New generation burgundy coloured apple - Bravo™

Page last updated: Monday, 19 June 2017 - 11:19am

Please note: This content may be out of date and is currently under review.

Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA) are proud to announce a new apple branded Bravo™.

The Bravo™ brand is to be used on apples from ANABP 01 trees and potentially other varieties. Only apples which meet the required standards can be sold and marketed under the Bravo™ trade mark. The ANABP 01 apple was developed in Manjimup by DAFWA as part of the Australian National Apple Breeding Program (ANABP), with support from the Western Australian Government and Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (HIA).  Bravo™ branded ANABP 01apples are an exciting and unique fruit that has a distinct sweetness, moderate to high crisp and crunch, and a striking burgundy colour unlike any other apple currently available in Australia.

The BRAVO trade mark was selected by DAFWA, Fruit West Co-operative Ltd, and Apple and Pear Australia Ltd to represent the distinctive nature of the apples.

The promising new apple variety ANABP 01 will deliver benefits to consumers through a new eating experience and producers by providing them with an apple which is very different to currently grown varieties and therefore unique in the marketplace.

Background: 

2014 saw the first commercial release of ANABP 01 apple trees and are the result of more than 20 years of breeding work by DAFWA. It resulted from a 1992 cross between Royal Gala and the well-known Western Australian apple variety Cripps Red (marketed as Sundowner™ in most places but Joya™ in Europe) at the Stoneville Research Station, before the first 2 trees were sent to the current DAFWA research centre at Manjimup for evaluation and development. Trees were planted at a number of Australian Pome Fruit Improvement Program sites in the eastern states during evaluation of the variety.

Since the commercial release, trees have been purchased and planted at a number of sites in Manjimup, Donnybrook and the Perth Hills along with eastern states sites. Fruit West Co-operative Ltd has been granted the licence by the State Government to manage the commercialisation of the new variety in Australia. 

The apple’s outstanding colour with prominent lenticels provides the skin a distinctive sparkling appearance. Bravo™ branded ANABP 01 apples are generally obloid in shape and medium to large in size. They are fresh tasting with an excellent balanced flavour at optimum maturity, are juicy and crisp and have an attractive contrasting creamy yellow flesh.

This variety is grower friendly in that the fruit colours easily and the tree is productive and easy to manage with good regular cropping.  ANABP 01  produces regular crops of medium to large size fruit that are not prone to surface cracking, bitter pit, superficial scald or internal disorders.  It is a mid to late season variety that performs well in regions with long warm to hot summers.

Bravo™ branded ANABP 01 apples will be medium to large in size depending on crop load and seasonal factors. The average size is between 75 and 85 millimetres in diameter and the average weight ranges between 180 and 245 grams.

Breeding process:

It typically takes about 20 years from crossing to produce and fully test new apple varieties before release. The apple breeding program at Manjimup uses conventional breeding methods involving hand and spray pollination.

The cross to create the apple variety, ANABP 01, was made in 1992 between the apple varieties Cripps Red (marketed as Sundowner™ in most places but Joya™ in Europe)  and Royal Gala.

Thousands of seedlings are produced every year from the breeding program. About one in four hundred make it to the second stage of DAFWA’s testing in the systematic quest for superior fruit to benefit growers and consumers.

Second stage involves evaluation including field and laboratory measurements of important characteristics such as fruit set, yield, sugar and acid control, flesh pressures and keeping ability. Sensory evaluation, a system of rating appearance and eating characteristics, is also undertaken in an attempt to assess consumer opinions.

Superior selections from the second stage are promoted for limited, controlled release for evaluation purposes only on third-party sites including Australian Pome Fruit Improvement Program sites.

To reach the release stage, a selection has to successfully progress through these stages of evaluation and be superior to existing varieties or novel in the marketplace.

Tree Growth:

ANABP 01 apple trees have medium vigour and a spreading growth habit with wide branch angles similar to its parent Cripps Red. The development of fruiting laterals is sufficient but not prolific and tree shape suggests that it would be suited to a range of rootstocks and tree training systems.

Bravo™ branded ANABP 01 apples ripen towards the end of the apple harvest season - about 27 days after Golden Delicious and 14 days before apples from Cripps Pink. In Manjimup this is normally around mid-April but is dependent on seasonal conditions.

Bravo™ branded ANABP 01 apples respond to good temperature and storage management.  Fruit should be pre-cooled to 2–4°C within 24 hours of harvest. Optimum storage temperature is 0 to 0.5°C.

Value to Consumers:

Like no other, Bravo™ branded ANABP 01apples has many benefits to consumers which include:

  • Striking burgundy coloured skin unlike any other apple on the market in Western Australia.
  • The fruit has a distinct sweetness with good balance between sugar and acid.
  • Moderate to high crisp and crunch.
  • It is a medium-sized apple with good storing quality
  • Grown to controlled quality standards.
  • It will be available in specialty grocery stores from May.

Industry benefits:

  • The tree is productive and the fruit colours easily.
  • Unique colour makes it easily distinguishable from other varieties.
  • The variety provides growers with a great opportunity to benefit from the introduction of a distinctive new product on the Australian apple market.
  • Fruit colour and maturity on the tree is uniform enabling the potential for the full harvest to be achieved in 1 pick.
  • Fruit has long term storage capabilities after Smart Fresh treatment and CA storage.
  • Fruit harvest time is in a window prior to that for Cripps Pink and most other current varieties.

 

Further information regarding purchasing trees:

Enquiries about purchasing trees or viewing established trees can be made to Nardia Stacy at Fruit West Co-operative Ltd by email: nardiastacy@fruitwest.com.au