‘Gala,’ and the Red ‘Gala’ Sports: A PreliminaryComparison of Fruit Maturity

Abstract

A comparison of fruit size, color, quality and development was made between ‘Gala’ apple ( malus domesticaBorkh.) and three red-colored strains of ‘Gala’ grown in commercial orchards in New Zealand. Differences in ‘a’ values of the peel suggested that red color was a poor predictor of fruit maturity, but that green-cheek ‘a’ values and ethylene were correlated. Preliminary comparisons suggested that ‘Royal Gala’ and ‘Gala’ apple maturation and quality were similar, although ‘Regal Gala’ fruit appeared to be softer, and have lower soluble solids at the same level of maturity. Measured levels of ethylene evolution ranged from 0.018 to 1.7 nl/g hr during the export-harvest period in New Zealand orchards.