During the NFO research trip, Zeeuwse and Brabant growers visited the Klein Altendorf Nursery. Gerhard Baab led the group around and started with the planted Morgana. "Morgana is the brand name of the variety Kizuri which was developed by Better3Fruit from Belgium. At the moment there are 120,000 trees in Germany, of which 55,000 at the company Krings. Morgana has a comparable production to Jonagold and doesn't have turnabout years," says Gerhard Baab.
"In the third growing year of the Morgana we picked 50 tonnes of apples. The colouring, however, remains a challenge. The apple has to be 50% coloured which means there are up to three harvest in a period of two to three weeks. The cutting method can also contribute to the colouring of the apple. For an optimal colouring, narrow trees that let through a lot of light are ideal," according to Gerhard. The storage life of the Morgana is very good. The apple can be stored for 8 to 9 months.
Elstar is still a very popular variety in Germany. 35% of the new planting is Elstar. "At the moment we are doing various tests with a new Elstar mutant for the company Krings and the Elrosa." Baab then took the visitors to see the trees being tested on various substrates.
For more information:
Proeftuin Klein Altendorf
Campus Klein Altendorf 2
53359 Rheinbach
Click here for the article about the visit to Fruithandel Wouters.
Click here for the article about the visit to Schmitz-Hübsch.
Click here for the article about the visit to Manner Obsthof.
Click here for the article about the visit to Schneiders Obsthof.