kanzi, Modi and Jazz apples<br />
larger than 70 mm on the Laimburg research station, in the<br />
years 2006 through 2008.<br />
Variety Apples >70 mm (%)<br />
Gala (Brookfi eld) 81<br />
Kanzi 91<br />
Modi 89<br />
Jazz 61<br />
11
12<br />
Gerard Poldervaart<br />
gerard.poldervaart@fruitmagazine.eu<br />
Both opportunities and challenges<br />
for the organic grower<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo<br />
IFTA Conference<br />
From 1 to 3 February,<br />
the <strong>In</strong>ternational<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong> Tree Association,<br />
a fruit growers’ association<br />
with approximately<br />
1100 mainly<br />
American members,<br />
held its annual conference<br />
in Potsdam, near<br />
Berlin. For two and a<br />
half days, the attendants<br />
could listen to<br />
lectures about product<br />
developments,<br />
growing techniques,<br />
new varieties, cherry<br />
cultivation and organic<br />
fruit growing.<br />
<strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong> article, you will<br />
fi nd the most striking<br />
news about the lectures<br />
on organic fruit<br />
production.<br />
<strong>In</strong> one region, the development of the<br />
organic fruit-growing sector has almost<br />
come to a standstill while in another the<br />
hectarage is steadily growing. During<br />
the conference of the <strong>In</strong>ternational <strong>Fruit</strong><br />
Tree Association (IFTA) in Potsdam, attention<br />
was also given to the latest developments<br />
in the organic sector. This<br />
article describes some of the striking new<br />
developments.<br />
Bio-Topaz<br />
<strong>In</strong> a period of ten years, Topaz has, as the only scabresistant<br />
variety, managed to fi nd its place in the<br />
product range of organically grown apple varieties.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the <strong>European</strong> organic sector, Jonagold is the<br />
largest variety with respect to produced volume,<br />
followed by Golden and Gala. <strong>The</strong>se three main<br />
varieties are followed by Topaz, and then Elstar.<br />
<strong>The</strong> eff orts of the Austrian organic growers have<br />
certainly contributed here. With the introduction<br />
of the Bio-Topaz brand, the organic growers have<br />
managed in ten years to acquire a permanent position<br />
on the supermarket shelves. Nowadays, according<br />
to Fritz Prem, fruit grower and chairman<br />
of the <strong>European</strong> Bio-<strong>Fruit</strong> Forum, 70% of all apples<br />
grown organically in Austria are Bio-Topaz.<br />
Supporter 2 instead of M9<br />
It is certainly not easy to grow fruit organically. <strong>The</strong><br />
grower must try and realise an acceptable production<br />
level of a good quality by using a great deal of<br />
inventiveness. Not all problems that a grower encounters<br />
can be solved, as shown by the introduction<br />
of Franco Weibel, head of FiBL, the research<br />
and advisory institute for the organic fruit sector<br />
in Frick, Switzerland.<br />
Michael Weber; co-organiser of the IFTA Conference and<br />
variety manager for among others <strong>Fruit</strong> Select’s Opal.<br />
Photo: Allround<strong>Fruit</strong><br />
Organic growers often plant the trees somewhat<br />
further apart than conventional growers, so that<br />
the leaves dry faster to give fungal infections less<br />
opportunity to strike. When growing organically,<br />
it is diffi cult to keep the strips under the trees free<br />
of grass and weeds. This is not appreciated by<br />
trees on the M9 rootstock. According to Weibel,<br />
the Supporter 2 rootstock can cope better with<br />
the competition from weeds and grass. Weibel<br />
says that trees on Supporter 2 exhibit somewhat<br />
stronger growth and demonstrate good productivity.<br />
More phenols<br />
It is diffi cult to get suffi cient nutrients into trees<br />
grown organically. This is because artifi cial fertilisers<br />
are not allowed and leaf nutrients are only<br />
allowed to a limited degree. During the growing<br />
season, there are very few opportunities to correct<br />
shortages, with the result that there is a loss<br />
of production and quality. When using compost,<br />
the ratio between potassium and calcium often<br />
becomes unfavourable, with the result that more<br />
apples suff er from bitter pit. A positive aspect is
that because artifi cial fertiliser is not used, there<br />
is no adverse infl uence on soil life.<br />
Crop protection demands a completely diff erent<br />
approach when growing organically when compared<br />
to growing conventionally. Because hardly<br />
any chemical products are allowed, no residues<br />
are found on organic fruit. <strong>The</strong>refore, the discussions<br />
regarding MRLs in recent months do not<br />
play a role in organic crop production.<br />
When growing organically, the defence mechanisms<br />
of the plant against diseases and pests is<br />
activated. Phenols play an important role in the<br />
plants’ defence against diseases and pests. Organically<br />
grown apples contain 10 to 20% more phenols,<br />
which are benefi cial to human health, than<br />
conventionally grown fruit, according to Weibel.<br />
Hot water to combat<br />
Gloeosporium<br />
“By using hot water, we can limit the loss due to<br />
Gloeosporium fruit rot by up to 3-5 %”, said Margit<br />
Holland to her colleague peer growers during<br />
the IFTA congress, at the beginning of February<br />
in Potsdam. Margit Holland, together with her father<br />
Eberhard Holland, has a 42-hectare organic<br />
fruit farm in Ravensburg in the Bodensee region<br />
of South Germany (www.bonhausen.de). <strong>The</strong> majority<br />
of the 21 hectares of apples they grow are<br />
Topaz.<br />
“Until we started using hot water treatments in<br />
1999, we had major problems with Gloeosporium.<br />
Losses of up to 15 to 30% were not an exception”,<br />
says Holland. It is very important that the water<br />
in which the apples are submerged is at the correct<br />
temperature. Elstar, Jonagold and Topaz are<br />
treated for two minutes at 52 ºC. For varieties that<br />
have a thin skin, such as Golden Delicious, <strong>this</strong><br />
temperature is too high and it damages the skin.<br />
<strong>The</strong>refore a water temperature of 50ºC is used<br />
for these apples.<br />
Costs € 0.10 per kilo<br />
“Organic growers cannot use fungicides to prevent<br />
fruit rot as conventional growers do. <strong>The</strong> use<br />
of SmartFresh (1-MCP) is not allowed either. A hot<br />
water treatment immediately after harvesting is<br />
currently one of the only methods the growers<br />
have to combat fruit rot. Dynamic CA storage<br />
(DCA) also off ers possibilities when storing organic<br />
fruit”, says Franco Weibel.<br />
According to Weibel, an installation that can be<br />
used to submerge apples in hot water costs between<br />
€40,000 and €50,000. Energy consumption<br />
is high, which makes the cost of treating apples approximately<br />
€0.10 per kilo, according to Weibel.<br />
Topaz and Pinova are well-known in the organic<br />
sector for their susceptibility to Gloeosporium.<br />
However, to an increasing degree Gala is also starting<br />
to experience losses due to Gloeosporium rot,<br />
says Weibel.<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong> Select introduces Opal<br />
<strong>In</strong> his breeding programme, Jaroslav Tupy tries<br />
to combine the good properties of Topaz that he<br />
bred himself, with other varieties. <strong>The</strong> varieties of<br />
apples that are being marketed under the Golden<br />
Sunshine Line name are currently receiving considerable<br />
attention. <strong>The</strong> Golden Sunshine Line is a<br />
brand for the organic fruit sector and is made up<br />
of the varieties Opal, Luna, Sirius and Orion.<br />
<strong>In</strong> addition to the Golden Sunshine Line, the <strong>Fruit</strong><br />
Select company has been established to test and<br />
introduce the Opal variety for the conventional<br />
sector. <strong>In</strong> the spring of 2008, <strong>Fruit</strong> Select planted<br />
small pilot plots at a large number of locations<br />
throughout Europe. With the data obtained from<br />
these pilot plantings, <strong>Fruit</strong> Select will identify the<br />
regions in which Opal can best be grown. <strong>Fruit</strong><br />
Select sees opportunities to grow Opal in particular<br />
in the warmer regions of Europe, where<br />
Golden Delicious can also be grown eff ectively.<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong> Select is a joint venture with an international<br />
group of shareholders: the French companies<br />
SNC Elaris (tree nurseries Davodeau-Ligonniere)<br />
and Starfruits, the Austrian nursery Deimel, the<br />
Czech nursery Vorácek and Vermeerderingstuinen<br />
Nederland.<br />
Opal is scab resistant and is somewhat similar to<br />
Golden Delicious. Photo: Allround<strong>Fruit</strong><br />
Margit Holland:<br />
With a hot water<br />
treatment, we manage<br />
to limit the loss<br />
due to fruit rot to 3<br />
to 5%.<br />
Opal<br />
Opal originated from<br />
a cross between Golden<br />
Delicious and Topaz<br />
that was created<br />
in 1992. <strong>The</strong> variety<br />
is scab resistant and<br />
is somewhat similar<br />
to Golden Delicious,<br />
but with an orange<br />
blush. It is harvested<br />
just after Golden. According<br />
to the Swiss<br />
variety researcher<br />
Simon Egger, during<br />
harvest, the apples<br />
have a fi rmness of 8 to<br />
9 kg/cm2 and a sugar<br />
content of 12-14 ºBrix.<br />
<strong>The</strong> fl avour is rated as<br />
good.<br />
Temperature<br />
<strong>The</strong> correct temperature<br />
is very important<br />
when using hot water<br />
as a treatment against<br />
fruit rot. A temperature<br />
of 50 to 52ºC can<br />
eff ectively kill fruit rot<br />
fungi such as Gloeosporium,<br />
without<br />
damaging the apples.<br />
If the temperature of<br />
the water drops too<br />
far, it is possible for<br />
it to promote fungal<br />
growth.<br />
13
14<br />
Gerhard Baab<br />
DLR Rheinpfalz<br />
<strong>The</strong> nutrient element calcium<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo<br />
Authors<br />
Gerhard Baab<br />
DLR Rheinpfalz,<br />
Kompetenzzentrum<br />
Gartenbau<br />
Walporzheimer<br />
Straße 48<br />
53474 Bad Neuenahr-<br />
Ahrweiler, Germany<br />
PD Dr. Michaela<br />
Schmitz-Eiberger<br />
INRES - Universiteit<br />
van Bonn<br />
Auf dem Hügel 6<br />
53121 Bonn, Germany<br />
Bitter pit in<br />
Braeburn.<br />
Photos: Gerhard Baab<br />
PD Dr. Michaela Schmitz-Eiberger<br />
INRES - University of Bonn<br />
Calcium is a vital element for fruit quality<br />
and to prevent disorders during storage.<br />
<strong>In</strong> addition, calcium in the soil has<br />
diff erent ways of infl uencing the absorption<br />
of other nutrients. This article<br />
outlines the backgrounds of the various<br />
processes in which calcium plays<br />
a role.<br />
Calcium (lime) serves various functions in the<br />
soil. Firstly, in the form of calcium hydroxide<br />
(slaked lime, CaOH 2 ) or calcium bicarbonate it<br />
neutralises the acids in the soil (H + ). <strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong> way,<br />
calcium regulates the pH of the soil and has a<br />
major infl uence on nutrient availability. Calcium<br />
also prevents heavy metals leaching to the subsoil<br />
layer and into ground water.<br />
Another function of calcium is that it encourages<br />
biological activity in the soil. <strong>The</strong> majority<br />
of soil organisms thrive best under slightly<br />
acidic soil conditions.<br />
<strong>In</strong> addition calcium creates calcium bridgesbetween<br />
the soil colloids, which is benefi cial<br />
to the crumbliness of the soil. This improves<br />
the structure, the pore volume and permeability<br />
of soil.<br />
Depletion p of calcium is caused by acidifi ca-<br />
tion of the<br />
soil, leaching and uptake<br />
into the th fruit. Depletion caused by<br />
leaching leach per hectare per year is<br />
approximately app 80 to 100 kg CaO<br />
with w 600 to 900 mm precipitation.<br />
ti Depletion caused by soil<br />
acidifi a cation and uptake by the<br />
fruit f is 170 kg CaO. So, on an<br />
annual basis a total of 300 to<br />
400 kg CaO per hectare is lost,<br />
which has to be replenished<br />
via v maintenance fertilization.<br />
Availability in the soil<br />
<strong>The</strong> total amount of freely available calcium in<br />
the soil does not always correspond to the soil<br />
pH, but is infl uenced by:<br />
• the rocks that originally formed the soil and<br />
the type of soil (fraction of clay minerals);<br />
• the calcium saturation of soil colloids. Lime is<br />
primarily a fertilizer. Only when the clay-humus<br />
complex has become saturated, will there be<br />
enough free Ca 2+ present in the soil moisture<br />
and therefore available for the plant;<br />
• the presence of antagonists. <strong>The</strong> presence of<br />
other cations in particular such as ammonium,<br />
potassium, magnesium and sodium infl uence<br />
the calcium absorption;<br />
• the extent of acidifi cation of the soil. With<br />
increasing acidity, extra competition occurs<br />
between calcium and ions of aluminium (Al 3+ ),<br />
hydrogen (H + ) and manganese (Mn 2+ ).<br />
Calcium uptake<br />
Calcium uptake takes places passively in the form<br />
of Ca 2+ ions via the root tips. <strong>The</strong> uptake depends<br />
on the root growth, soil temperature, soil moisture<br />
content and soil texture. Some 80 to 90%<br />
of the amount of calcium required in that year<br />
is taken by the tree from the soil and only 10 to<br />
20% originates from the reserves in the wood.<br />
<strong>The</strong> calcium content in the leaves rises continually<br />
until the end of October. <strong>The</strong> fruits on the other<br />
hand are mainly supplied with calcium during<br />
the cell division phase, in other words during<br />
the fi rst six weeks after blossoming. During the<br />
cell expansion phase the calcium concentration<br />
in the fruit is diluted as a result of fruit and<br />
shoot growth (see fi gure 1). Calcium uptake is<br />
stimulated by a moist soil and by suffi ciently<br />
high transpiration and is negatively infl uenced<br />
by a dry, cold soil.
