Apple growers introduced to Goodness Me ahead of new harvest

On the eve of the harvest of the new Goodness Me crop, Kris Wouters allowed interested growers to see the apple through a guided tour and an explanation of its cultivation. Spread over several days, (foreign) growers—including Belgians, Dutch, Germans, Austrians, French, Italians, and Spaniards- were invited to visit the Wouters family farm.

On Friday, 12 September, an afternoon session was held for foreign growers, followed on Monday evening by a session for Belgian visitors to view the 'apple 2.0', as they refer to it themselves. "We see that there is a lot of interest," says the grower and trader from Geetbets, Flanders.

Late last year, the new variety was introduced at Interpoma 2024, for which Wouters Fruit holds the exclusive European licence. For this season, the apple will not yet be sold commercially; instead, the focus is on extensive research into fruit set, thinning, storage potential, and cultivation methods, among other aspects. In Belgium, Goodness Me is currently being trialled by four growers, including the plots visited on 12 September by Wouters Fruit itself and the organic grower VerKen Bio Deli-Vers. In this way, the company wants to give interested growers insight into the benefits and possible challenges of the variety. "Because obviously we are very enthusiastic about the variety. It is highly productive, double-gene scab-resistant, and has excellent storability. Nevertheless, we also want to be transparent about the challenges we have encountered. For instance, honesty compels us to say that this year the variety did not prove resistant to fire blight and canker, although it still seems less susceptible than other well-known varieties."

Proper maintenance necessary
An early warning about thinning made clear that Kris does not entrust Goodness Me to just anyone. "The tree is extremely productive, which is nice, but also carries risks, such as biennial bearing if there is insufficient thinning," he explains. "When a flower of the variety is pollinated, it becomes an apple very quickly. With less fertile varieties, this takes a few days, but with Goodness Me, it can happen in just one day. That gives an easy fruit set, but it can also be a disadvantage. If nothing is done and too many apples remain, you get small sizes and too few flower buds the following year. So it is important to thin enough, and in time, to maintain good volumes. That is currently the most difficult aspect to master. Both chemical and mechanical thinning are being tested, with special attention to organic and regenerative cultivation. We naturally support fellow growers in this, but at the same time, we are alert to whether people are prepared to do it properly," he warned.

The trader then took the audience through the experiences and findings he and Ann Gomand of Pcfruit have gathered in areas such as rootstock selection, pollinator choice, thinning, and treatments. "Thanks to its double resistance to scab and mildew, hardly any spraying is needed, which makes the variety interesting for both organic and conventional growers in light of the European Green Deal. And this is reflected by the fact that we have welcomed dozens of growers from northern Europe. It is an apple particularly suited to northern European cultivation. We do see some interest from South Tyrol and the mountains of Spain, for example, but northern Europe still predominates." A full switch to commercial planting is expected as soon as sufficient scions are available.

Regenerative fruit growing
Besides understanding the variety, attention was also given to regenerative fruit growing and the potential role Goodness Me can play in this. For example, there is extensive experimentation with regenerative practices. "The focus is on building a healthy and resilient soil life as the basis for strong trees and sustainable cultivation," Ann from Pcfruit explained. "One of the key principles is to disturb the soil as little as possible. Prior to planting, we worked with green manures: mixtures of more than ten different plant species that together enhance microbial soil life. Each plant brings its own microbiome, and more diversity means more soil activity."

Instead of digging up the soil, only a narrow strip was opened at planting time for the young trees. Wood chips for soil protection and weed suppression are also being trialled under the trees, while at VerKen Bio Deli-Vers' farm, clover is used as undergrowth. Chemical weed control is avoided to protect soil life. "We have a bet running to see which of the two will do best in a few years," Kris laughs.

In addition, commercial biostimulants are being tested, and even forest soil rich in fungi is being added. "We want to increase the proportion of fungi, as these are crucial for a healthy root environment—better than bacterial dominance," says Ann. Kris adds: "The first results are expected by the end of the year. The hope is that, besides producing a consistently good, sustainable apple, we will also structurally improve the trees' vigour and resistance with this regenerative approach."

For more information:
Kris Wouters
Devos-Wouters
+32 16 77 97 58
[email protected]
www.woutersfruit.be
www.goodnessmeapples.com