Kidd's D-8

type: Culinary, Dessert, Eating

synonyms: Gala. Marketed as Kidd's Gala and Gala Delicious. Often called Royal Gala , however this is the synonym for a mutation of the original Kidd's D-8.

identification: Small to medium, oblong apple tending to be conic. Prominently ribbed at the eye. Background skin is golden yellow over which are orange and crimson broken stripes and flushes. The skin tends to be thin. The stem is long and slender, set in a deep, moderately open and russeted cavity.

characteristics: Flesh is creamy white, somewhat grainy and firm. A crisp, juicy, sweet and sprightly apple which has considerable flavour typical of Cox's Orange Pippin when tree-ripened. However, most commercially available Galas are picked before they are fully ripe and the flavour fades after picking, so store bought apples rarely demonstrate the full character of this variety.

uses: Primarily a fresh eating, supermarket apple. Though it holds up well for cooking, the flavour becomes somewhat bland.

origins: This is one of many experimental crossings of popular North American dessert apples carried out by Hutton Kidd during the 1930s on his 20-acre orchard in New Zealand’s Wairarapa Valley. In this case, he cross-pollinated a Golden Delicious with Kidd’s Orange Red (itself a Golden Delicious and Cox’s Orange Pippin cross developed by Kidd). What was to become the Gala was one of several hundred seedlings planted by Kidd though he passed away in 1945, before the final selection could be made. Dr. Don McKenzie of New Zealand’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research continued the program at the Havelock North Research Station and, when the young trees finally fruited during the late 1940s only one of the several hundred seedlings planted by Kidd exhibited the right combination of size, colour, flavour and productivity he had been looking. Originally labelled Kidd’s D-8, it was renamed Gala in 1962, but commercial plantings of what has become one of the most successful apples in the world did not start until 1965 because New Zealand orchardists were unsure about its potential. Commercially introduced in 1960.

cultivation: Well suited to a variety of growing situations, but Gala does best in a dry, warm climate. Precocious. Biennial. A good cropper with moderate vigour. It flowers profusely and needs to be thinned within a month after petal fall to ensure adequate size fruit. Spur bearing, upright spreading. The flowers tolerate late frosts.

cold storage: Keep up to five months. Faded markings indicate that the apple has been in storage for a long.

vulnerabilities: Very susceptible to scab. Somewhat susceptible to rust and mildew. Susceptible to fireblight, canker, but mildew resistant.

harvest: Harvest takes place over a two-week span after the middle of the fourth period (140 to 160 days after petal fall). The fruit hangs well on the tree at maturity.

notes: The Kidd's D-8 is, for some reason, highly susceptible to growing mutations and over 200 mutations are currently listed with the numbers still growing. However, the thrust of the selection is driven by retail market which places the emphasis on appearance and availability rather than flavour and some of the mutations fall far short of what Hutton Kidd had envisioned.