The first of the Carmingo® apricots varieties grown commercially in South Africa, Faralia, is already off the trees and flown out to the United Kingdom where there is a shortage of apricots and prices are high.
Right: Michael Oosthuizen, left, with Arthur Bois, Carmingo breeder and Pierre Burger, the first to plant Carmino apricots in South Africa in the mountains above the Koo Valley,1,500m above sea level
The second Carmingo® apricot, Farely, starts in just over a week and as trees mature and volumes increase, exports will certainly go wider, says Michael Oosthuizen who manages these and the Rubyngo® varieties in South Africa for International Plant Selection.
He says that the Carmingo® programme is the first apricot export programme that has ever really worked, coming later than traditional apricots.
“We need much greater volumes of Carmingo® apricots but its establishment is currently limited by areas with the right climate and chilling units,” he says.
“Now we have been trialling new cultivars that are more adaptable which will give us more momentum and enable us to plant the Carmingo® and Rubyngo® series more widely.”
The trials of the blood-red Rubyngo® series are looking, he says, “incredible, even better than the Carmingo®. The Rubyngo® will revolutionize the industry: many of them ripen earlier and have lower cold requirements. We have been testing some of them in Paarl and it’s working well.”
An as yet-unnamed Robyngo® selection with exciting trial results
The apricot season was early this year and the peak could be by 10 February already.
“There is a Rubyngo® cultivar that could be even later than Farlis, the latest Carmingo® currently commercially grown. That will help us a lot. The fruit are still green at the moment but we’re watching this one closely.”
The number of marketers approved to sell the Carmingo® series have grown, and when more adaptable and earlier varieties can be planted more widely, available volumes will follow.
Every year, there’s hail somewhere
One of their largest growers in the Koo Valley, the entire Carmingo® crop has had to go for juicing this year as a result of hail damage.
Orchards under hail nets in the Koo Valley are looking exceptional, Michael says.
“Hail nets are the way to go. We strongly advise our growers to put up hail nets because every year, there’s hail somewhere. The problem is it’s very expensive and the fruit industry is going through a very difficult phase. With high value products like Carmingo apricots, nets can be justified without a doubt. That’s why exporters will be getting involved with the financing to erect hail nets.”
In the Koue Bokkeveld and Bo-Swaarmoed area, there are farmers strongly considering Carmingo® apricots to supplement (not necessarily to replace) their apples.
“The Carmingo® apricot series is an absolute ray of hope in the stone fruit industry at the moment.”
For more information:
Michael Oosthuizen
International Plant Selection
Tel: +27 83 228 9348
Email: toyoosth@iafrica.com