![Galas (apples)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Galas_%28apples%29.jpg)
Gala is an
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
with a sweet, mild flavour, a crisp but not hard texture, and a striped or mottled orange or reddish appearance. Originating from
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in the 1930s, similar to most named apples, it is
clonally propagated
Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or speci ...
. In 2018, it surpassed
Red Delicious
Red Delicious is a type of apple with a red exterior and sweet taste that was first recognized in Madison County, Iowa, in 1872. Today, the name ''Red Delicious'' comprises more than 50 cultivars. From 1968 to 2018, it was the most produced cu ...
as the apple cultivar with the highest production in the United States, according to the
US Apple Association
USApple Association is a Virginia-based nonprofit membership association for growers, marketers, equipment producers and allied organizations dealing with apples, within forty states of the United States of America. It advocates on behalf of 7,50 ...
. It was the first time in over 50 years that any cultivar was produced more than Red Delicious.
Appearance and flavour
Gala apples are
non-uniform in colour, usually vertically striped or mottled, with overall orange colour.
[ They are sweet, fine textured, and aromatic,][ and in addition to being eaten raw and cooked are especially suitable for creating sauces.
]
History
The first Gala apple tree was one of many seedlings resulting from a cross between a Golden Delicious
'Golden Delicious' is a cultivar of apple. It is one of the 15 most popular apple cultivars in the United States. It is not closely related to 'Red Delicious'.
History
Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of 'Gri ...
and a Kidd's Orange Red planted in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in the 1930s by orchardist J.H. Kidd. Donald W. McKenzie, an employee of Stark Bros Nursery, obtained a US plant patent for the cultivar on October 15, 1974. It is a relatively new introduction to the UK, first planted in commercial volumes during the 1980s. The variety now represents about 20% of the total volume of the commercial production of eating apples grown in the UK, often replacing Cox's Orange Pippin
Cox's Orange Pippin, in Britain often referred to simply as Cox, is an apple cultivar first grown in 1825, at Colnbrook in Buckinghamshire, England, by the retired brewer and horticulturist Richard Cox. Though the parentage of the cultivar i ...
.
Sports (mutations)
Many sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
of Gala have been selected, mostly for increased red color, including the popular ''Royal Gala''. The original cultivar produced fruit with orange stripes and a partial orange blush over a yellow background. Since then, several un-patented sports have been recognized. Additionally, more than twenty sports have received US plant patents:
Unpatented varieties include: Auvil, Imperial
Descendant cultivar(s)
* Delfloga (Royal Gala × Florina)
*Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
(Royal Gala × Braeburn)
*Envy
Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.
Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred b ...
(Royal Gala × Braeburn)
* Nicoter (Kanzi) (Gala × Braeburn)
* Sciros (Pacific Rose) (Splendor × Gala)
* Sweetie ('PremA280')
Season
Gala apples are grown from May through September in the northern hemisphere, but, like most apples, are available almost all year through the use of cold storage and controlled atmosphere
A controlled atmosphere is an agricultural storage method in which the concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, as well as the temperature and humidity of a storage room are regulated. Both dry commodities and fresh fruit and vegetab ...
storage. Australian Gala are available from late January. California fruit is available until October.
While the season usually lasts only 9 or 10 months, they are able to last all year round. However, due to some apples continuing to be grown in some orchards, and the fact that they can be refrigerated for some months leads to the availability of the Gala apple year-round in some Australian markets. These usually taste different (slightly less sweet) from those in season. The UK season begins in late summer (August). Storage makes the UK fruit available nearly year-round as with fruit from other origins.
Royal Gala sport
Royal Gala is a Gala sport, patented by Stark in 1977, which produces redder fruits than the original cultivar. It is a pink-red dessert apple and is therefore usually eaten fresh. Royal Galas are usually harvested in early to late February in the southern hemisphere. In New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, the pinker original Gala has almost disappeared as a commercial apple in favor of the darker-skinned Royal Gala.
References
External links
New York Apple Association description
JUSTICIA Patents – Apple tree named 'McLaughlin Gala'
{{Apples, state=collapsed
Apple cultivars with patented mutants
New Zealand apples
Apple cultivars