On 4th September 2018, Lorenzo Berre talked about summer apples as part of the Gala group at the Agrion research foundation. He reported that, as the demand for streaked apples is higher than that for uniform apples this year, people are not sure which varieties to choose. "Technically, uniform varieties grow best in the plain, while streaked ones are more suitable for orchards above 400 m asl." But the choice must also be made according to other business and commercial aspects.
The appearance of Gala's summer apples is excellent as "color is good and so are grades. Hardness is of around 8-9 kg/cm2 and the sugar content is of around 12-12.5 °Brix".
Technicians from Piedmont have been stressing the importance of assessing the color when harvesting and of paying attention when harvesting very colored clones, as ripening stages can be non-homogeneous. An analysis has revealed that harvesting should start more or less 132 days after blossoming in Piedmont, which this year meant 27th August.
Baigent*Brookfield® is the clone of reference for the streaked type. It presents an extended color combined with well-marked streaks; evident cases of color regression were reported, which is one of the problems for Gala apples, especially streaked ones. Annaglo* has an extended bright blush with less evident streaks compared to the reference clone. Regression is below alert levels. Simmons*Buckeye® is of American origin: the color is very appealing and it seems less susceptible to genetic instability compared to streaked clones.
Galaval* is the clone of reference for the uniform type. It's a Galaxy mutation with a deep extended red color. It's the progenitor of the series technicians defined as having "a very deep widespread color". SchniCo Red* Gala Schniga®, Devil Gala* and Gala Star® Galafab* are part of the same type and they are all virus-free.
Clones from France and Alto Adige were also presented, but results obtained were not as good. The French clone Alpi Gala* and compact clone Galamic* were interesting for the uniform type.
South-African clone Gala Bigbucks* was also assessed. In its country of origin, it generated fruit comparable to a nice Galaxy apple, but the same result was not obtained in Piedmont, proving once more just how much the soil and climate conditions can affect the performance of genetic material.
Finally, Berra showed some pictures of Mc Laughlin Gala* apples, which are completely yellow with no blush yet with good grades and with similar characteristics to normal Gala clones.