Webinar presents Tonik and Canopy apple varieties

Last week, more than 200 people tuned in for a webinar presenting two apple varieties, Tonik and Canopy, and the apple rootstock M200. The webinar was shown in six languages, organised by European fruit nursery Dalival and IFO, a leading private company in researching and developing new topfruit varieties and rootstocks.

Dr Frédéric Bernard, manager of IFO, presented the main stages in the selection of the Canopy variety, its taste and appearance, which are comparable to the Granny Smith variety.

Florian Guidat, responsible for variety development, provided information on orchard management, disease and pest resistance, and pollination potential. Finally, Ségolène Dandin, from CTIFL La Morinière in France, shared CTIFL’s experience of the variety.

Valérie Fouillet, head of breeding at IFO, presented the results of tasting trials for bicolored apple Tonik, also issued from IFO’s breeding programme. Margot Getreuer, in charge of variety development, gave a presentation on agronomic management and storage potential, while Felix Büchele from KOB Bavendorf in Germany confirmed the storage potential of the variety.

The third part of the webinar was devoted to the rootstock M200. Following an overview of the objectives of IFO’s rootstock selection by Frédéric Michaud, head of Dalival’s subsidiaries, Felicidad Fernandez, from NIAB East Malling in the UK, presented the M200 rootstock issued from its own breeding programme.

Clément Compagnon, responsible for rootstock evaluation at IFO, then detailed the results of the many research stations evaluating the M200. Frédéric Michaud finished with an economic study of the rootstock.

The organisers reported that feedback from the webinar had been very positive, with showings of the webinar planned at various producer organisations.