Brightly red, outstandingly beautiful apples with firm, crisp, slightly tart flesh, shining on the trees (not only) on the slopes in South Tyrol – that's 'Bonita'. Thanks to its remarkably homogenous fruit and easy growing, this club variety is suitable for intensive commercial plantings.
'Bonita' is one of our most popular varieties, currently grown especially in Europe (e.g. South Tyrol) and South Africa. From its launch onto the market, nearly 1.6 mil trees have been planted (190,000 trees per season).
Origin: 'Topaz' x 'Cripps Pink'
Tree: habit ramified, medium vigorous, slightly upright to spreading, tree shape pyramidal, branching good, medium-dense, with many fruiting spurs (this variety bears on spurs only)
Blossom: mid-season, flowers heavily
Productivity: precocious, high and quite regular, no need for fruit thinning
Disease resistance: resistant to scab, medium susceptibility to powdery mildew
PVR:
Community Plant Variety Rights EU 45354 (granted 06.02.2017)
United States Plant Patent US PP29,959 P3 (granted 11.12.2018 as UEBI 406/1)
Plant Variety Rights in Switzerland CH 17.2667 (granted 31.01.2017)
Plant Variety Rights in the Republic of South Africa ZA 20196876 (granted 09.07.2019)
Picking time: early October, two picking times possible, the first one with or a few days after 'Golden Delicious'
Storability: about 5 months in cold storage, longer storability can be achieved in controlled atmosphere (Ultra-Low Oxygen) conditions
Fruit size/shape: remarkably homogenous, medium, shape globose, stem thin and long
Colour: very attractive bright red over colour, no russet, bloom or greasiness
Flesh and flavour: flesh firm, crisp, fine, juicy, slightly aromatic, finely sour (acidity 9.6 g/l), sweetness 14.4° Brix, a well-balanced sugar/acid ratio
'Bonita' is a club variety grown and marketed under the conditions of the club managed by the companies Konsortium südtiroler Baumschuler / Melinda, Italy.