With Sheehan grape varieties increasing in popularity, South Africa and Namibia expects just over two million cartons from the 2015/2016 season, says Dennis Pretorius of AMC Fruit. He explains that 30-35% of this has been harvested from early areas such as Namibia, Orange River, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
These areas have not been affected by the dry weather thus far, but the later regions such as the Olifants River area may have a problem, and growers need to manage their water sources carefully to make it through the season. Other than the severe heat in most production areas over the last few weeks, there have not been any other adverse weather conditions.
“Sheehan varieties naturally tend to have bigger berry size and higher brix, so haven’t experienced issues in meeting customers expectations,” says Pretorius. At the moment, they are harvesting Magenta, Krissy, Timco, and Melody varieties. Harvesting of the Allison Variety is to begin in 10-14 days.
Pretorius explains: “In 2015 a total of 385 Hectares of Sheehan varieties were planted in RSA and Namibia taking the total Hectares planted since 2010 to 1,060 Hectares.”
“Black Seedless variety Melody is proving to be very popular with growers and customers alike and we see a sharp increase in demand in all international markets. Melody represents approximately 45% of All Sheehan varieties planted in RSA to date.”
“Mid season red varieties Magenta, Krissy, and Timco continue to be planted and show steady growth in available volumes. Allison which is a late Red Seedless variety is very popular with growers due to it being a high yielding variety with relatively low input costs.”
“We are very exited about the Mid Season White Seedless variety, Ivory Seedless, and late season variety, Timpson, which has to date only been available in trial volumes. Plantings of these varieties have so far been relatively small due to limited availability of plant material. As more plant material becomes available, we anticipate the planted hectares to increase rapidly.”
