September 2020 - 11

The Queen Garnet, left, and Vitaplum, right, varieties both have dark-colored flesh, while the third variety, Sweetah, is yellow-fleshed.
marketing " groups, which Porter said
is the best way to manage these new
varieties to meet the expected royalty
requirements of the variety owners. It's
also the only way to manage a global
program with coordinated imports and
exports, he said.
While Queen Garnet has been in
commercial production in Australia,
the other two have been in semicommercial
production, Porter said.
In the U.S., some growers are trying
out Queen Garnet plum, but no
growers have the other two yet.
" These are all Japanese-type plum
varieties, with higher fruit quality
characteristics, but experience the same
disease and pest tolerance as most
other Japanese plum varieties, " he said.
" We have used mainly standard plum
rootstocks, Marianna or Myrobolan,
and it would be expected the same will
be used globally. In certain situations,
there may be additional trials done
with semi-dwarfing or disease tolerant
rootstocks, but ... this will be planned
in the future. "
New marketing names for the
different plums, along with artwork,
The Big Three
Initially marketed in Australia
as the Sweetah plum, AJOP20 cv., is
ready to harvest on the leading edge
of the soft fruit season, according to
a news release from AIGN. Variety
owner RPA Superfoods Pty Ltd.,
claims the very high brix (22-24)
reading of their selection makes
the rosy, heart-shaped fruit one of
the sweetest early season plums
on the market. Fruit available
from plantings in the Southern
Hemisphere will coincide nicely with
the Christmas and Lunar New Year
holidays.
The mid-season Queen Garnet
cv. managed by Global Master
Licensee, Nutrafruit Pty Ltd. may be
the most well-known of the group
due to its use in processed products,
according to the news release. Also
known by its trademark tagline,
" QG - The Antioxidant Plum, " this
selection has a very high antioxidant
content found in the deep purple/
dark red pigments of the skin and
the flesh.
Finally, the plum selection owned
by Vitaplum Technology Pty Ltd., and
marketed locally under the Vitaplum
name, GW1 cv., will enter the
market near the end of the soft fruit
season. Vitaplum GW1 cv. is a sweettasting
plum with a balanced flavor,
very dark, nearly black flesh and
high antioxidant readings, according
to the news release.
Royal Empire
Montmorency
Ambrosia™
Gale Gala®
Red Jonaprince™
Royal Red Honeycrisp®
Grown in the U.S.A.
would also likely have to be decided
in the future, Porter said.
" These were some initial Australian
trademark names which will not be
applicable to all other territories, "
he said. " New trademark names,
marketing materials and artwork will
be developed as part of the global
marketing strategy. It is too early in
the commercialization process for
these to be have been developed as
yet. It's very early days in the global
commercialization process but I am
sure the initial interest received,
especially for high health plum
varieties managed in a coordinated
manner globally, is of great interest to
some growers. " FGN
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September 2020

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