Spotlight on the late maturing black-skinned cultivar at Westfalia’s ‘Gem^® Day’

Hosted in the heart of the Eastern Cape at the Midgeley’s Hotel in Adelaide, the informative, all-day workshop drew a group of around 40 growers and other industry stakeholders from all over South Africa and as far abroad as Australia and Chile. The event proved an ideal opportunity for growers to increase their knowledge and understanding of how to cultivate Gem® – the exciting black skinned cultivar whose key selling point is its ability to be harvested later in the season than standard Hass.

Gem® tends to flower prolifically and is a precocious and consistent bearer. It is believed that due to slower oil accumulation, Gem® fruit can hang much longer on the tree than Hass without compromising fruit quality. Also, Gem® takes 4-6 weeks longer to reach the traditional maximum legal moisture content for the export of Hass fruit.  Gem® can therefore be picked from June/July in the traditional growing area of Tzaneen, but can also be hung on the tree for much longer. In the Adelaide area, where approximately 35% of the Gem® crop is grown, it is expected that fruit can be hanged in the orchard as late as November/December. This stretches the supply of top-quality locally grown avocados closer to year-round.

Unsurpassed horticultural research

Westfalia has been involved in the evaluation of avocado genetic material since the 1970s, with promising plant material sourced locally and abroad in order to identify avocado cultivars with superior quality when compared to the commercial cultivars, and to extend the SA season for export and local market supply.

Westfalia’s research division, Westfalia Technological Services (WTS), has secured the licence to exclusively manage the propagation, production and marketing of the Gem® cultivar internationally, with small to large test plantings already under way in various countries including Chile, Australia, Israel and Brazil.  The cultivar is internationally protected by USA Patent and Plant Breeders Rights in all avocado producing countries including South Africa, Europe and Chile.

After several years of evaluating the cultivar in its own orchards, WTS has established a closed Gem® Grower Club with 14 members who collectively have planted around 75 000 Gem® trees.

International collaborators share their experiences

During the first half of the Gem® Day, attendees were treated to a series of in-depth technical presentations and market analyses, including an update on the development of the cultivar in the South American Countries by the Chile-based WTS staff member Consuelo Fernandez, a native Chilean that assists in the technical management of intellectual property in South America. Consuelo was accompanied by two representatives of the Chilean company Subsole, who is the manager of the first Chilean Gem® test planting.

Also sharing their experience with Gem® was  Dan Cork, the technical manager of Nature’s Fruit Company (NFC) in Australia, who was accompanied by the biggest Gem®-grower in Australia, Will Randall. There are approximately 5 000 Gem® trees planted in Australia currently, and plans are to expand these plantings once a market segment is identified where Gem® fits into the local Australian avocado market.

Tour of Gem® orchards

After a hearty lunch, Gem® Day attendees boarded a few buses to visit the nearby farms of some of the local growers. Here they could witness first-hand the distinct growth and flowering patterns of young Gem® trees, and address questions to any of the available WTS staff or presenters. The tour then returned to Adelaide for a casual evening braai – the perfect ending to a successful growers’ day.

Frans Gelderblom (Woolworths SA), Alan Snyman (Westfalia Fruit Products) and Barry Long (Adelaide farmer)

Lynton Freese (Westfalia Everdon Estate), Brett and Glenam Knot (Adelaide/Fort Beaufort Farmers), Jannie Lombard (Tzaneen Farmer) and Andres Link (Subsole).

The three Chileans – Christian Gutierrez(Subsole), Consuelo Fernandez (WTS), & Andres Link (Subsole)

Dan Cork (NFC), Will Randal (Australian Grower), Glenam Knot (Fort Beaufort and Theo Bekker (WTS)

Gem® tree in full flower

Gem® fruit on the tree

Reducing the incidence of under-skin browning in ‘Honey Gold’ mango fruit

Marques et al. (2012) recently published the above article in the Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology. HoneyGold® can develop under-skin browning leasions which looks like a distinct bruise- like discolouration under the fruit skin. Results indicate that a delay of 1 day before packing and a 2 day delay after packing  at ambient temperature before a storage temperature reduction to 12º – 14ºC (during road transportation), reduced the incidence of USB. Wrapping each fruit in bubble-wrap also minimized USB. It is suggested that USB is a unique disorder of mango skin related to rapid post-harvest storage temperature reductions, and with physical damage during road-freight. To read the full article, please click here.