Distribution in the tree<br />
<strong>The</strong> transport of calcium over large distances in<br />
the tree mainly takes place via the xylem vessels<br />
that is to say in the transpiration fl ow. As<br />
their transpiration rate is much higher (ratio 1:10),<br />
leaves are supplied far better with calcium than<br />
the fruits. To transport calcium to the fruits, the<br />
inner bark (phloem) is important. Due to the<br />
poor mobility of calcium in the phloem vessels<br />
no calcium travels from the leaves to the fruits.<br />
Transport over short distances from cell to cell is<br />
driven by a so-called ‘auxin pump’ mechanism.<br />
<strong>The</strong> auxin producing tissues in the plant have a<br />
hormonal sink eff ect and therefore have priority<br />
in the supply of nutrients and water. This mainly<br />
concerns young leaves found in the shoot tips<br />
and close to the fruits (rosette leaves), and the<br />
fl owers and seeds in young fruits. Trees that blossom<br />
well and exhibit a good fruit set and healthy,<br />
well developing leaves therefore absorb more<br />
calcium in total than trees that fl ower badly, have<br />
low production and poor leaf quality.<br />
To a certain extent shoot growth is useful in<br />
supplying the entire plant, and so the fruits, too,<br />
with calcium via the transpiration fl ow. <strong>In</strong> the<br />
summer the young leaves, especially, compete<br />
directly with the fruit close to the shoots for the<br />
supply of calcium If growth is too strong and too<br />
prolonged <strong>this</strong> may cause calcium to be diverted<br />
from the fruits in favour of the shoot tips. Even<br />
and balanced growth and production and halting<br />
growth at an early stage are the most important<br />
aspects in creating a good distribution of calcium<br />
throughout the tree.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the plant<br />
<strong>The</strong> presence of calcium in the plant has several<br />
functions.<br />
• Calcium is an important building block of the<br />
protopectin, a sticky substance that plays an<br />
essential role as the ‘ cement’ that holds the<br />
cells together and creates stability in the cell<br />
structure (see fi gure 3).<br />
• Calcium binds phospholipids in the cell membranes<br />
and therefore pays an important contribution<br />
to the stability and functioning of<br />
the cell membranes, including transporting<br />
substances and the gas exchange between<br />
the cells.<br />
• Calcium is part of a large number of enzymes<br />
that play a role in the ripening process. <strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong><br />
role calcium reduces the respiratory activity<br />
and ethylene production in the fruit. This retards<br />
the respiratory processes and ethylene<br />
induced ripening process that occurs post harvest,<br />
or following the shelf life period (mealy<br />
apples).<br />
• Calcium plays an important part in preventing<br />
environmental stress (heat, cold, wind, UV-B).<br />
Cox is susceptible to calcium defi ciency.<br />
Stress causes the formation of free acid radicals<br />
at cellular level (see fi gure 2). Calcium binds<br />
with the protein calmodulin, which boosts the<br />
plant’s natural resistance. Using various substances<br />
–for example vitamin (α-Tocopherol) or<br />
antioxidative enzymes (catalase, superoxidedismutasis)<br />
–the plant’s own immune system<br />
- neutralises free radicals (O ) and converts them<br />
2<br />
into harmless oxygen molecules (O ). <strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong><br />
2<br />
process the calcium bound in the cell walls or<br />
in the cell membranes plays a more important<br />
role than the free calcium in the cell plasma.<br />
Figure 1. Progress of calcium absorption from blossoming to harvest and<br />
dilution of the Ca-content of the fruits as the fruits increase in size<br />
(J. Streif, KOB Bavendorf)<br />
Calcium content in the fruit<br />
Blossoming<br />
Ca<br />
Cacalmodulin<br />
complex<br />
July<br />
Sufficiently<br />
high content<br />
in small fruits<br />
- O2 Dilution of the<br />
Ca-content<br />
in large fruits<br />
Harvest<br />
Figure 2. Stress resistance at cell level: neutralisation of free radicals by the<br />
calcium calmodulin complex<br />
(M. Schmitz-Eiberger, INRES - University of Bonn)<br />
O 2<br />
15
Calcium defi ciency<br />
Calcium defi ciency basically occurs in all varieties<br />
of fruit and principally in those parts of the plant<br />
that show little transpiration, i.e. mainly the fruits.<br />
Apples are particularly susceptible to calcium<br />
defi ciency. On the one hand due to the genetic<br />
make up of the apple, but on the other hand as<br />
apples, because of commercial considerations,<br />
are forced to grow larger than the normal fruit<br />
size for a specifi c variety.<br />
Visible defi ciency symptoms in the leaf are<br />
mainly seen in poorly bearing trees. From the<br />
early summer, pale - later chlorotic - patches appear<br />
at the tip of the leaves, ranging from small<br />
patches to entirely chlorotic leaf tips.<br />
Defi ciency symptoms in fruits can occur with<br />
all types of fruit. <strong>Fruit</strong>s with calcium defi ciency<br />
ripen earlier, the decomposition of chlorophyll in<br />
the skin is encouraged (yellow discoloration) and<br />
the fruits have a low acidity and lack fi rmness.<br />
<strong>In</strong> addition, fruits with a calcium defi ciency age<br />
quicker (senescence) and the fl esh becomes soft<br />
sooner, mainly after a period of display at room<br />
temperature. <strong>The</strong> fruits also have a greater susceptibility<br />
to rotting; with apples infected by<br />
gloeosporium, with berries lower resistance to<br />
Botrytis and with stone fruit sensitivity to fruit rot.<br />
On trees with a calcium defi ciency any fruits damaged<br />
by hail, for example, will heal more slowly<br />
than those on trees with an adequate calcium<br />
level. With apples a calcium defi ciency exaggerates<br />
all kinds of physiological disorders such as<br />
fl esh browning, scald, Jonathan-spot,Elisespot,<br />
lenticel blotch and bitter pit.<br />
Table 1. Risk categorisation of Cox’s, Braeburn, Kanzi and Jonagold for physiological<br />
disorders based on the Ca, K and N content in the fl esh<br />
Ca- content in fruits<br />
(in mg/100 g fresh weight)<br />
K/Caratio<br />
N/Caratio<br />
Optimal > 5,5 < 20 < 10<br />
Normal 4,5 - 5,5 20 - 30 10 - 20<br />
Critical < 4,5 30 - 40 > 30<br />
Very critical < 3,5 > 40<br />
16<br />
Figure 3. Occurrence of bitter pit through gradual instability of the middle<br />
lamella<br />
cell with<br />
cell wall<br />
<strong>The</strong> Auxin pump<br />
Transport over short<br />
distances from cell to<br />
cell is driven by a socalled<br />
‘auxin pump’<br />
mechanism. <strong>The</strong> auxin<br />
producing tissues in<br />
the plant have a hormonal<br />
sink eff ect and<br />
therefore have priority<br />
in the supply of<br />
nutrients and water<br />
pectin<br />
strands<br />
intact<br />
middle lamella<br />
stage 1 stage 2<br />
starting Cadeficiency<br />
collapse of mutual<br />
cell connections<br />
Bitter pit is caused, in brief, by the following.<br />
With optimal calcium supplies, the protopectin<br />
(strands of pectin plus calcium) create calcium<br />
bridges which impart stability to the middle lamella<br />
(see fi gure 3). With low supplies of calcium,<br />
or displacement of Ca 2+ by Mg 2+ or K + the mutual<br />
links between the cells are destabilised. <strong>The</strong><br />
place of calcium is occupied by magnesium. As<br />
magnesium and potassium, contrary to calcium,<br />
lack the ability to bind cells, the cell structures<br />
collapse and turn brown. Magnesium binds to<br />
the sulphates and epsom salt is formed (magnesium<br />
sulphate). This gives the fl esh a bitter fl avour<br />
where the patches are visible (bitter pit).<br />
Risk of disorders<br />
A serious threat of disorders caused by calcium<br />
defi ciency is present in:<br />
• orchards with too low calcium availability in<br />
the soil (low pH, little free calcium);<br />
• trees with rosette leaves damaged by frost or<br />
night frost or rosette leaves with poor nutrient<br />
level (‘Ca-pump’);<br />
• sensitive varieties (for example Kanzi, Braeburn,<br />
Cox’s, Boskoop, Elise and Junami >75 mm);<br />
• apples harvested too early (bitter pit) or too<br />
late (brownish fl esh, gloeosporium);<br />
• fruits too large for the variety concerned;<br />
• newly planted trees with strong growth and<br />
trees with low production (unfavourable calcium<br />
distribution);<br />
• trees with a too high nitrogen, potassium or<br />
magnesium content.<br />
Relevant in the fi rst place are low calcium, potassium,<br />
nitrogen and magnesium contents in<br />
the fl esh. <strong>The</strong> mutual ratios in particular –especially<br />
the K/Ca and N/Ca ratio –are important<br />
indicators of the potential risk of physiological<br />
disorders in the fruits (see table 1). A few of these<br />
also partially occur while the fruit is still on the<br />
tree (bitter pit, lenticel blotch), others only after<br />
a period of storage (brown fl esh, scald, storage<br />
pit, gloeosporium).<br />
Gloeosporium<br />
in Pinova.
