Australian apple lovers will begin sampling a new range of red-flesh apples from French breeder Ifored within the next four years.
Leading grower-packer-marketer Montague is part of an international consortium managing the commercialisation of the apples, which will be marketed under the Kissabel brand.
Three varieties from the breeding programme have been chosen for the first commercial tests of the brand in Europe. These varieties made their way to Australian orchards in winter 2017, with Montague trialling them in four different Australian locations to understand how the cultivars perform.
Montague aims to plant 14 varieties in the coming years, expecting to have fruit available to Australian consumers post 2020.
“We are honoured to be partnering with international breeders, Ifored, on the Kissabel launch”, Rowan Little, general manager intellectual property at Montague, said in a release. “Having the rights to planting, growing and selling the Kissabelrange in Australia will be one of the latest successes from the team at Montague who have been growing fresh produce since 1948.”
Kissabel will join Jazz, Smitten, Envy, and Ambrosia in Montague’s portfolio of branded apple offerings.
“We are in the process of reinvigorating the Australian apple market and are very excited about this opportunity,” Little added.
