Breeders have a keen interest in their newer varieties as the country’s table grape season gets underway
Most of the leading table grape breeders will have a keen interest in the varieties that have been planted by South African growers over the past few seasons, as growers get underway with this year’s new harvest.
It is therefore not surprising that Rafi Karniel, CEO and chairman of Grapa Varieties, embarked on a whirlwind visit to South Africa recently.
Grapa has been bullish about some of the varieties emerging and feels that it can help growers fill the gaps in their production season with great new options.
“It was important for me to visit this significant and evolving region and, together with TopFruit, our partners in Southern Africa, prepare ourselves optimally for the upcoming season,” said Karniel.
“So far, the northern provinces and Namibia have faced widely varying weather conditions, ranging from intense heatwaves to severe hailstorms.
”The genetics of the new generation Arra programme offers solutions for emerging challenges,” he continued. “The Arra Honey Pop harvest, for instance, has started in the earliest regions, and the quality is looking exceptional.
“Arra Honey Pop is the earliest new generation white grape, enabling the producers and marketers to reach the markets first,” Karniel explained. “Other Arra varieties such as Arra Sweeties and Arra Passion Fire will continue to strongly support growers’ varietal layouts.”
AJ Jansen van Vuuren, table grape manager at TopFruit, said the Western Cape experienced cold spells following bud break.
“Our technical teams have been proactive in assisting growers with countermeasures for this, and we can report that at this stage, the vineyards are looking very good,” he noted.
”In the coming weeks, we’ll be able to observe grape development closely and provide feedback on the anticipated quality.”
Karniel said that with earliness being key for many growers in South Africa and Namibia, the very-early season varieties of the Arra programme had standout characteristics that made them an ”exceptionally attractive” choice to kick-off the season.
“Arra Honey Pop is not only grower-friendly and resource-efficient but also well-accepted in the retail and market space, something that we focus on when rolling out new varieties,” he outlined.
”It’s exciting to see this variety expanding rapidly in South Africa and Namibia, as growers embrace its unique advantages.“
In terms of red varieties, Karniel said the new Arra Fire Kiss was “unique”, with a very short growing cycle, reaching full colour naturally and with ”excellent eating experience qualities”.
“In Egypt, it is showing very positive performance, ripening as early as, or even earlier than Flame Seedless,” he said.
”First arrivals from Egypt to the UK have generated much interest and great feedback. So, we can’t wait to see this variety commercialised, soon, in South Africa and Namibia.”
