“Will the Belgian fruit cultivation sector remain conservative?”

“For more than 20 years, we have had the Big Five in apples. The Golden, Gala, Braeburn, Jonagold and Elstar are grown most globally. When will there be a shift in the five most important varieties? Can we really not be more inventive as growers? Will we remain conservative in the cultivation of fruit in coming years? Or will the fruit cultivation sector give the consumer something different, new and flavourful?” Florent Geerdens from tree nursery René Nicolai wonders.

He indicates that more and more consumers want something different. “It can be seen with cars. Those from 20 years ago are still good, but people no longer want them. The same is true for smartphones. Consumers want new colours, novelties, models and flavours! And they are willing to pay for this. We should be responding to this with apples as well, as producers.”

Tree nursery René Nicolai recently introduced the Marnica Xtrim, a new Jonagold Mutant. “This is a natural mutation of the Marnica, discovered in Sint-Truiden, Belgium. The variety has many good characteristics. The apple is extremely red, colours early, it’s juicy and crunchy, can be stored well and has a good shelf life. We have been working on this new variety for some years now, and we currently have 10 to 12,000 trees. It’s therefore time to let the general public know what an extremely good new variety this is.”

When asked why they are introducing a Jonagold mutant when consumers are looking for something new, he says this doesn’t mean Jonagold will disappear. “There’s definitely a future for this variety, just not in the quality that most people are now familiar with. Besides, there will be a qualifying race, and only the best will be left over. The Marnica Xtrim is a good example of a Jonagold of the future. We just have to come up with something new continually.”

Florent says it will remain a difficult choice to pick the right variety. “Producers want certainty, and that isn’t always an option. With a new variety, some jump into the deep end. Besides, it’s not an insignificant investment, and not everyone wants to be part of a ‘club.’ But fortunately there are plenty of examples of new successful varieties that have good returns. There are different kinds of growers: those who immediately want to plant the latest varieties, growers who wait until the variety has proven itself, growers who are (too) late and the growers who don’t renew at all, and who remain stuck with the ‘old’ reliable varieties. Each group has its reasons for making their decisions. Of course there will always be a certain uncertainty when planting new varieties, but the market doesn’t want the same thing for years in a row. In the long term, it will cost more money to stick to old varieties.”