Pink was never<br />
so beautiful<br />
Strong<br />
properties:<br />
• Good flavour<br />
• Variety with large fruit<br />
• Extraordinary pink colour<br />
• Storage properties similar<br />
to Jonagold<br />
• Not a club variety<br />
• Healthy tree<br />
INFO: Jabema B.V. Telephone +31 (0)613161060
<strong>In</strong>fo<br />
Gerard Poldervaart<br />
gerard.poldervaart@fruitmagazine.eu<br />
<strong>In</strong>creasingly more known about<br />
the eff ect of thinning machines<br />
<strong>In</strong> recent years, intensive experiments<br />
have been held with mechanical thinning<br />
in almost all research stations. This<br />
subject was extensively addressed during<br />
the open days organised by various<br />
research orchards and stations <strong>this</strong><br />
summer. This article examines several<br />
recent experiences from research and<br />
the fi eld.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are two types of thinning machine on the<br />
market that must be mounted on a tractor: the<br />
Tree Darwin and the ‘type Bonn’. <strong>The</strong> Tree Darwin<br />
is the oldest of the two. <strong>The</strong> plastic thinning<br />
strings of <strong>this</strong> machine are mounted on a vertical<br />
shaft. <strong>The</strong> angle that the shaft makes with<br />
respect to the tree can be hydraulically adjusted<br />
vertically.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Bonn thinning machine consists of three arms<br />
with plastic strings that are mounted one above<br />
At the farm of fruit grower Helmut Bröhan, thinning Elstar using the Tree Darwin was very<br />
successful <strong>this</strong> year. Photos: EFM<br />
18<br />
Time<br />
A couple of things<br />
have become clear<br />
with respect to the use<br />
of thinning machines.<br />
For instance, the time<br />
of thinning appears<br />
to be more important<br />
than initially thought.<br />
<strong>The</strong> optimum period<br />
is from the moment<br />
that the main fl ower<br />
is open until the tree<br />
is in full bloom. If the<br />
trees are thinned earlier,<br />
there is a risk of<br />
entire fl ower clusters<br />
being knocked from<br />
the tree. Thinning later<br />
results in more leaf<br />
damage.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Tree Darwin thinning machine.<br />
the other. <strong>The</strong> angle of the arms with respect to<br />
the tree can be adjusted both horizontally and<br />
vertically. <strong>The</strong> speed of rotation of the shaft(s) of<br />
both machines can also be adjusted.<br />
A thinning technique that is still being researched<br />
is to shake the trees. Here machines that are normally<br />
used to shake olives or cider apples from<br />
the trees are now used to mechanically thin stone<br />
fruit and apples.<br />
Reduced labour<br />
When used on Golden Delicious, in 2008, the ‘type<br />
Bonn’ machine reduced the number of hours required<br />
for manual thinning by a little more than<br />
50%. This was shown by research carried out by<br />
PC<strong>Fruit</strong>’s research orchard for hard fruit and stone<br />
fruit (PC<strong>Fruit</strong>-PPS) in Sint-Truiden, Belgium. During<br />
the open day that the research orchard held<br />
on 21 August, researcher Hans Goossens showed<br />
that in 2009, comparable results were achieved<br />
for Braeburn. <strong>The</strong> position and rotational speed<br />
of the thinning arms only had a limited eff ect on<br />
the thinning result (see Table 1).<br />
During the Apfeltag in the research orchard in<br />
Klein-Altendorf near Bonn (Germany), consultant<br />
Ralf Nörthemann showed the results of a thinning<br />
trial for Golden Delicious. Using the Tree Darwin,<br />
an eff ect was achieved that was comparable to<br />
manual thinning (see Table 2).<br />
Tree shape infl uences thinning<br />
<strong>In</strong> Das Alte Land in North Germany, eight or<br />
nine Tree Darwin thinning machines are now in<br />
use. Helmut Bröhan is one of the growers who<br />
used the machine <strong>this</strong> year. During the ‘Vorernteführung’<br />
at the end of August – a day organised<br />
by researchers and consultants in Jork – the<br />
result could be seen at his farm. <strong>The</strong> unthinned
After mechanical thinning, the apples were nicely distributed over the tree (on the right).<br />
six-year old Red Elswout trees had too many apples,<br />
too many of which were smaller than 70<br />
mm. <strong>The</strong> trees that were thinned using the Tree<br />
Darwin (driving speed 8 km per hour and rotating<br />
speed 240 revs per minute), were fi ne. <strong>The</strong><br />
size of the apples was visibly better than those<br />
on unthinned trees. Moreover, the apples were<br />
nicely distributed over the tree.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> grower should not be afraid when operating<br />
the thinning machine”, warned consultant<br />
Maike Steff ens. “Dare to pass close to the tree, as<br />
passing further away results in more thinning on<br />
the outside.” Furthermore, the shape of the tree<br />
is also important. “A slender tree is the best. For<br />
trees that have thick, strong branches, the machine<br />
sometimes knocks off all the fl owers, while<br />
the fl owers on hanging branches are thinned a<br />
lot less eff ectively.”<br />
No stimulus for bud<br />
development<br />
Researcher Michaël Clever had some critical remarks<br />
about the thinning machine. A reduction<br />
Table 2. Results of a thinning trial for Golden Delicious<br />
was found in the number of fruit on organically<br />
grown Elstar in the research orchard in Jork, but<br />
no improvement was found in the number of<br />
fl ower buds the next year. According to Clever,<br />
the stronger growth that can be seen after mechanical<br />
thinning could cause fewer buds to develop.<br />
Moreover, the damage to the leaves that<br />
is often visible after mechanical thinning could<br />
have the same eff ect.<br />
Thinning method Date<br />
Number of fruits<br />
per tree<br />
Control without manual thinning - - 78<br />
Control with manual thinning - - 43<br />
ATS - two-year branches in full bloom 15 litres/hectare 24 April 60<br />
ATS - three days after two-year branches being in<br />
full bloom<br />
15 litres/hectare 27 April 62<br />
Tree Darwin - 3 of 5 fl owers opened<br />
8 km/hour and 200 revs/<br />
minute<br />
22 April 38<br />
Tree Darwin - 3 of 5 fl owers opened<br />
8 km/hour and 220 revs/<br />
minute<br />
22 April 39<br />
Source: DLR Rheinpfalz<br />
<strong>The</strong> Bonn thinning<br />
machine.<br />
Table 1. <strong>In</strong>fl uence of mechanical thinning on the time to thin manually for<br />
the Braeburn strains Schneider and Hillwell in 2009<br />
Number of hours required for<br />
manual thinning per hectare<br />
Schneider<br />
Control (manual thinning) 34<br />
Mechanical thinning 16<br />
Hillwell<br />
Control (manual thinning) 35<br />
Mechanical thinning 24<br />
Source: PC<strong>Fruit</strong>-PPS<br />
19
Results with fi re blight-tolerant<br />
apple rootstocks<br />
Gala on M9-T337 Photo: ACW<br />
20<br />
Martin Kockerols, Simon Egger, Philippe Monney, Brion Duff y<br />
Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil Research Station (ACW)<br />
<strong>In</strong> 2007 and 2008, two years with a high<br />
fi re blight pressure in central and eastern<br />
Switzerland, it turned out that not<br />
only many scion varieties in Swiss apple<br />
orchards were extremely susceptible to<br />
fi re blight but also the standard rootstock<br />
M9. Fire blight-tolerant rootstocks<br />
such as B9, G.11 and G.41 which have<br />
been tested at the ACW Research Station<br />
proved to be possible alternatives.<br />
<strong>In</strong> autumn 2002, fi ve fi re blight-tolerant Cornell<br />
Geneva rootstocks (typically referred to as CG. or<br />
G. + number), as well as Budogovski9 (B9) and further<br />
agronomically interesting rootstocks were<br />
planted with the Gala and Topaz varieties at the<br />
Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil Research Station<br />
(ACW) at the site of Wädenswil (near Zürich). <strong>The</strong><br />
target was to fi nd fi re blight-tolerant rootstocks<br />
with roughly the same vigour as M9, good productivity,<br />
satisfactory propagation properties in<br />
rootstock nurseries and a broad suitability for<br />
cultivation in diff erent locations.<br />
Vigour, root suckers and<br />
grafting union<br />
<strong>The</strong> rootstocks G.16, G.202 and G.7 induced the<br />
strongest growth with the Gala variety, represented<br />
in the picture as the cross-section area in cm².<br />
Slightly weaker growth was shown by G.11 and<br />
G.41. <strong>The</strong> growth of the B9 corresponded roughly<br />
to the M9T337. <strong>The</strong> rootstocks B9, M9T337, G.16<br />
and G.202 formed little to a few root suckers.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re were hardly any root suckers noted in G.7,<br />
G.41 and G.11. For fi re blight infections, routes of<br />
entry such as burr knots, cracks in the bark as well<br />
as root suckers play quite a signifi cant role. All<br />
the tested CG rootstocks, as well as B9 had very
clean grafting unions and have been positively<br />
assessed in <strong>this</strong> regard.<br />
Yield<br />
Accumulated yield of Gala apples per tree for the<br />
individual rootstocks from 2004 to 2008 varied<br />
extremely between more vigorous rootstocks<br />
with a high total yield and less vigorous rootstocks<br />
with a weaker total yield. <strong>The</strong> G.11 with<br />
roughly 65kg per tree achieved considerably<br />
more than the M9T337 and B9 with about 45 kg<br />
per tree. With respect to the relative yield however,<br />
which is the yield in relation to tree volume<br />
(represented by the cross-section area), a very<br />
diff erent picture is presented (fi g. 2). <strong>The</strong> highest<br />
relative yields were produced on the rootstocks<br />
P16 and P59. G.11 produced slightly better than<br />
M9T337, B9 and G.41. <strong>The</strong> vigorous rootstocks<br />
G.16, P60 and G.202 showed the lowest relative<br />
yealds. With regard to average fruit weight and<br />
share of 1st class fruits, in 2007 and 2008 there<br />
were no signifi cant diff erences registered between<br />
the M9T337 and the fi re blight-tolerant<br />
rootstocks.<br />
Fire blight tolerance<br />
Susceptibility of rootstocks (non-grafted) to fi re<br />
blight was tested by artifi cial infection in a quarantine<br />
greenhouse at the ACW Research Station<br />
Fig. 1: Rootstock vigour (cross-section area 2008, in cm²).<br />
cm 2<br />
25<br />
20<br />
15<br />
10<br />
5<br />
0<br />
7<br />
kg/cm<br />
6<br />
5<br />
4<br />
3<br />
2<br />
1<br />
0<br />
2<br />
G.16<br />
P59<br />
G.202<br />
P16<br />
M8<br />
G.7<br />
G.11<br />
G.41<br />
M9 T337<br />
G.11<br />
B9<br />
B.9 Photo: ACW<br />
Supporter4<br />
G.41<br />
M9T337<br />
Fig. 2: Relative yield as yield from 2004 to 2008 per cm² trunk cross-section area 2008, in kg/cm².<br />
G.7<br />
B9<br />
Supporter4<br />
G.16<br />
P16<br />
P60<br />
P59<br />
G.202<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo<br />
Propagation<br />
Propagation of rootstock<br />
B9 in the stool<br />
bed is satisfactory<br />
(similar to the M9<br />
standard). Some of<br />
the CG rootstocks<br />
showing a worse<br />
propagation ability<br />
might - depending<br />
on the individual rootstock<br />
- not be able to<br />
establish themselves<br />
in practice. G.41 is not<br />
easy to propagate in<br />
stoolbed and shows<br />
thorny liners, whereas<br />
G.11 can be propagated<br />
much better but<br />
is so far only being<br />
propagated in small<br />
numbers in France<br />
and Holland.<br />
21
G.11 Photo: ACW<br />
22<br />
in 2006. M9T337 showed an average lesion length<br />
of about 65% of the shoots, while the CG rootstocks<br />
were only visibly infested by not more than<br />
5 to 10% of the shoots in average. Rootstocks B9<br />
and P16 were not included in <strong>this</strong> test. According<br />
to information from foreign sources, they showed<br />
susceptibility to fi re blight in artifi cial infection<br />
tests. Though, fi re blight fi eld tests in the USA<br />
with the Gala and Mc<strong>In</strong>tosh varieties indicated<br />
that besides the CG rootstocks G.16, G.41, G.11,<br />
also the B9 shows fi eld-tolerance to fi re blight.<br />
<strong>In</strong> commercial orchards in the USA, these results<br />
appeared to be confi rmed; it was stated that<br />
the the amount of rootstock blight via the scion<br />
variety was signifi cantly lower on B9 rootstock.<br />
That is why B9 is recommended in the USA as a<br />
replacement for M9 in fi re blight areas.<br />
Discussion<br />
<strong>In</strong> comparison with other <strong>European</strong> trial results,<br />
the CG rootstocks are more vigorous in the ACW<br />
trials. Vigor of the weakest CG rootstocks, G.41<br />
and G.11 in Wädenswil was comparable to the<br />
growth of M9Pajam2, which is the most vigorous<br />
M9 type, while in other trials the growth of the<br />
G.41 and G.11 lay, with a few deviations, between<br />
the M9T337 and M9 Pajam2. With regard to overall<br />
yield, the G.41 and G.11 performed better in<br />
all the trials than the M9 standard. <strong>The</strong> relative<br />
yield of the named rootstocks is comparable.<br />
Growth and relative yields of the rootstocks B9<br />
and M9T337 were at the same level. For many<br />
years, the B9 has been upheld in Europe as an<br />
alternative to the M9, with growth between the<br />
M9Fleuren56 and the M9T337.<br />
Conclusion and outlook<br />
<strong>The</strong> rootstocks B9, G.11 and G.41 showed the best<br />
agronomical production characteristics in the trials<br />
together with the fi re blight susceptible standard<br />
M9T337. If the fi eld tolerance observed in the<br />
USA with regard to fi re blight will be confi rmed<br />
in future tests carried out by ACW in Swiss commercial<br />
orchards, B9 would be a suitable alternative<br />
for M9. G.11 should be pursued due to its fi re<br />
blight tolerance and its interesting production<br />
characteristics. Unfortunately, G.41 cannot be<br />
propagated well and is therefore not very likely<br />
to establish itself in practice. Larger numbers<br />
of trees with the Braeburn, Gala, Milwa (Diwa®)<br />
and La Flamboyante (Mairac®) apple varieties<br />
on the rootstocks B9 and G.11 will be planted in<br />
spring 2009 in commercial orchard trials in eastern<br />
Switzerland. Currently, we only recommend<br />
these rootstocks for further experimentation on<br />
commercial orchard level. More experience with<br />
regard to their potential for reduction of fi re<br />
blight pressure has to be gathered.
