A new Club apple is to be added to the assortment offered by the VOG Consortium, which from 2020 will be planting trees to produce Crimson Snow, which has crimson skin and white flesh. Developed in Australia as variety ‘MC38’, the apple was bred by Kiku Variety Management, its world licensee and brand right-holder, with which VOG has now signed a contract. The Consortium's growers will be dedicating 100 hectares of land to the production of Crimson Snow.
The new variety has excellent keeping properties, with a storage life of almost 12 months with all its characteristics intact. It is therefore ideal for sale in the second half of the season, when availability of other red-skin varieties tends to dry up. The fruit does not bruise and is easy to process, giving the prospects of good returns for the trade.
The new variety joins the other 7 Club applies which the VOG Consortium already grows and markets: Kanzi, Pink Lady, Rubens, Modì, Jazz, envy and yello. “The contract signed for Crimson Snow is part of the VOG Consortium's ongoing research and development strategy," states VOG Director Gerhard Dichgans. "We are firmly convinced that the future of apples depends on innovation: new varieties with outstanding characteristics and use properties are proving very effective in winning back consumers. During its first few years on the market, Crimson Snow has already proven its worth, so we believe it can perform very well for us."
“The agreement with VOG means more growth for Crimson Snow," states Jürgen Braun, CEO of Kiku Variety Management. "We see it as a major step in our apple's development: the Consortium's strength and reliability make it an ideal partner. We're looking for land suitable for growing the new apple, and the VOG growers' valley bottom orchards fit the bill perfectly. The new alliance will make an important contribution to the new apple's success."
Crimson Snow is also grown in Italy by Rivoira Giovanni & Figli, Sanifrutta, Fratelli Clementi and Bio Meran. The total area allocated to the new Club apple in the country at present is almost 400 hectares, with the target of reaching 550 by 2022 (700 Europe-wide). This year's crop was 4,500 tonnes. In a few years' time, when all the planned hectares have been planted (although are not necessarily in full production), Italian output of 20 thousand tonnes is estimated.
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