Cultivar innovation in South Tyrol

How the largest contiguous European apple-growing region stays up to date with new cultivar developments. By Anna Mouton.

South Tyrol is the northernmost province of Italy. It has a population of 530 000 and an area of 7 400 km² — about three times the area of Cape Town — and borders Austria and Switzerland. South Tyrol lies entirely within the Alps.

The province has three main apple-growing zones: valley floor at 200–350 metres above sea level, slopes at 350–600 metres above sea level, and high elevations 600–1 000 metres above sea level.

“We’re lucky with sun compared to more northern European sites — we receive about 300 days or 2 000 hours per year,” said Markus Bradlwarter, executive director of SK Südtirol. “We also get, on average, 800 mm of precipitation throughout the year.”

South Tyrol produces about 1 million tonnes of apples annually on 18 000 hectares. This is roughly half of Italian and 10% of European volumes. The province produces 25% of European organic apples. Most of the 7 000 farms are family operations.

“Italy is our main market, but Germany, Northern and Eastern Europe, Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East are also very important,” said Bradlwarter. “Around 90% of the production is marketed through the two dominant fruit-producer organisations VIP and VOG.”

VOG has 11 member cooperatives representing approximately 10 800 hectares producing 550 000 tonnes of apples, whereas VIP has seven member cooperatives representing approximately 5 500 hectares producing 320 000 tonnes.

Slender spindles spaced 3.0–3.2 by 0.8–1.0 metres on M.9 are nearly universal. Some growers are experimenting with double leaders at 2.8–3.0 by 1.2–1.4 metres and multileaders at 2.4–2.6 by 1.3–1.5 metres.

Who is SK Südtirol?

SK Südtirol is a variety innovation consortium founded by VIP and VOG in 2002. “One of the key points in South Tyrol is the collaboration between different institutions,” said Bradlwarter.

Member organisations VIP and VOG provide marketing insights while Laimburg Research Centre conducts research and the first level of varietal testing. Bradlwarter is also proud of Beratungsring, the South Tyrolean extension service.

“The extension service is the company that brings all the knowledge to the growers. Therefore, it’s important in the context of variety innovation,” he said, noting that he worked in the extension service for 22 years.

VIP, VOG, Laimburg Research Centre, Beratungsring, and SK Südtirol have formed a varietal commission which acts as the advisory council for the SK Südtirol board.

“Our general activities are networking, scouting, licensing, variety testing, and variety management,” said Bradlwarter.

“Everything starts with networking because you have to know who is who in the world,” he said. “We try to build and maintain relationships with all the major breeders and owners. And we build networks like the International Pome Fruit Alliance.”

The International Pome Fruit Alliance represents more than 27 000 hectares, producing approximately 1.8 million tonnes of apples and pears worldwide. Besides VIP and VOG, members include CMI Orchards in the United States, San Clemente in Chile, Fruitways in South Africa, Montague Farms in Australia, and Heartland Fruit in New Zealand.

“Through this alliance, we try to access the best breeders and owners in the world and the most promising selections that we might grow in the future,” said Bradlwarter.

Cultivar testing and management

“Once you’ve seen promising newcomers, you must test them,” said Bradlwarter. Plant material can move freely within the European Union, but material imported from outside the Union must be quarantined. This usually occurs at Laimburg Research Centre.

Laimburg conducts Level 1 tests on new cultivars, involving pomological testing at two microclimatic sites, one at 220 metres and the other at 700 metres above sea level. Level 1 tests are done with five trees per site. Laimburg typically assesses 300 cultivars annually.

Based on Level 1 results, SK Südtirol will choose which cultivars to test further. Level 2 tests are done with 50–100 trees at each of three microclimatic sites, 250 metres, 550 metres, and 900 metres above sea level. More trees allow a better understanding of the variety’s behaviour and provide sufficient fruit to assess storability and obtain preliminary market feedback.

Cultivars that shine in Level 2 evaluations go to Level 3, which is pre-commercial testing involving 400–600 trees at each of several locations. This yields enough tonnes of fruit for in-depth market research.

“The SK Südtirol board then decides if a variety will be recommended to growers or not, depending on different metrics,” explained Bradlwarter. “Most of the time, we will reject varieties. We rarely introduce a new variety — on average, one every five years.”

In addition to varietal testing, SK Südtirol assists VOG and VIP in variety introduction and management.

The ideal cultivar

Managed apple cultivars comprise about 27% of the area under cultivation by VOG and VIP growers. The rest is what Bradlwarter calls commodity cultivars, primarily Golden Delicious and Gala.

“So, what is the ideal variety?” asks Bradlwarter. “There are different viewpoints we have to consider.”

One is that of the consumer, who wants excellent taste, attractive appearance, food safety, and ethical production, all at low cost. Another is that of the marketers, who want high pack-outs, easy handling, and good storability.

“Then obviously there’s the farmer, who wants consistent high yields and pack-outs,” said Bradlwarter. “The variety must be easy to grow and financially advantageous.”

When partnering with cultivar owners or managers, he emphasised SK Südtirol’s responsibility to protect growers’ interests. “We have to make sure that the farmers are making money otherwise nothing else makes sense,” he stressed.

“This is why, as the International Pome Fruit Alliance, we try to have everything from licensing onward — propagation, production, and marketing — in our own hands.”

For now, Bradlwarter feels the industry has access to enough high-quality cultivars, but he is already looking for the top performers growers will need in 10–15 years. “We need to do this job now to have the right varieties tomorrow,” he said.

“But new cultivars must fall under a reasonable contract,” he added. “We’re not interested in new varieties if everyone except the farmer is earning money.”

Watch Bradlwarter’s presentation on the Hortgro YouTube channel.