Proudly Yours,<br />
the Kanzi ® people Europe
24<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo<br />
Hans Scholten<br />
consultant in France<br />
hansscholten@sfr.fr<br />
Japanese plums<br />
conquer South Europe<br />
Japanese plum<br />
<strong>The</strong> name Japanese<br />
plum is actually incorrect.<br />
<strong>The</strong> varieties <strong>this</strong><br />
name covers are in<br />
fact hybrids of American<br />
and Chinese plum<br />
cultivars. <strong>The</strong> fi rst<br />
hybrids were created<br />
at the end of the 19th<br />
century in California,<br />
USA. <strong>The</strong> Chinese varieties<br />
initially used<br />
then were imported<br />
from Japan. Hence<br />
the name - Japanese<br />
plum.<br />
Until now cultivation of plums in Europe<br />
was virtually confi ned to the <strong>European</strong><br />
plum varieties (Prunus domestica L.). This<br />
situation is about to change fast. <strong>In</strong> large<br />
parts of South Europe the only trees now<br />
being planted are the Japanese plum (Prunus<br />
trifl ora or Prunus salicina).<br />
Many growers cultivate plums under hail nets.<br />
Photos: Hans Scholten<br />
North <strong>European</strong> plum growers can refl ect with<br />
satisfaction on a harvest of Victoria, Opal or<br />
Jubileum if they were able to pick 25 tons of<br />
plums per hectare, with an average fruit weight<br />
of 55 grams. This would be considered a poor<br />
harvest by South <strong>European</strong> growers. Thanks to<br />
the introduction of the Japanese varieties, production<br />
in those regions is at a far higher level,<br />
with fruits of 75 grams or more.<br />
Shifting pattern<br />
Plum growing in Europe is becoming increasingly<br />
more professional. Through the introduction of<br />
new rootstocks, such as VVA-1, it has become<br />
possible to achieve larger and earlier production,<br />
and a tree shape can be created that requires little<br />
labour. This has given plum growing a new<br />
impulse, without introducing new varieties.<br />
<strong>In</strong> certain parts of South Europe growers haven’t<br />
turned to using a diff erent rootstock to introduce<br />
change, but have made a radical switch from<br />
<strong>European</strong> varieties in favour of Japanese varieties.<br />
Japanese plums are very probably better<br />
suited to the warm South <strong>European</strong> growing<br />
regions than to the cooler northern climate. <strong>In</strong><br />
the past, certain countries in the north, including<br />
the Netherlands, did grow Japanese varieties<br />
under glass, but <strong>this</strong> type of cultivation has<br />
virtually all but vanished.<br />
A lot of progress has been made, particularly in<br />
the United States, in the development of new<br />
plum varieties. Today, there is a wide range of<br />
Japanese cultivars on the market. <strong>The</strong> fi rst Japanese<br />
varieties were planted in South Europe<br />
some thirty years ago. At the time those were<br />
often the large fruited varieties with only moderate<br />
taste properties, such as Friar and Black<br />
Amber. <strong>The</strong>se varieties never really gained any
great popularity, as consumers had little interest<br />
in fi ne looking, but fl avourless fruit. Things have<br />
changed since then.<br />
Thanks to progressive growers, advisors and nurserymen<br />
a shift is evident in the plum assortment<br />
in certain growing regions in South Europe. Spain,<br />
Italy and France are the countries experiencing<br />
the fastest developments, but Serbia, Hungary<br />
and Turkey are also showing interest in the Japanese<br />
varieties. <strong>In</strong> France for example, Japanese<br />
cultivars occupy a share of 5,000 tons in the total<br />
plum volume of 70,000 tons. <strong>The</strong> trend favours<br />
the Japanese varieties more each year, to the<br />
detriment of the traditional varieties.<br />
TC Sun<br />
One of the most widely grown Japanese varieties<br />
is TC Sun. This variety was introduced to France<br />
ten years ago. <strong>The</strong> extremely good properties of<br />
<strong>this</strong> cultivar account for the huge interest shown<br />
in <strong>this</strong> Japanese plum. TC Sun is a plum with masses<br />
of fl avour, a yellowy orange skin and fruits that<br />
weigh a good 75 grams (55 mm diameter).<br />
<strong>The</strong> tree grows gradually and is highly fertile.<br />
Some growers even plant TC Sun without a pollinator,<br />
as they would otherwise have to thin too<br />
many fruits. If optimally pollinated, the hours devoted<br />
to thinning can reach as many as 200 per<br />
hectare. Japanese and <strong>European</strong> plums cannot<br />
pollinate each other. <strong>In</strong> Spain TC Sun starts to<br />
fl ower in early February and in South West France<br />
in early March.<br />
Big yielders<br />
At planting distances of 4.00 x 1.50 or 4.00 x 1.25<br />
metres (2,000 trees per hectare) TC Sun trees<br />
are easy to manage. Production of 20 kilos per<br />
tree in the third year of growth and 30 kilos per<br />
tree from the fourth year of growth are possible.<br />
This translates to 60 tons per hectare, of which<br />
about 50 to 55 tons is marketable. <strong>The</strong> fruits ts in<br />
the remaining ing 5 to 10 tons are either too small<br />
or too large, ge, or damaged. This high production<br />
does have a negative impact on the<br />
fl avour. Many any growers stick<br />
to a yield of f 45 tons per<br />
hectare, of f which<br />
nearly everything ything<br />
can be sold. .<br />
TC Sun is not<br />
susceptible to<br />
biennial bearring.<br />
<strong>The</strong> fruits ts<br />
are juicy with h<br />
TC Sun is a variety with large fruits.<br />
fi rm, yellow fl esh, and have a sugar content of<br />
more than 16°Brix. <strong>The</strong>y look fabulous and have<br />
a shelf life superior to most <strong>European</strong> plums. <strong>The</strong><br />
fruits can be stored for six weeks in ordinary cold<br />
storage and for eight weeks if ethylene scrubbing<br />
is used. <strong>In</strong> the South of France the picking dates<br />
are around the end of August, early September.<br />
<strong>In</strong> Spain, <strong>this</strong> is two weeks earlier. <strong>The</strong> optimal<br />
picking time must be observed; otherwise the<br />
quality will irrevocably deteriorate. <strong>Fruit</strong> drop is<br />
not a problem with TC Sun however: even if the<br />
plums are ripe, they stay on the tree.<br />
Good prices<br />
<strong>The</strong> prices achieved by growers in the South of<br />
France for TC Sun are between–depending on<br />
the year and the quality – € 0.75 and € 1.50 per<br />
kilo. <strong>The</strong>se are the net payout prices. Linked to the<br />
high yields <strong>this</strong> results in extremely good operating<br />
results. On many farms TC Sun is grown under<br />
hail nets, and if possible, suffi cient night frost<br />
protection is installed. Considering the<br />
excellent yields it’s worthwhile investing<br />
in measures to protect<br />
the harvest. A growers’ association<br />
Ruby Crunch<br />
has red fl esh. sh.<br />
25
26<br />
Diseases<br />
<strong>The</strong> diseases and<br />
pests that attack<br />
Japanese plums are<br />
roughly the same as<br />
those <strong>European</strong> plums<br />
have to cope with.<br />
Cydia moths demand<br />
a concerted approach,<br />
also because the<br />
disease pressure of<br />
<strong>this</strong> moth is higher in<br />
South Europe than<br />
in the North regions.<br />
ESFY, the <strong>European</strong><br />
stone fruit yellows<br />
phytoplasma also<br />
plays a signifi cant<br />
role. This phytoplasm<br />
is very probably<br />
transmitted by<br />
the psyllid vector<br />
Cacopsylla pruni. This<br />
problem does not<br />
occur in Spain, as the<br />
climate is too warm<br />
for <strong>this</strong> insect. Trees<br />
aff ected with EFSY<br />
die.<br />
<strong>The</strong> leaves of tees aff ected by ESFY become increasingly<br />
chlorotic and the trees usually die within a year.<br />
was founded recently to market TC Sun under<br />
the name Estiva.<br />
New varieties needed<br />
<strong>In</strong> recent years many growers in the South of<br />
France have planted TC Sun. This variety is also<br />
cultivated in the southern hemisphere, so it is<br />
available during several periods of the year. South<br />
Africa and Chile are major producers. Spain is busy<br />
catching up. <strong>The</strong> production volume<br />
is expanding fast.<br />
<strong>In</strong> France<br />
alone <strong>this</strong> amounts to 3,000 tons. That is more<br />
than half the country’s total production from<br />
Japanese plum varieties.<br />
<strong>The</strong> time seems to be ripe to look for suitable,<br />
new Japanese plum varieties. Not only to prevent<br />
market overkill with TC Sun, but also to<br />
help achieve more spread in the harvest period<br />
and to attract new consumer interest for a (blue<br />
skinned) variety with a diff erent taste and appearance.<br />
Promising newcomers<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is an abundance of new Japanese plum varieties.<br />
<strong>The</strong> question is, however, which of these<br />
new varieties is good enough to develop into<br />
the main variety.<br />
Ruby Crunch, also known as Florence (picking<br />
date mid August), is a promising cultivar, but<br />
on the downside it is a very strong grower. Research<br />
is required to see if Ruby Crunch grafted<br />
onto a weak rootstock, for example VVA-1, shows<br />
weaker growth and can be brought into production<br />
earlier.<br />
Catalina and Sapphire, which both ripen at the<br />
end of July, are dark, almost black skinned.70%<br />
of Catalina fruits have a diameter of 50 to 60 mm.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se varieties are starting to be planted here<br />
and there.<br />
Some of the many new Japanese cultivars being<br />
trialled are Sun Kiss, Ruby Red and Early Queen.<br />
Of these a number will most likely be introduced<br />
as a club variety. Expectations are high in the<br />
short term.<br />
Jubileum Ju Jubi bi bile le leum um ( (blue),<br />
Ruby Crunch (red)<br />
and TC Sun<br />
(yellow/orange)
Gerard Poldervaart<br />
gerard.poldervaart@fruitmagazine.eu<br />
Pear growers in Emilia Romagna<br />
plant cherry trees<br />
<strong>The</strong> region around Vignola is known<br />
as ‘Italy’s cherry region’. However, in<br />
recent years, increasingly more cherry<br />
trees are being planted in areas where<br />
pears were traditionally grown. Due to<br />
the declining prices for pears and to the<br />
problems related to fi re blight and pear<br />
decline, pear growers started to look for<br />
other crops. Some of them moved over<br />
to cherry growing.<br />
<strong>In</strong> Italy, cherries are grown on approximately<br />
30,000 hectares. <strong>The</strong> region around Vignola – approximately<br />
25 km to the southeast of Modena<br />
in the province of Emilia Romagna – is the best<br />
known but certainly not the largest cherry region<br />
in Italy. Puglia, in the far south of the country, has<br />
about 16,000 hectares of cherry, while in Emilia<br />
Romagna <strong>this</strong> is ‘only’ 2,000 hectares. It appears<br />
that the hectarage will increase in the coming<br />
years. From other regions in Emilia Romagna,<br />
there is an increasing interest in cherry growing,<br />
in particular from pear growers near Ferrara.<br />
Abate Fetel, the main pear variety grown in Italy,<br />
is currently facing major problems: pear decline<br />
is the cause of poor growth and the loss of trees.<br />
Moreover, it has become less fi nancially interesting<br />
to grow pears in recent years. Stefano<br />
Musacchi, researcher and assistant professor at<br />
the University of Bologna: “To be able to earn a<br />
living from growing pears nowadays, a grower<br />
must have around 20 hectares of pear. For cherry,<br />
a couple of hectares is suffi cient.”<br />
A seven-year Grace Star planted on a Colt rootstock at a planting spacing of 5.0 x 5.0 metres. <strong>In</strong> Italian, the<br />
shape of the trees, planted at an angle of 45º, is called Bandiera. This tree shape can best be compared to the<br />
French Drapeau Marchand. Photos: Allround<strong>Fruit</strong><br />
Symposium<br />
On the initiative of<br />
Stefano Musacchi<br />
from the University of<br />
Bologna, on 5 June a<br />
symposium was held<br />
concerning intensifi -<br />
cation in cherry growing.<br />
This was held in<br />
the Ferrara congress<br />
centre. More than four<br />
hundred Italian cherry<br />
growers heard the<br />
introductions to the<br />
subject and visited<br />
two farms that grow<br />
cherries intensively.<br />
27
<strong>Fruit</strong> grower Nino Quartieri (left) and Stefano Lugli from the University of Bologna proudly<br />
show the good production levels of the 7-year old Grace Star trees.<br />
28<br />
<strong>The</strong> region around<br />
Vignola is known for<br />
its cherries.<br />
Productive varieties<br />
Dwarfi ng rootstocks such as Gisela 3, 5 and 6<br />
are still rarely used. Approximately 90% of the<br />
new cherry orchards are planted on Colt or Maxma<br />
60. Maybe <strong>this</strong> also explains why fertile and<br />
highly productive varieties are mainly planted<br />
and that varieties that are less productive on a<br />
more vigorous rootstock are hardly ever grown.<br />
This is because a fertile variety such as Lapins will<br />
do better on a Colt rootstock than, for instance,<br />
Kordia or Regina. <strong>The</strong> French Maxma 14 is not<br />
used, because when grown on <strong>this</strong> rootstock,<br />
the fruit remains smaller than when grown on<br />
other rootstocks. For very fertile soil, Gisela 6 is<br />
chosen. Gisela 5 is actually only being used at<br />
several trial sites.<br />
<strong>In</strong> Vignola, Lapins is the main variety, followed<br />
by Ferrovia (Schneiders), Giorgia and Burlat. <strong>In</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> greengrocers in Ferrara will sell the cherries for € 8 to € 10 per kilo.<br />
the past, Celeste was also planted, but due to<br />
its susceptibility to cracking and Monilia <strong>this</strong> is<br />
no longer the case. <strong>In</strong> addition, due to the high<br />
chance of cracking, Sweetheart is no longer in<br />
the picture. Grace Star, a new variety from the<br />
Stefano Lugli breeding programme at the University<br />
of Bologna, is an interesting new variety that<br />
is increasingly being planted. Grace Star ripens<br />
at approximately the same time as Samba and<br />
three to four days before Giorgia.<br />
High production levels<br />
and good prices<br />
Many cherry orchards are protected by hail nets<br />
from the heavy hail that regularly sweeps the region.<br />
<strong>In</strong> a number of cases, the growers choose<br />
to use fi lm instead of nets to prevent cracking<br />
after rain.<br />
Trees grown on vigorous rootstocks take a couple<br />
of years to become fully productive, but when<br />
they are about 6 to 7 years old, production levels<br />
of 20 tonnes per hectare, with peaks of 25 to<br />
30 tonnes are achieved, with a good fruit size.<br />
When Italian cherry growers talk about ‘a good<br />
size’, they mean a fruit diameter of 28 mm and<br />
greater. <strong>The</strong>y get high prices for these cherries.<br />
At the beginning of June, the cherries larger than<br />
28 mm sold for € 4.80 per kilo when supplied to<br />
the cooperative. For cherries with a diameter<br />
greater than 32 mm <strong>this</strong> was € 5.60. At the time,<br />
the greengrocers in Ferrara, were selling the<br />
cherries from Vignola for € 8 to € 10 per kilo.
