Evaluation of Red Coloring Strains of 

 Gala Apple 



Duane W. Greene And Wesley R. Autio 



Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Massachusetts 



Gala is an apple that has experienced a 

 recent and rapid rise in popularity throughout 

 the world. It is being planted heavily in Europe, 

 South America, New Zealand, and the United 

 States. Gala represented 25% of all apple trees 

 sold by Washington State nurseries in 1990. 



Gala has many desirable characteristics, 

 including very high flesh quahty, attractive 

 appearance, precocity, and high productivity. 

 The original strain of Gala is not a red apple, but 

 rather, a cream-yellow one with an orange-red 

 cheek. Mutations in fruit skin coloring occur 

 readily. There is a general preference among 

 nurserymen and growers for red coloring strains 

 of a cultivar because there is the perception that 

 these strEuns are preferred by the consumer. It 

 is commonly accepted that the red coloring 

 strains of Delicious that are being sold today, 

 although very attractive, have decidedly infe- 

 rior quality compared 

 with the original Deli- 

 cious strain. Further, 

 production from some 

 strains of Delicious may 

 be only one third of more 

 productive strains. 



There has been no 

 comprehensive evalua- 

 tion of the commonly- 

 available strains of Gala. 

 A Gala strain trial con- 

 taining Kidd's D-8 (stan- 

 dard). Royal, Regal 

 (Fulford), Imperial, and 

 Scarlet Gala was planted 

 at the University of Mas- 

 sachusetts Horticultural 

 Research Center in 

 Belchertown in 1988. 

 This report summarizes 



growth, flowering, fruit characteristics, and 

 fi*uit quahty of these five strains of Gala. 



lyees 



Kidd's D-8 and Royal Gala were obtained 

 fi-om Stark Bros. Nursery, Louisiana, Missouri, 

 and Imperial and Regal Gala were obtained 

 fi-om Newark Nursery, Hartford, Michigan. All 

 trees were on M.26 roots tock and were similar in 

 caHper at planting. Propagating wood of Scarlet 

 Gala was obtained fix)m Txu-key Hollow Nursery 

 (Cumberland, Kentucky) in the spring of 1987, 

 bench grafted on M.26 rootstock and then lined 

 out in the nxirsery. In the spring of 1988, trees 

 were planted in a randomized complete block 

 design with eight rephcations. Each tree was 

 supported by a one-inch x 10-foot metal conduit 

 post set three feet in the ground. The first data 

 on these trees were collected in 1990. 



Table 1. Growth in 1990 of five strains of Gala planted in 1988. 



Strain 



Kidd's 



Royal 



Scarlet 



Imperial 



Regal 



Means within columns not followed by the same letter are 

 significantly diff'erent at odds of 19:1. 



Fruit Notes, Winter, 1993 



15 



