Buks Nel, Tru-Cape's varietal expert, made the find in an orchard on Oak Valley Estate on January 18, 2011. The apple, a mutation of Corder Gala, also a strain discovered by a Tru-Cape grower, is set to be successful because of its high colour and stability - two things that plague the Gala-type apple. Tru-Cape's managing director Roelf Pienaar says that like Royal Beaut, discovered by Robert Zulch on Wakkerstroom in the Witzenberg Valley in Ceres, Corder Gala by Derek Corder on Beaulieu in Grabouw and now Bigbucks by PJ (Buks) Nel, Tru-Cape continues to lead development of better strains and best growing practices.
Nel explains: "Deep in its soul a Gala is an unstable varietal with between 5% and 50% of trees planted not being true to type. Bigbucks is the exception so growers know when they plant a Bigbucks tree they will always get Bigbucks fruit. Another, albeit cosmetic improvement, is the deep full wine red that the fruit achieves from early in its life while most Gala types are striped. While redness is usually an indication of ripeness, with Bigbucks the fruit is full red from the start which also means a higher percentage pack-out (the number of fruit on the tree that meets the colour and size specification). Normally a Gala tree needs to be picked on three different occasions to find fruit of the right colour spec, now trees can be picked once.
Ceres grower Calla du Toit, Tru-Cape's procurement manager, assisted Nel with the registering of Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR), valid for 25 years. "Although the numbers are still being finalised, growers that purchase Bigbucks will pay a royalty to plant the tree and a levy on every carton of Bigbucks fruit being sold. Tru-Cape will manage this process and ensure the returns are shared among the PBR owners: Buks Nel, Derek Corder (as Bigbucks is a hybrid of the Corder Gala) and Anthony Rawbone-Viljoen of Oak Valley as Nel found the first fruit there.
Nel says that Bigbucks will be picked and stored the same way as other Gala types. "There is a myth that redder fruit has less flavour but this is an old wives' tale. Bigbucks is beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. Although it will take some years before there is sufficient volume to market commercially, as trees normally take between five and seven years for full production, this is something to which we all can look forward."