Gerard Poldervaart<br />
gerard.poldervaart@fruitmagazine.eu<br />
Stressed trees suff er<br />
more brown spot<br />
Brown spot (Stemphylium vesicarium) is<br />
a disease which has been widespread in<br />
Italy for many years and causes problems<br />
during the pear harvest every year. Since<br />
2000 there have been various examples of<br />
attacks of <strong>this</strong> fungus of varying severity<br />
in the Netherlands and Belgium. Recent<br />
research by the Belgian research station<br />
PC<strong>Fruit</strong> has shown that there are diff erent<br />
strains of the brown spot fungus and that<br />
environmental factors have an impact on<br />
pear trees’ susceptibility to brown spot.<br />
Brown spot attacks can diff er greatly in severity<br />
from one year to the next, from one orchard to<br />
the next, or even within the same orchard. Researchers<br />
at the PC<strong>Fruit</strong> Pome and Stone <strong>Fruit</strong><br />
research station in Sint-Truiden, Belgium, have<br />
set out to pinpoint the causes of the apparently<br />
inexplicable diff erences in the attacks.<br />
Sap fl ow<br />
A survey conducted by PC<strong>Fruit</strong> among pear growers<br />
has revealed that brown spot is much more<br />
common on soils with poor natural drainage and<br />
on wet plots. Researchers also noticed that attacks<br />
of brown spot sometimes diff er greatly within one<br />
plot. <strong>The</strong> sap fl ow in the trunks of pear trees was<br />
measured on well-drained and poorly drained<br />
parts of a plot. It was observed that when the plot<br />
was waterlogged, after rain for example, the sap<br />
fl ow of trees in poorly drained parts slows down<br />
much earlier and for much longer than in trees<br />
on well-drained parts of the plot. Trees whose<br />
leaves turn yellow early in the autumn are more<br />
susceptible to Stemphylium, the observations in<br />
Belgium revealed. It was also observed that brown<br />
spots mainly appear on the sun side of the fruit.<br />
Exposure to UV light also makes the fruit more<br />
susceptible to brown spot.<br />
Stress<br />
With apple scab (Venturia inaequalis), for example,<br />
it is mainly factors such as temperature, humidity<br />
and the presence of spores that determine<br />
whether an infection will occur. <strong>The</strong>se and other<br />
observations lead to the conclusion not only that<br />
brown spot infection is contingent on the presence<br />
of spores and infection conditions, but also<br />
that the susceptibility of the fruit plays a major<br />
role. Stress caused by poor growth or exposure to<br />
ozone or UV light makes the fruit more susceptible<br />
to brown spot, the researchers concluded.<br />
Two groups of Stemphylium<br />
<strong>The</strong> researchers also discovered that there are two<br />
groups of populations of the Stemphylium vesicarium<br />
fungus in Belgium. <strong>The</strong> fi rst group is closely<br />
linked to the strains that cause brown spot in Italy.<br />
<strong>The</strong> second group is closely related to Alternaria<br />
and, researcher Piet Creemers believes, possibly<br />
a hybrid of Stemphylium and Alternaria.<br />
<strong>The</strong> brown spot fungus has been widespread in Italy<br />
since 1975 and in Spain since 1988. <strong>The</strong> disease<br />
only arrived in the Netherlands and Belgium later<br />
on, between 1997 and 2001. A possible explanation<br />
for <strong>this</strong> could be climate change. <strong>The</strong> increase<br />
in temperature is giving rise to pathogens that<br />
were previously only found in hot, southern <strong>European</strong><br />
growing areas. Brown spot could well have<br />
another cause, however. According to the latest<br />
fi ndings, climate change could have caused the<br />
brown spot fungus to mutate from a saprophytic<br />
fungus which lives on dead matter to a parasitic<br />
fungus which can also aff ect living tissue.<br />
Either way, there is still a great deal to learn about<br />
brown spot, although the research carried out<br />
in recent years has considerably expanded our<br />
knowledge of <strong>this</strong> fungus.<br />
Stress plays a major role in Stemphylium attacks.<br />
Photos: EFM<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo<br />
Temperature<br />
2ºC higher<br />
Temperature measurements<br />
at PC<strong>Fruit</strong><br />
reveal that the average<br />
annual temperature<br />
rose by 2ºC between<br />
1950 and 2008.<br />
<strong>The</strong> average temperature<br />
today is 11ºC<br />
compared with 9ºC<br />
in 1950. <strong>The</strong> change<br />
in temperature is<br />
thought to be partly<br />
responsible for the<br />
spread of brown spot<br />
in the Netherlands<br />
and Belgium.<br />
<strong>In</strong>terpera<br />
At the <strong>In</strong>terpera<br />
Conference at Sint-<br />
Truiden, Belgium, at<br />
the end of May, researcher<br />
Piet Creemers<br />
delivered an address<br />
on the various<br />
diseases and infestations<br />
threatening pear<br />
cultivation. He also<br />
presented the latest<br />
fi ndings of research<br />
into brown spot in<br />
Belgium.<br />
29
30<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo<br />
Dr. Gottfried Lafer<br />
gottfried.lafer@stmk.gv.at<br />
Practical experience with<br />
new storage technologies in Austria –<br />
Dynamic CA (DCA) storage and SmartFresh TM<br />
DCA or DCS<br />
Dynamic Controlled<br />
Atmosphere (DCA)<br />
and Dynamic Control<br />
System (DCS) are both<br />
systems that reduce<br />
the oxygen content in<br />
the store atmosphere<br />
to just above the level<br />
at which alcohol is<br />
formed. When DCS<br />
technology is used,<br />
during the fi rst weeks<br />
of being stored various<br />
apple samples are<br />
checked for the fi rst<br />
signs of alcohol formation.<br />
If <strong>this</strong> is not<br />
found, the oxygen in<br />
the air in the store can<br />
be carefully lowered.<br />
When signs of alcohol<br />
are found, the oxygen<br />
level is raised, to eventually<br />
reach a stable<br />
level, just above the alcohol<br />
formation level.<br />
Following the introduction of Controlled Atmosphere<br />
(CA) storage in the nineteen fi fties, the introduction<br />
of DCA storage and the acceptance of<br />
1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) represented a new<br />
giant step in the storage of fruit. By dynamically<br />
adapting the storage conditions to the physiological<br />
status and the activities of the apples, a further<br />
improvement in fruit quality can be achieved without<br />
supplementary post-harvest treatments.<br />
<strong>The</strong> active ingredient 1-MCP (registered under the<br />
trade name ´SmartFresh´) eff ectively prevents the<br />
formation of ethylene, which in turn delays the<br />
ripening and aging of the fruit.<br />
<strong>The</strong> use of SmartFresh is extremely interesting in<br />
particular due to the improvement in internal fruit<br />
quality after storage (shelf life) and in the prevention<br />
of physiological storage problems.<br />
What is DCA storage?<br />
When Dynamic Controlled Atmosphere (DCA)<br />
storage is used, the oxygen level in the cold store<br />
is lowered in steps down to near the lowest level<br />
tolerated by the fruit, the so-called anaerobic compensation<br />
point. During storage, the atmosphere<br />
is continually adjusted to the physiological condi-<br />
Figure 1: When DCA is used, the fl uorescence of the<br />
chlorophyll in the skin of the fruit is measured by a<br />
FIRM TM Sensor that monitors a sample of six apples.<br />
(Photos: Gottfried Lafer)<br />
tion of the fruit. This critical oxygen level is not a<br />
fi xed value, but varies, dependent on variety, ripeness<br />
and length of time the fruit has been stored,<br />
from between 0.3 and 0.6% O 2 . By measuring the<br />
Chlorophyll fl uorescence, <strong>this</strong> critical oxygen con-<br />
Figure 2: Graph showing the fl uorescence signal during the entire storage period (end of October 2007 to mid<br />
March 2008)
centration can be determined very rapidly (in real<br />
time and online) and very accurately.<br />
<strong>The</strong> method is based on measuring the fl uorescence<br />
of the chlorophyll in the skin of the fruit by<br />
using a FIRM TM Sensor (Fluorescence <strong>In</strong>teractive<br />
Response Monitor) to monitor a sample of six<br />
apples (Figure 1). If light of a certain wavelength<br />
comes in contact with the chlorophyll of the apple,<br />
the chlorophyll returns the light at a diff erent<br />
wavelength (fl uorescence). Below a certain<br />
oxygen level that is specifi c for the fruit, there is<br />
a clear rise in the fl uorescence signal. Using <strong>this</strong><br />
information, it is possible to dynamically adjust<br />
the atmosphere in the store to the ripeness, the<br />
annual diff erences and the diff erences in origin of<br />
the apples to be stored. <strong>The</strong> oxygen concentration<br />
in the atmosphere is reduced to just above<br />
the safe level.<br />
DCA storage has been successfully introduced<br />
in the North Italian fruit region of South Tyrol, by<br />
Dr Angelo Zanella from the Laimburg research<br />
station. After several years of scientifi c research,<br />
followed by four years of large-scale practical<br />
trials at several cooperatives, DCA storage was<br />
used during the 2006/2007 storage season in a<br />
total of 81 stores and during the 2007/2008 season<br />
in 120 stores.<br />
DCA storage has proved its value in South Tyrol, in<br />
particular for varieties that are susceptible to scald<br />
Figure 3: Due to its susceptibility to internal<br />
browning, Braeburn is diffi cult to keep under ULO<br />
conditions.<br />
(including Granny Smith, Red Delicious, etc.).<br />
<strong>The</strong> shelf life after DCA storage is also clearly better,<br />
in particular with respect to the internal quality<br />
(fi rmness and titratable acid) of the fruit and<br />
fruit rot. DCA technology can be very interesting<br />
for organic farmers for the storage of Topaz as it<br />
off ers an alternative to the chemical post-harvest<br />
treatment that they cannot use.<br />
DCA storage trials for Braeburn<br />
and Topaz in Austria<br />
<strong>The</strong> positive experiences with DCA technology in<br />
South Tyrol have resulted in many research stations<br />
in Europe including the use of DCA technology in<br />
CA 2<br />
CA 1<br />
DCA 2<br />
DCA 1<br />
kg/cm 2<br />
6<br />
12<br />
6 6 24<br />
0 10<br />
10<br />
9,5<br />
9<br />
8,5<br />
8<br />
7,5<br />
7<br />
6,5<br />
6<br />
9,0<br />
DCA Storage trial Braeburn - <strong>In</strong>ternal browning 2007/08<br />
6 52<br />
2 40<br />
30<br />
20 30 40 50 60 70 [%]<br />
core browning cavities fl esh browning<br />
Figure 4: <strong>The</strong> infl uence of various storage techniques and harvesting times on the occurrence<br />
of internal browning in Braeburn<br />
DCA Storagetrial Braeburn 2006/07 - fi rmness<br />
their research programmes. Since 2006, the Haidegg<br />
research station (Steiermark, Austria) has also<br />
been working on DCA storage, and has purchased<br />
six fl uorescence sensors for <strong>this</strong> purpose. <strong>In</strong> the<br />
2006/2007 season, the research concentrated on<br />
Braeburn, which, as is commonly known, is very<br />
diffi cult to store in normal ULO stores due to its<br />
susceptibility to internal browning (core and fl esh<br />
browning, cavities) (Figure 3). <strong>In</strong> the 2007/2008<br />
season, the apple variety Topaz and the pear variety<br />
Uta, both grown by the organic sector, were<br />
included in the research programme. <strong>In</strong> addition,<br />
practical experience could be gained from a large<br />
practical trial of DCA storage at a fruit trading<br />
company.<br />
<strong>In</strong> summary, the most important results of the<br />
DCA Braeburn trials<br />
• Reduction of core and fl esh browning by approximately<br />
30 to 50%, depending on the moment<br />
of harvesting (Figure 4)<br />
• If the DCA conditions are incorrectly controlled<br />
alcohol damage can occur<br />
• SmartFresh exacerbates internal browning,<br />
also in combination with DCA<br />
8,7<br />
8,6<br />
8,4<br />
8,9<br />
8,6<br />
7,8<br />
8,9<br />
8,3<br />
8,2<br />
15.02.2007 26.06.2007 06.07.2007<br />
date of analysis<br />
Figure 5: Graph showing the fi rmness of Braeburn apples kept diff erently during the<br />
2006/2007 storage season<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo<br />
DCA<br />
DCA has the same objective<br />
as DCS storage,<br />
which is to keep the<br />
oxygen level in the atmosphere<br />
in the store<br />
to just above the alcohol<br />
formation level.<br />
DCA uses a number of<br />
sample apples and a<br />
sensor to continually<br />
monitor the chlorophyll<br />
fl uorescence (see<br />
text in article). Chlorophyll<br />
