Good Fruit Grower

January 15

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Why do new varieties fail? New varieties need more testing before release and better targeting to consumers. by Melissa Hansen researcher. Growers, packers, and mar- keters have responded well to improved clones of established varieties like Gala and Golden Delicious apples, but the industry has not successfully introduced new apple varieties. "Why do new releases fail?" asks Dr. I Joan Bonany of IRTA, an agricultural and technology research institute owned by the Catalonian government in Spain. "There's not a single cause for failure of a new variety, but failure can be the result of poor field or cold chain performance, poor technical accompaniment, limited category management at retail, and insufficient taste and flavor." Bonany said that new varieties are often selected for a site, but the industry expects them to grow everywhere. For example, apples grown in southern Europe must deal with sunburn, prehar- vest drop, poor color, and fruit finish issues. But northern European countries, like Germany, don't have such problems. Additionally, he said, new selections are insufficiently tested in the field or in storage. "The variety has to perform throughout the storage and handling chain. Often we learn about problems several years later after commercial release—problems like postharvest bruis- ing or lenticelosis." New varieties are often introduced without "how to grow" direc- tions, he said, and they require years of trial and error by growers to learn horti- cultural practices that bring out the best in the new variety. Another reason for failure is rigid fruit category management at the retail level that doesn't allow additional shelf space for new varieties. "We have to think about the consumer when releasing new varieties," Bonany said, adding that some selections have insufficient flavor and texture and don't appeal to a wide enough segment of con- sumers. However, he believes that flavor is improving with the new generation of releases and breeders are selecting for higher sugar levels. With research budgets in most coun- tries taking a hit from the depressed global economy, Bonany fears that ade- quate field and storage testing and knowl- edge about horticultural traits of new selections will become even more troublesome in the future. "Many of the breeding gains that we've made with new selections have not been moved into production for growers with higher returns," Bonany said. When a new variety falters at the retail level, all involved in the new variety suffer. Driving directions One way to reduce new variety disap- pointment is to step up independent and objective field performance testing and to intensify postharvest evaluation of new selections. And, the findings need to be published, he said. 20 JANUARY 15, 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com What's good for the orchard is bad for the family tree. Delegate® WG insecticide from Dow AgroSciences uses an innovative mode of action to deliver fast knockdown and long-lasting control of codling moths — along with leafrollers and a broad spectrum of other insects — before they damage pome fruit. With Delegate, there won't be any pest reunions in the orchard this season. Just high-quality apples. Science. Yield. Success.™ n spite of the 70 breeding programs around the world developing new tree fruit cultivars, most new vari- eties are disappointments and don't succeed, says a European "New varieties should come with driv- ing directions—how to plant, prune, thin, and store." Bonany notes that although field test- ing in Europe is done through an exten- sive network of private and public entities, the two-stage evaluation of six trees per variety for five years, then ramped up to 100 trees per variety for

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