Questions & Answers.
Here you find the most asked questions about apples and being organic. But if you still can’t get the answer you want, just let us know: karin.langes@biosuedtirol.com.
Here you find the most asked questions about apples and being organic. But if you still can’t get the answer you want, just let us know: karin.langes@biosuedtirol.com.
Technically, any apple variety works well for the typical South Tyrolean apple strudel – slightly acidic varieties (Topaz, Bonita, Braeburn) provide a more acidic note in the strudel, sweet varieties make the strudel sweeter (Golden Delicious, Fuji, Gala).
Any sweet apple is ideal, for example, Fuji or Golden Delicious, but also Kanzi® and Gala. Some nutrition experts recommend Granny Smith as it contains less sugar, others recommend other varieties.
We use the following 3 varieties: Braeburn, Fuji and Pinova.
The colour of the apples depends on the variety. For example, Granny Smith is always green, Golden Delicious is always yellow with slightly red cheeks. The South Tyrol’s unusual climate, with its sunny days and cool nights, also plays an important role in the development of the apples’ colouring.
Apples are harvested when they reach ‘plucking maturity’. That is the optimum point of ripeness for storing, transportation and sale before reaching the consumer at the point of perfect ripeness for eating. However, apples also produce ethylene which means that they continue ripening at home.
It is possible to grow organic apples next to a conventional apple meadow. Regular residue analyses make this possible. Before harvesting, the organic apples growing in the rows of trees on the margins of the meadow are tested for residues. If the tests show positive results for substances that are not permitted in organic cultivation, then these apples are sold as conventional apples.
Each and every apple sold comes from one of the 300 organic farmers who comprise Biosüdtirol.
The main task of the hail net is of course to protect the apples from hail, which can damage them. However, it also protects them from too much sun, which can leave ugly traces. Plus, the net also protects the apples from harmful insects.
Organic farming doesn’t cut out plant protection products completely. However, organic farming employs only nature-identical substances. These are substances that also occur in nature in their pure form, for example, sulphur and vegetable oils.
Apples are picked by hand from the apple trees. Usually the farmer himself takes care of that, with the help of his family and harvest helpers. The harvest period lasts from the end of July to the end of November – depending on the variety of apple. There are early varieties, such as Summer Red or Gala, which are harvested at the end of July or early to mid-August, and there are late varieties, such as Pink Lady, which is only ripe at the end of November.
It is almost impossible to tell the difference between an organic apple and a conventional apple. There are a few features of a meadow that are particularly important, especially to an organic farmer.
· Hedges and cairns as habitats for beneficial insects: These beneficial insects help keep pest populations under control and minimise the need for plant protection products in the organic field.
· Soil fertility is a vital issue: The farmer feeds the ground with high quality composts, which add humus to the soil, and sows wild flowers so that their roots grow deep into the soil and aerate it; plant diversity in the lanes helps unlock a variety of nutrients and makes them available to the soil.
· Avoiding the use of herbicides, which is why there are no visible herbicide strips beneath the trees.
In contrast to conventional apple cultivation, organic farming does not use any chemicals to keep the apples “young” and storable for longer. Apples that have been harvested in the autumn can be treated with a special storage technique and stored until July. This storage method has been used for decades and allows longer storage times. The natural nitrogen content in the air is increased using special equipment, thereby removing oxygen from the rooms. The lower the oxygen level sinks, the more the fruits’ metabolism is slowed. This means the apple breathes more slowly and so the ripening process in the apple also slows down. In this way we can store the apples for a relatively long time.
Those fruits can be used for products such as baby food, apple purée, apple rings, chocolate and apple confectionery, apple juice and even apple leather.
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We’re working hard on that. Since May 2019 our most sold packaging unit, the apple tray for 4 apples, is made of grass paper, a very interesting material in terms of sustainability. Since February 2020 we found an alternative for our plastic bags. Now they are made of sugar-cane, thistle and sunflower seed oils and are 100% home compostable.
Biosüdtirol apples are transported conventionally by lorry and sometimes also by ship.
The best thing to do at home is to store them in a cellar at a constant temperature. Alternatively, apples can also be stored in the fridge, but you should take them out a couple of hours before you intend to eat them so that they can be enjoyed at room temperature.
No, not at all. You can eat an apple with its peel – the apple skin contains the majority of the vitamins in the apples. But you should wash apples before you eat them.
Organic farming hosts 30% more plant species and 50% more animal specimens. It is crucial that there be a greater variety of species and a greater number of certain species. These are important premises for maintaining the ecosystem. On land where organic farming is practised, for example, there is a greater number of plant species, and these are pollinated by insects. This means that there is an effective interaction between plants and pollinating insects. Another central theme in organic farming is the soil’s fertility. Because there are numerous microorganisms in organic soils, their composition is superior. Plants benefit from this, because organic farming increases the percentage of antioxidants and micronutrients in the plant. Obviously, this also affects organic fruit: in fact, organic fruit is more nutritious.
Source: Fibl - 100 Argumente für den Biolandbau
Price comparisons between conventionally grown apples and organic apples are heavily dependent on the variety. Some varieties only have a very small price difference in price, but other varieties may be 50% more expensive. The reason for this is the additional costs incurred by the farmers and the higher (and more expensive) standards that must be met in production. In organic farming, the yields per hectare of surface area are about 30% lower than in conventional farming. Moreover, organic cultivation produces a significantly higher share of processing apples – imperfect, slightly damaged fruits are used to make, for example, apple juice. The farmer receives a much lower price for product used for processing.
Organic apples are generally smaller than conventionally grown apples. One reason for that is that, in comparison to conventional farming, only a limited number of methods are available for blossom thinning, which is necessary to ensure a certain size and quality of apple. That makes thinning more difficult and so generally there are more apples left on the tree, which leads to a smaller fruit size. Furthermore, organic farming cannot use any synthetic fertilisers to encourage the fruits to grow artificially. In terms of physiological damage to the apple itself, the situation is similar. Because fewer substances are available to the organic farmer, organic apples are more susceptible and that can result in slight damage to the skin of the fruit.