fl uorescence is<br />
related to the alcohol<br />
content in the fruit.<br />
7,3<br />
31
CA<br />
DCA<br />
31,1<br />
10,0 1,0 28,0<br />
• Better internal quality through to the end of the<br />
storage period.<br />
• No infl uence on the sugar content (°Brix)<br />
• Limited infl uence on acidity<br />
• <strong>In</strong>creased fi rmness of the fruit, also during the<br />
shelf life (Figure 5)<br />
• Signifi cant better assessment of the fl avour<br />
in the DCA and MCP objects<br />
<strong>In</strong> addition to Braeburn, DCA storage trials have<br />
also been carried out on Topaz – the main variety<br />
grown organically in Austria. Due to its susceptibility<br />
to Gloeosporium fruit rot, organically grown<br />
Topaz is problematic in long-term storage. Moreover,<br />
fl esh browning increases with the storage<br />
time. <strong>The</strong> objective of the trials was to reduce the<br />
occurrence of Gloeosporium and fl esh browning<br />
and so to improve the storage quality of Topaz.<br />
<strong>The</strong> fi rst trials gave the following results:<br />
• Reduction of core and fl esh browning by approximately<br />
70% (Figure 6)<br />
• Reduction of storage loss due to Gloeosporium<br />
by approximately 20% (Figure 7 a+b)<br />
• Better internal quality during storage<br />
• Improved fi rmness of the fruit, also during the<br />
shelf life<br />
• <strong>The</strong>re is no infl uence on sugar content<br />
• Minor eff ect on acidity<br />
<strong>The</strong> fi rst trials with DCA storage of Braeburn and<br />
organically grown Topaz were very promising,<br />
Storage trial Topaz 2007/08<br />
3,2 72,3<br />
0 20 40 60<br />
storage losses in %<br />
80 100 120<br />
core browning fl esh browning cavities<br />
Figure 6: Results of storage trials for Topaz 2007/08<br />
32<br />
both in small containers in the Haidegg research<br />
station and in large stores at cooparatives. For<br />
<strong>this</strong> reason, the owners of cold stores are showing<br />
great interest in <strong>this</strong> new storage technology. It is<br />
expected that the number of stores where DCA<br />
storage is used will increase considerably. More<br />
so because for Braeburn, due to the infl uence on<br />
internal browning, and for Topaz, due to the legal<br />
situation, it is not possible to use SmartFresh to<br />
improve storage and fruit quality.<br />
Experiences with SmartFresh in<br />
Austria<br />
SmartFresh has been successfully used in Austria<br />
since 2004, in particular for the apple varieties<br />
Elstar, Gala, Golden Delicious and Jonagold. A<br />
Figure 7a: Topaz after ULO storage Figure 7b: Topaz after DCA storage<br />
clear increase in the treated volumes can be seen.<br />
<strong>In</strong> 2007, SmartFresh was used for approximately<br />
25% of the apples stored in Austria.<br />
<strong>In</strong>fl uence on fruit quality<br />
<strong>In</strong> all of the trials and in practice the use of Smart-<br />
Fresh resulted in a signifi cant improvement in<br />
the fi rmness of the apples. This positive eff ect is<br />
already noticeable immediately following storage,<br />
but the eff ect is greatest after the fruit has<br />
been on the shelf for 8 days at 20°C (Figure 8).<br />
SmartFresh improved the fi rmness by on average<br />
15-20%, with a clear relationship being seen between<br />
variety, ripeness and storage duration. <strong>In</strong><br />
addition to the infl uence on fi rmness, SmartFresh<br />
also slowed down the reduction in acid content.<br />
Apples treated with SmartFresh had a titratable<br />
acid content that was 10-15% higher than that<br />
found in untreated apples. Furthermore, Smart-<br />
Fresh clearly slowed down the transition of the<br />
background colour from green to yellow. However,<br />
the sugar content did not improve when<br />
SmartFresh was used.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the majority of cases, all of these positive infl uences<br />
also led to a higher valuation in the fl avour<br />
tests (Table 1). Exceptions to <strong>this</strong> were Fuji (no
signifi cant diff erence when compared to untreated)<br />
and Golden Delicious that had been picked<br />
too early, which due to the lack of aroma were<br />
clearly rated lower in the fl avour test than the<br />
untreated fruits.<br />
<strong>In</strong>fl uence on physiological<br />
damage and storage disorders<br />
While most varieties including Gala, Elstar, Jonagold<br />
and Golden Delicious clearly reacted well<br />
to SmartFresh, the treatment was not a success<br />
for Braeburn, in particular, due to its promotion<br />
of fl esh and core browning. Extremely positive<br />
eff ects are also seen against scald. For instance,<br />
in Granny Smith, a variety known for its extreme<br />
susceptibility to scald, the occurrence of scald<br />
could be completely prevented even when the<br />
fruit was stored until June. Due to the delay in<br />
aging of the fruits after SmartFresh treatment,<br />
they retain their natural resistance to the fungi<br />
that cause fruit rot for longer. <strong>The</strong>refore, by using<br />
SmartFresh it is possible to reduce the occurrence<br />
of Gloeosporium and other types of fruit rot, in<br />
particular in sensitive varieties including Elstar,<br />
Rubens and Topaz (unfortunately SmartFresh is<br />
not allowed for organically grown produce).<br />
A negative aspect of SmartFresh is the slight promotion<br />
of skin spots in sensitive batches of Elstar.<br />
After extended storage to July-August, skin damage<br />
could sometimes also be found in Golden Delicious.<br />
Based on the experience gained in recent<br />
years, Golden Delicious treated with SmartFresh<br />
seems to be more sensitive to high concentrations<br />
of CO 2 . This is particularly the case when the<br />
stores are fi lled very rapidly (within 1-3 days), the<br />
as yet not completely cooled fruits are treated with<br />
SmartFresh and the store is immediately brought<br />
to ULO conditions. After extended storage up to<br />
July-August, skin damage was visible 4-5 days after<br />
opening the cell. Gradual cooling and bringing<br />
the store down to ULO conditions slower has led<br />
to less damage in trials and in practice.<br />
Summary<br />
<strong>The</strong> introduction of the new storage technologies<br />
can reliably improve storage and fruit quality<br />
when compared to the normal CA and ULO<br />
storage.<br />
However, both approaches place higher demands<br />
on the fruit growers and cold store managers, in<br />
particular due to the necessity to accurately determine<br />
the optimum harvesting moment, the<br />
homogeneity of the stored batches and the rapid<br />
fi lling of the cold stores.<br />
<strong>In</strong> addition, DCA storage is associated with considerably<br />
higher costs due to the installation of<br />
higher-capacity scrubbers, the supplementary<br />
supply of nitrogen and the careful monitoring<br />
and control of the storage conditions.<br />
kg/cm 2<br />
8,5<br />
8,0<br />
Storage trial Golden Del. Reinders - fi rmness<br />
7,5<br />
7,2<br />
7,0 6,8<br />
6,5<br />
6,5<br />
6,3<br />
6,0<br />
6,1<br />
5,8<br />
6,2<br />
6,2<br />
5,5<br />
5,7<br />
5,5<br />
5,0<br />
4,5<br />
4,0<br />
3,5<br />
CA 23.09.2003<br />
CA 07.10.03<br />
MCP 23.09.2003<br />
MCP 07.10.03<br />
4,6<br />
4,5<br />
4,9<br />
4,5<br />
Einlagerung 38057 38155 38169<br />
date of analysis<br />
Figure 8: <strong>In</strong>fl uence of SmartFresh on the fi rmness of Golden Delicious.<br />
Table 1: Flavour assessment of various apple varieties with and without SmartFresh (storage<br />
duration depending on variety 240 − 270 Days, ULO).<br />
Variety<br />
At approximately two euro cents per kilogram,<br />
the costs of SmartFresh treatment are not cheap.<br />
<strong>In</strong> spite of these higher costs, both technologies<br />
have already been widely used, because the costs<br />
are clearly outweighed by the advantages in storage<br />
and fruit quality.<br />
Literature<br />
Harvesting<br />
moment<br />
Streif J., McCormick R., Neuwald D., 2008. Haltbarkeit<br />
und Fruchtqualität durch Fortschritte in<br />
der Lagertechnik verbessern: ULO pur, DCA oder<br />
MCP. Teil 1: Besseres Obst 8, 9 − 11. Teil 2: Besseres<br />
Obst 9, 10 − 12.<br />
Lafer G., 2008. Die Fruchtqualität erhalten durch dynamische<br />
CA-Lagerung. Besseres Obst 9, 17 − 20.<br />
Gasser F., Höhn E., 2007. Dynamische CA-Lagerung<br />
− Versuchsresultate und Vergleich mit MCP. Vortrag<br />
im Rahmen des <strong>In</strong>terreg IIIA Projektes in Ravensburg<br />
am 16.08.2007.<br />
Zanella, A., Cazanelli, P., Panarese, A., Coser, M.,<br />
Cecchinel, M. and Rossi, O. 2005. <strong>Fruit</strong> fl uorescence<br />
response to low oxygen stress: Modern storage<br />
technologies compared to 1-MCP treatment of apple.<br />
Acta Hort. 682: 1535−1542.<br />
Zanella A., 2004. Dynamische CA-Lagerung und<br />
Anwendung von 1-MCP. Besseres Obst 9, 11 − 13<br />
Flavour (1 – 10)<br />
Without 1-MCP With 1-MCP<br />
Elstar 26.08.2002 6.1 a 6.1 a<br />
Gala 26.08.2002 2.2 a 3.9 b<br />
Rubens 10.09.2002 2.6 a 4.6 b<br />
Golden Klon B 12.09.2002 4.8 b 1.7 a<br />
Golden Reinders 12.09.2002 2.5 a 5.1 b<br />
Fuji Kiku 8 16.10.2002 4.6 a 4.4 a<br />
Numbers followed by the same letter do not diff er signifi cantly from each other. <strong>The</strong> signifi cance<br />
calculations were only performed within the variety (assessment 1=very poor, 10 = very good)<br />
Author:<br />
Dr. Gottfried Lafer<br />
Versuchsstation für Obst-<br />
und Weinbau Haidegg<br />
A-8047 Graz<br />
E-Mail:<br />
gottfried.lafer@stmk.gv.at<br />
33
34<br />
Gerard Poldervaart<br />
gerard.poldervaart@fruitmagazine.eu<br />
Automatic bagging<br />
machine saves labour<br />
<strong>The</strong> English supermarkets sell lots of apples<br />
in bags of 1 or 1.5 kilos. <strong>The</strong> large<br />
packing stations use fully automatic<br />
bagging machines to count and weigh<br />
the apples. However, such machines are<br />
mostly too expensive for smaller packing<br />
stations. During the National <strong>Fruit</strong><br />
Show, a fruit exhibition in Kent, UK, various<br />
suppliers presented bagging machines<br />
that can be of interest to smaller<br />
packing stations.<br />
<strong>The</strong> large packing stations use fully automatic<br />
machines to bag the apples. <strong>The</strong>se machines<br />
count and weigh the fruit and can be adjusted<br />
to ensure that almost exactly the same weight<br />
of fruit ends up in each bag. <strong>The</strong> machine also<br />
closes the bags and attaches a label. Hardly any<br />
human intervention is required. Due to the price,<br />
approximately €200,000 each, these machines<br />
are often unprofi table for the smaller packing<br />
stations. Suppliers of grading and packing equipment<br />
saw that the smaller packing stations needed<br />
smaller bagging machines. Maf Roda, Greefa<br />
<strong>The</strong> Burg’s Machinefabriek machine closes and labels the bags.<br />
Photos: EFM<br />
Using the Greefa machine, one person can fi ll seven to<br />
eight bags per minute.<br />
and Burg’s Machinefabriek presented such machines<br />
at the show.<br />
Blow the bag open<br />
All three bagging machines do not weigh the<br />
apples, but count the number of apples using a<br />
photocell. <strong>The</strong> desired number of fruits per bag<br />
can be set in advance. To ensure as little weight<br />
loss as possible, the apples must therefore be<br />
very accurately graded.<br />
With the Greefa and Maf Roda machines, a jet<br />
of air blows the new bag open, after which two<br />
steel brackets keep it open. <strong>The</strong> full bags must<br />
be manually removed from the machine, closed<br />
and labelled. <strong>The</strong> apples roll into the bags, which<br />
could cause some bruising. Both machines can<br />
be connected to the output of the existing grading<br />
lines.<br />
Careful placement<br />
<strong>The</strong> bagging machine from Burg’s Machinefabriek<br />
does not roll, but as it were ‘places’ the apples<br />
into the bags. Another diff erence is that the<br />
machine also closes the bags, labels them and<br />
deposits the full bags in a bin or box. Obviously,<br />
the Burg machine requires fewer personnel than<br />
the Greefa and Maf Roda machines, which is also<br />
refl ected in the price.<br />
Costs<br />
<strong>The</strong> Burg machine costs around €55,000 excluding<br />
vat. Greefa’s machine around €7,000. <strong>The</strong> Maf<br />
Roda sales rep declined to give a price.<br />
Using the Greefa machine, one person can fi ll<br />
seven to eight bags per minute, explained the<br />
company representative. A person fi lling the<br />
bags by hand would fi ll approximately three<br />
bags per minute. <strong>The</strong> fully automatic machines<br />
used in large packing stations fi ll twenty bags<br />
per minute.
Gebr. Bonenkamp b.v.<br />
IJsselstein/Tiel – Holland<br />
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��(+31) 65 493 0 408<br />
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Lindeweg 24<br />
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Telefoon +31(0)527 202 377<br />
Fax +31(0)527 202 604<br />
E-mail info@fairplant.nl<br />
Web www.fairplant.nl<br />
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Using modern techniques, we supply a wide range of apples including :<br />
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<strong>Fruit</strong> trees in many varieties<br />
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For more information:<br />
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Phone: +31 – (0)495 – 632793, Fax: +31 – (0)495 – 632128<br />
E-mail: info@redjonaprince.nl, <strong>In</strong>ternet: www.redjonaprince.nl<br />
Thanks to our modern, in-company grading and packing facilities, we can meet almost all of the packing<br />
wishes of clients, fruit traders and supermarket chains. Of course, we fully comply with the HACCP<br />
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Want to know more?<br />
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almakuti@t-online.hu
36<br />
Production and market developments<br />
NETHERLANDS:<br />
FEWER NEW VARIETIES<br />
Dutch fruit growers planted fewer new varieties in 2008<br />
than in the previous year. This is shown by the fi gures<br />
published several weeks ago by the Dutch Central Statistical<br />
Offi ce. <strong>In</strong> the 2007/2008 winter, 224 hectares of<br />
the three new varieties Kanzi, Junami and Rubens were<br />
planted. <strong>The</strong> year before, the fi gure was 345 hectares. <strong>In</strong><br />
total, in 2008, there were 934 hectares of Kanzi, Junami<br />
and Rubens in the Netherlands (see Table)<br />
POLAND:<br />
NOT MUCH FRUIT<br />
SOLD THROUGH<br />
SUPERMARKETS<br />
Relatively little fruit is currently sold in<br />
supermarkets in Poland. Professor Eberhard<br />
Makosz estimates that around a<br />
quarter of all apples are sold through <strong>this</strong><br />
channel. <strong>The</strong> supermarkets have an even<br />
smaller segment of the market for other<br />
fruit types like pears, cherries, strawberries<br />
and raspberries. Makosz has noted<br />
a trend towards more fruit being sold in<br />
supermarkets, at the expense of weekly<br />
markets and green grocers.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the North German fruit region das Altes<br />
Land, the Jonagold strain Red Jonaprince<br />
is very popular, reports consultant Wouter<br />
van Teeff elen of WTE-<strong>Fruit</strong>advies in his electronic<br />
newsletter. According to a spokesperson<br />
of the sales organisation Elbe-Obst, <strong>this</strong><br />
planting season, growers are planting lots<br />
of Jonagold and more than 90 percent of<br />
these are the dark strain Red Jonaprince.<br />
For the grower, Red Jonaprince combines<br />
the advantages of a high percentage of<br />
top quality fruit with an easy harvest. <strong>The</strong><br />
situation for Braeburn is comparable. <strong>In</strong><br />
comparison to the Netherlands and Belgium,<br />
Braeburn is planted a lot and a large<br />
proportion of the planted trees are the dark<br />
strain Maririred.<br />
Table: Hectarage and hectarage development of new varieties in the<br />
Netherlands<br />
NEW ZEALAND:<br />
STRONG INCREASE IN<br />
JAZZ ACREAGE<br />
Jazz is getting close to becoming the<br />
main variety grown in New Zealand after<br />
Breaburn and Gala. <strong>The</strong> acreage planted<br />
with Jazz rapidly rose to 577 hectares in<br />
2007. <strong>The</strong> target acreage is 1100 hectares,<br />
in other words, 12% of the total New Zealand<br />
apple acreage. At the moment, Jazz<br />
is the fourth apple variety, with slightly<br />
less acreage than Fuji, but more than<br />
Pacifi c Rose and Cripp’s Pink.<br />
Jazz is popular with New Zealand growers<br />
due to the high prices it attracts. For<br />
Ras 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008<br />
Junami 0 26 101 259 363<br />
Kanzi 8 51 192 306 381<br />
Rubens 0 3172 145 190<br />
Total 8 108 365 710 934<br />
of which newly<br />
planted<br />
8 100 257 345 224<br />
Source: CBS<br />
GERMANY:<br />
RED JONAPRINCE POPULAR IN NORTH GERMANY<br />
the fruit harvested in 2007, the growers<br />
received a net price of 0.66 dollars per<br />
kilo. This compared favourably to the<br />
prices received for Braeburn and Gala,<br />
which were respectively 0.19 and 0.25<br />
dollars. <strong>The</strong> high price makes growing<br />
Jazz attractive, despite the lower level<br />
of production and smaller fruit size. <strong>The</strong><br />
production level in New Zealand is 30 to<br />
35% lower than for Braeburn and 20%<br />
lower than for Gala. <strong>The</strong> fruit is smaller<br />
than or in the most favourable case the<br />
same size as Gala. Even in the warm New<br />
Zealand climate, many fruits are less than<br />
70 mm. Jazz is harvested 7 to 10 days<br />
before Braeburn.<br />
Red Jonaprince is frequently planted in Das Alte Land. Photo: EFM
Growers tell growers<br />
21 BEE HIVES ON TWO HECTARES<br />
Roland Schmitz-Hübsch from Bornheim-Merten has two<br />
hectares of cherry trees that are now in their fourth leaf. <strong>The</strong><br />
orchard contains 13 varieties varying in ripening time from<br />
early (Earlise) to late (Sweetheart). <strong>The</strong> orchard is laid out in<br />
such a way that there is a maximum of two rows next to each<br />
other of every variety, and every variety borders two diff erent<br />
pollination varieties. <strong>The</strong> Gisela 5 rootstock is used for dwarfing<br />
varieties such as Earlise, Samba, Skeena and Sweetheart.<br />
<strong>The</strong> more vigorous varieties such as Burlat, Bellise, Kordia and<br />
Regina grow on Gisela 3 rootstock. On the very good soil (100<br />
soil points*) around the village of Merten, even the trees on<br />
Gisela 3 still grow too vigorously. <strong>The</strong>refore, in March <strong>this</strong> year,<br />
Schmitz-Hübsch pruned the roots of all of the trees with an<br />
inclined knife. What struck the grower was that the trees on<br />
Gisela 5 had much thicker roots at the location where the<br />
knife passed than those on Gisela 3, where only thin roots<br />
were found. “<strong>The</strong> trees on Gisela 5 shook as the knife passed.<br />
When passing trees on Gisela 3 nothing was seen or felt.”<br />
ROOT PRUNING IN THE SECOND YEAR<br />
Brothers Wimco and Maurits van de<br />
Water from the company Van de Water<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong> bv from the villages of Beesd and<br />
Rhenoy, near Geldermalsen (NL) bought<br />
an 10 hectare plot of land in 2007 and<br />
planted it completely with Sweet Sensation<br />
in 2008.<br />
<strong>The</strong> well-branched one year old trees<br />
were cultivated in Italy and are spaced<br />
at a distance of 300 x 0.50 cm at the van<br />
de Water <strong>Fruit</strong> company. <strong>The</strong> trees are<br />
planted on ridges and are provided with<br />
fertigation. <strong>The</strong> fi rst year of growth has<br />
mainly seen growth in the top of the<br />
trees. Each tree now has 5 to 10 one year<br />
old side shoots. Van de Water plans to<br />
leave these shoots as much as possible<br />
and let them produce buds.<br />
Early in March, the trees were root<br />
pruned on one side using an angled<br />
knife. “Because we planted wellbranched<br />
trees at 50 cm, they don’t<br />
need to grow much more. We hope<br />
the root pruning will lead to the trees<br />
both producing buds and growing a<br />
little more,” Maurits van de Water explains<br />
their decision to root prune the<br />
trees already in their second year of<br />
growth.<br />
<strong>The</strong> van de Water brothers’ trees were cut on one side using an angled<br />
knife in early March. Photos: EFM<br />
37
38<br />
News of the world<br />
SOUTH TYROL:<br />
HIGH PRICES IN 2007<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong> growers in South Tyrol in Northern<br />
Italy received on average 47.8 cents per<br />
kilo from the cooperative for the 2007<br />
crop of apples. This is reported by the<br />
Raiff aisenverband South Tyrol. <strong>The</strong> price<br />
paid was 26% higher than the price the<br />
growers received for the 2006 crop. This<br />
is the net price, the costs for storage,<br />
grading and sales do not need to be<br />
deducted anymore. <strong>The</strong> price has been<br />
calculated for all of the apples supplied<br />
to the cooperative, therefore including<br />
the Class 2 apples. Cripp’s Pink (Pink<br />
Lady) attracted by far the best prices.<br />
<strong>The</strong> diff erence between <strong>this</strong> variety and<br />
Golden Delicious and Fuji was more<br />
than 20 cents per kilo.<br />
<strong>The</strong> apple hectarage and the production<br />
volumes in South Tyrol are still increasing,<br />
while in various other growing<br />
regions in Europe, the hectarage is<br />
reducing.<br />
<strong>In</strong> 2007, more than 900,000 tonnes of<br />
fruit were sold through the cooperatives.<br />
This is 6.6% more than in the previous<br />
year.<br />
FRANCE:<br />
NETS AGAINST INSECTS<br />
GERMANY:<br />
FEWER AND LARGER<br />
FARMS<br />
<strong>The</strong> number of fruit farms in the main<br />
fruit growing region of Germany, das<br />
Alte Land in the north, has halved in<br />
fi fteen years. According to the fi ve-yearly<br />
inventory of the hectarage, in 1992<br />
there were 1500 fruit farms in das Alte<br />
Land. <strong>In</strong> 2007, only 769 remained. <strong>The</strong><br />
area covered by fruit in the same period<br />
declined by ‘just’ 734 hectares. <strong>In</strong><br />
2007, the fruit region had in total 9,491<br />
hectares of apple, pear, cherry, plum<br />
and damson. As in various other fruit<br />
growing regions, the fruit farms remaining<br />
in das Alte Land are becoming ever<br />
larger. <strong>In</strong> 1997, the average size of a fruit<br />
farm was 8.15 hectares. Ten years later,<br />
<strong>this</strong> had grown to 12.15 hectares per<br />
farm. Apple is by far the most important<br />
fruit crop, accounting for 88.1% of the<br />
hectarage, followed by sweet cherry<br />
at 5.7%. Few pears are grown, they account<br />
for just 3.4% of the hectarage.<br />
Plums and damsons account for 2.6%<br />
and sour cherries 0.2%.<br />
<strong>The</strong> most important apple varieties are<br />
Jonagold and its strains that account for<br />
32.6% of the hectarage, followed by Elstar<br />
at 29.5%. It is striking that Braeburn<br />
has developed into a variety with a 5%<br />
share of the total apple hectarage.<br />
GERMANY:<br />
WORKFORCE NUMBERS<br />
<strong>In</strong> the German agricultural and horticultural<br />
sectors the number of seasonal<br />
workers from Romania and Bulgaria is<br />
increasing, while the number of Poles,<br />
Croats and Slovaks is falling. According<br />
to the latest statistics from the German<br />
Federal Employment Agency, there<br />
were about 71,000 Romanians working<br />
in agriculture up to the end of July 2009.<br />
This is 30% of the total foreign seasonal<br />
workforce, and 14,700 more than in<br />
2008. At 61% of the total, Polish workers<br />
still form the largest group. <strong>In</strong> 2008<br />
67% of foreign seasonal workers came<br />
from Poland and 25% from Romania.<br />
<strong>The</strong> number of workers from Bulgaria<br />
- 2,000 - is not yet very high, but <strong>this</strong><br />
number is rising rapidly.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the south of France, numerous experiments<br />
are underway into the total protection of orchards<br />
from insects using nets. <strong>In</strong> addition to<br />
the existing hail nets, both apple and plum<br />
orchards are being wrapped in insect nets at<br />
the sides and ends. This prevents insects such<br />
as the codling moth and the oriental fruit moth<br />
(Cydia Molesta) from fl ying in. <strong>The</strong> latter moth<br />
is also occurring more frequently in apples.<br />
Both organic and conventional growers are<br />
wrapping up their orchards.<br />
When new hail nets are erected, the headland<br />
at the end of the row is also wrapped in, so that<br />
the net does not have to be lifted at the end<br />
of every row when spraying or mowing. For<br />
existing hail nets, several growers have made<br />
a structure that allows the net to be rolled up<br />
over the entire width of the plot.<br />
(Hans Scholten, consultant in France; hansscholten@sfr.fr)<br />
Orchard in the south of France with nets to protect apples from insects.<br />
Photo: Hans Scholten
News of the world<br />
GERMANY:<br />
NEW PEAR VARIETIES<br />
FROM GEISENHEIM<br />
Germany is not particularly well known<br />
as a country that grows a lot of pears.<br />
However, over the past few years there<br />
have been several breeding programmes<br />
in which new pear varieties have been<br />
bred. One of these programmes was<br />
set up by Professor Helmut Jacob of the<br />
Geisenheim Research Centre. Breeding<br />
has since ceased, but the last crossings<br />
to be carried out may well result in an<br />
interesting new pear variety.<br />
Professor Jacob is mainly known for his<br />
work as a breeder of damson varieties.<br />
A large number of new varieties has<br />
been introduced and planted on fruit<br />
farms over the past few years. All damson<br />
varieties starting with Top, such as<br />
Topper, Tophit plus, Topstar plus and<br />
Topgigant, originate from the Geisenheim<br />
breeding programme. Besides<br />
plums, Jacob has also bred mirabelles,<br />
sour cherries, apples, walnuts and, as<br />
mentioned, pears.<br />
Three of the pear varieties bred by Jacob<br />
are currently being tested in greater<br />
depth and evaluated for suitability. <strong>The</strong><br />
fi rst selection, a cross between Williams<br />
and Conference, has been named Jaco.<br />
Jaco will ripen at the end of September<br />
in central Germany, and is said to be<br />
a good keeper and very fl avoursome.<br />
<strong>The</strong> second variety, Bronzet, is a cross<br />
between Williams and Tongern. As the<br />
name suggests, the fruit has a goldenbrown<br />
appearance. Bronzet ripens at<br />
the same time as Jaco, at the end of<br />
September, and also keeps well. <strong>The</strong><br />
fruits are bigger than those of Jaco, so<br />
no thinning is needed. <strong>The</strong> third variety<br />
is called Schöne Helene and is a cross<br />
between Conference and Bonne Louise.<br />
This variety ripens a month earlier than<br />
Jaco and Bronzet.<br />
During a visit to the Geisenheim Research<br />
Centre at the end of July, the<br />
three varieties gave a good impression<br />
in terms of growth, fruit size and productivity.<br />
It was obviously not possible<br />
to evaluate fl avour and shelf life at<br />
that point.<br />
Schöne Helene is one of the varieties from Professor Jacob’s breeding programme in Geisenheim.<br />
Photos: EFM<br />
GERMANY:<br />
CROSS BETWEEN PEAR AND NASHI<br />
When fruits are crossed to develop new varieties, <strong>this</strong> is usually done within the same species. All over<br />
the world, large numbers of breeding programmes are being undertaken within the <strong>European</strong> pear<br />
species (Pyrus communis) or within the nashi species (Pyrus pyrifolia) to develop new varieties. But<br />
technically it is also perfectly possible to cross the <strong>European</strong> pear with the nashi. <strong>In</strong> <strong>this</strong> way, the typical<br />
properties of both species could be combined in one variety.<br />
During his time as a breeder at the Geisenheim Research Centre in Germany, Professor Jacob did just<br />
that. One of the progeny from a cross between the Harrow Sweet pear and the Niiseiki nashi pear is<br />
currently being evaluated for suitability for commercial growing. <strong>The</strong> cross has the number BN 49-30<br />
and has the appearance of a normal pear.<br />
39
40<br />
Research News<br />
MODEL TO PREDICT<br />
EARLY DROP<br />
Researcher Duane W. Greene from the<br />
University of Massachusetts has developed<br />
a method to predict apple<br />
June drop when the fruit are just 10<br />
to 12 millimetres. <strong>The</strong> Fachhochschule<br />
Weihenstephan magazine reports that<br />
the method is being trialled <strong>this</strong> year by<br />
the Schlachters research garden near<br />
the Bodensee in South Germany. <strong>The</strong><br />
idea behind Greene’s model is that fruits<br />
that fail to grow as fast as the average<br />
fruit will drop during the June drop.<br />
To be able to determine the June drop,<br />
six to eight fl ower clusters on four trees<br />
are marked and the fruits numbered.<br />
Shortly after blossoming, when the<br />
fruits are four to seven millimetres, the<br />
size of every separate fruit is measured.<br />
This is repeated one week later. According<br />
to Greene, fruits that show less than<br />
half of the average growth will drop.<br />
<strong>The</strong>refore, if the average growth of fruits<br />
is 6 millimetres in the week, all fruits<br />
that have grown 3 millimetres or less<br />
will drop.<br />
CRACKING<br />
IN CHERRY TUNNEL<br />
A rain cover or plastic tunnel prevents ents<br />
cherries from cracking due to rain. However,<br />
<strong>this</strong> does not mean that cherries rries<br />
will not crack at all. At a trial orchard rd of<br />
cherry specialist Greg Lang from the<br />
Michigan State University in the United nited<br />
States, even in a plastic tunnel a large arge<br />
proportion of the cherries cracked. d.<br />
After a week in which in total 100 mm m<br />
of rain fell, 91% of the Lapins and d<br />
89% of the Rainier fruit grown with-<br />
out a rain cover had cracked. However,<br />
even in a tunnel the percentage<br />
of cracked cherries was high:<br />
32% of Lapins and 60% of Rainier.<br />
Lang explains <strong>this</strong> by the fact that t<br />
the water that fl owed off the tun-<br />
nel reached the roots and was then en<br />
absorbed by the trees. <strong>In</strong> the days fol- ol-<br />
lowing the rain, which saw high temperatures<br />
and a high air humidity, the<br />
leaves were unable to evaporate the<br />
water, as a result of which it was absorbed<br />
by the fruit.<br />
CHERRIES IN TUNNELS<br />
<strong>The</strong> return made on cherries grown in a<br />
tunnel or greenhouse depends largely<br />
on the yield that can be achieved. <strong>In</strong><br />
an experimental tunnel greenhouse of<br />
Greg Lang from the Michigan State Uni-<br />
SKIN SPOT AND GA 4/7<br />
versity in the United States, two sprinklers<br />
were installed above the trees that<br />
could also be used to apply crop protection<br />
products. This approach means<br />
that you do not need any tracks in the<br />
tunnel to be able to spray using a tractor<br />
with a sprayer. <strong>The</strong> relatively expensive<br />
space in the tunnel is therefore used<br />
more eff ectively and higher production<br />
levels are possible.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the past storage season, Elstar growers were once more confronted with serious<br />
skin spot damage. Unfortunately, the exact cause of the problem has not yet<br />
been found. However, what is clear is that as with russeting, cracks in the skin play<br />
a role. Cracks that occur in the period up to 6 to 8 weeks after blossoming can later<br />
be seen as russeting. Cracks that occur in July and August are probably visible<br />
later as skin spots. On the initiative of the Dutch fruit grower organisation (Nederlandse<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong>telers Organisatie - NFO), paid for by the Product Board for Horticulture<br />
(Productschap Tuinbouw - PT) and carried out by the research department of the<br />
Dutch AFSG, an investigation was carried out to determine whether using GA 4/7<br />
or Platina (Plato) can prevent cracks in the skin and the associated skin spot. With<br />
one treatment of 1 litre GA 4/7 on 27 August or with three treatments of 0.5 litre<br />
GA 4/7 on 9, 16 and 27 August, the amount of skin spots could be reduced by approximately<br />
16%. Platina had no eff ect on skin spots.<br />
Skin spot on Elstar.<br />
Photo: EFM
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New Products<br />
PINK LADY OF THE NORTH<br />
<strong>The</strong> Pink Lady of the north: an alternative name for the new<br />
apple variety Maribelle. Some twenty years ago, the late Piet<br />
de Sonnaville, a private plant breeder, crossed the Meiprinses<br />
and Gloster apple varieties. He then crossed the resulting<br />
apple variety with Elstar. One of the progeny of that cross is<br />
now marketed under the name of Maribelle by his son Ben<br />
de Sonnaville, working together with Jan van <strong>In</strong>gen of the<br />
Boomkwekerij van Rijn tree nursery and Mathieu Gremmen.<br />
Due to its pinkish-red blush, Maribelle looks a bit like a Pink<br />
Lady apple.<br />
Maribelle is a ‘fruit grower-friendly’ apple. <strong>The</strong> variety has a<br />
high yield, a good fruit size, easy colouring, high pack-out<br />
and low susceptibility to diseases. “Maribelle has a fresh taste,<br />
a good sweet and sour balance, a sugar content of approx.<br />
14ºBrix and a fi rmness of 7 to 8 kg/cm 2 and has a crisp bite as<br />
well,” says Gremmen, summarising the qualities of Maribelle.<br />
<strong>The</strong> apples are picked in the same period as Golden Delicious<br />
and Jonagold and keep for a long time.<br />
Unlike most other new apple varieties, Maribelle will not be<br />
marketed under a tightly managed ‘club’ concept, but as a<br />
variety which can be grown and sold freely. However, the<br />
parties that took the initiative to develop and introduce Maribelle,<br />
want to support and coordinate the sales eff orts. And<br />
Tanalith is a relatively new preservative for impregnating<br />
wooden posts. During the recent apple day at Klein-Altendorf,<br />
researcher Achim Kunz demonstrated <strong>this</strong> product to<br />
PWO Robert Lindner and Brändlin guarantee posts impregnated with<br />
Tanalith.<br />
42<br />
25-YEAR WARRANTY ON WOODEN POSTS<br />
since Maribelle is not a club variety, lots of trading companies<br />
have already expressed an interest in the variety.<br />
Maribelle is still only produced on a small scale. De Sonnaville<br />
himself has 1 hectare which is in its third year of growth. A<br />
total of 7,000 trees were planted at other companies in 2009<br />
and another 58,000 trees will follow in the 2009/2010 season.<br />
“It depends on the demand for these apples how many trees<br />
will be planted in the future,” says nurseryman Van <strong>In</strong>gen. <strong>In</strong><br />
addition to being grown by fruit growers, Maribelle can also<br />
be found in a large number of trial gardens in Europe.<br />
Maribelle has a pinkish-red blush. Photos: EFM<br />
visitors. <strong>The</strong> use of fl uoride-containing salts for impregnating<br />
wooden posts was banned in Germany last year. Expectations<br />
are that preservatives containing chromium salts or<br />
creosote oil will also be banned there within a few years.<br />
Posts preserved with Tanalith have been on sale in Germany<br />
for the past two years. <strong>The</strong>y have been available much longer<br />
in the UK. Tanalith is made of copper salts, triazoles (fungicide)<br />
and water-repellent additives. Tanalised posts (posts<br />
impregnated with Tanalith) are claimed to last much longer<br />
than those impregnated with the preservatives used in the<br />
past. Two German suppliers even provide a 25-year warranty<br />
on tanalised posts. PWO Robert Lindner GmbH provides a<br />
staggered warranty on tanalised posts made of German pine.<br />
From the 11th to the 25th year, the amount the company<br />
will pay for posts covered by the warranty drops from 100<br />
to 15%. Brändlin uses Scandinavian pine posts preserved<br />
with Tanalith in its anti-hail net structures. According to <strong>this</strong><br />
company, these posts will last for at least 30 years. Brändlin<br />
provides a full 25-year warranty on the posts.
Agenda und Aktivitäten / Agenda en activiteiten / Agenda and activities<br />
Gleisdorfer Bioobstbautage 2009<br />
Land: Österreich<br />
Sprache: Deutsch<br />
Datum: 15. und 16. Dezember 2009<br />
Lokation/ Ort: Fachschule für OBST-Wirtschaft und EDV Technik<br />
in Gleisdorf<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo: www.fachschule-gleisdorf.at<br />
Anmeldung: bis 30. November 2009<br />
bei claudia.freiding@lk-stmk.at<br />
Kosten: € 60,-<br />
Kernobstseminar<br />
Land: Österreich<br />
Sprache: Deutsch<br />
Datum: 17. Dezember 2009<br />
Lokation/ Ort: Fachschule für OBST-Wirtschaft und EDV Technik<br />
in Gleisdorf<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo: www.lfi .at<br />
Anmeldung: zentrale@lfi -steiermark.at<br />
Kosten: € 35,-<br />
Fructura Vakbeurs voor hard- en zachtfruit<br />
Land: België<br />
Datum: 18 - 20 december 2009<br />
Locatie: Belgische <strong>Fruit</strong>veiling (BFV)<br />
Montenakenweg 82, 3800 Sint-Truiden<br />
Organisator: <strong>Fruit</strong>telers Zuid-Limburg vzw en Groene Kring<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong>telers Zuid-Limburg<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo: www.fructura.be<br />
Bundesseminar Kernobst<br />
Land: Deutschland<br />
Sprache: Deutsch<br />
Datum: 05-01-2010 bis 07-01-2010<br />
Lokation/ Ort: Andrea Hermes Akademie<br />
<strong>In</strong> der Wehrhecke 1<br />
53126 Bonn-Röttgen<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo www.dlr-rheinpfalz.rlp.de<br />
Anmeldung: DLR Rheinpfalz / KoGa<br />
E-Mail: dlr-3.koga@dlr.rlp.de<br />
Agrosimex 2010<br />
Country: Poland<br />
Language: Polish<br />
Date: 6 and 7 January 2010<br />
Location: EXPO-center XXI,<br />
ul. Pradzynskiego 12/14<br />
Warschau.<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo www.agrosimex.pl<br />
Steirische Obstbautag<br />
Land: Österreich<br />
Sprache: Deutsch<br />
Datum: 13. Januar 2010<br />
Lokation/ Ort: LVZ Haidegg<br />
SIVAL Angers<br />
Country: France<br />
Date: 12 – 14 january 2010<br />
Location: Parc des Expositions, route de Paris, Angers<br />
Program: Trade fair for equipment and techniques in viticulture,<br />
horticulture, arboriculture and vegetable<br />
crops<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo: www.sival-angers.com<br />
<strong>In</strong>ternational Fair of <strong>Fruit</strong> Agrotechnology<br />
Country: Poland<br />
Language: Polish<br />
Date: 15 and 16 January 2010<br />
Location: Warsaw<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo http://www.mtas.pl/index.php?sLang=en<br />
Sandomierz 2010<br />
Country: Poland<br />
Language: Polish<br />
Date: 26 and 27 January 2010<br />
Location: Sandomierz (PL)<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo www.spotkaniesadownicze.pl<br />
<strong>Fruit</strong> Logistica 2010<br />
Land: Deutschland<br />
Datum: 3. bis 5. Februar 2010<br />
Zeit: Alle Tagen 09.00 – 18.00 Uhr<br />
Ort: Messe Berlin, Messedamm 22, 14055 Berlin<br />
Programm: unter www.fruitlogistica.de<br />
Veranstalter: Messe Berlin<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo www.fruitlogistica.de<br />
Norddeutschen Obstbautagen 2010<br />
Land: Deutschland<br />
Datum: 10. und 11. Februar 2010<br />
Ort: Schützenhofstraβe in Jork<br />
Programm: Fachausstellung von Maschinen und Geräten für<br />
den Obstbau<br />
Veranstalter: OVR Altes Landes, OVB Jork, LNK Stade<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo: www.ovb-jork.de<br />
Fruchtwelt Bodensee 2010<br />
Land: Deutschland<br />
Datum: 19. - 21. Februar 2010<br />
Ort: Messe Friedrichshafen<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo: www.fruchtwelt-bodensee.de<br />
<strong>In</strong>tervitis-<strong>In</strong>terfructa 2010<br />
Land: Deutschland<br />
Datum: 24. bis 27. März 2010<br />
Ort: Messe Stuttgart<br />
Programm: Technologiemesse für Wein, Obst, Fruchtsaft und<br />
Spirituosen<br />
<strong>In</strong>fo: www.intervitis-interfructa.de<br />
Fruchtwelt Bodensee (D)<br />
43
Powerflex- Foliensystem<br />
Regenschutz<br />
Blütenfrost<br />
Winterfrost<br />
Sonnenschutz<br />
Ernteverfrühung bzw. -verspätung<br />
Pflanzenschutz usw.<br />
Das Powerflex-Foliensystem kann in Verbindung mit Hagelschutznetzen<br />
montiert werden, wobei das Öffnen und Schließen von Folie und Netz völlig<br />
voneinander unabhängig ist<br />
www.fruitsecurity.com<br />
www.fruitmagazine.eu
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Machinefabriek<br />
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AGROSIMEX 2010<br />
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2010 EXPO XXI<br />
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PR�DZY�SKIEGO 12/14 STR.<br />
<strong>The</strong> CONFERENCE program:<br />
<strong>The</strong> lectures and presentations concerning the possible solutions<br />
to solve current problems in fruit growing industry will<br />
be given by Polish and international experts Exhibition of Machinery<br />
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to 4500 square meters of space Exhibition of companies which<br />
supply pesticides and fertilizers<br />
AGROSIMEX sp. z o.o.<br />
Goliany 43, 05-620 Błędów, Poland<br />
tel. (+48 48) 668 04 71<br />
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