Trial results from the Straelen/Cologne-Auweiler Horticultural Test Centre in Germany has shown that the double-cropping raspberry variety is well adapted to local growing conditions, achieving high yields. In 2022, long-cane trials of Malling™ Bella®, planted in late March, started producing fruit in mid-June and kept producing continuously for about seven weeks. The variety achieved a total yield of 8.31 kg/m (4.5 canes/m) or 1.85kg/cane, 17% more than the standard benchmark variety in the trial.
Researcher Ludger Linnemannstöns said: “After one year of trials, Malling™ Bella® is looking quite promising. It has shown good yields, good fruit size, nice appearance, high picking performance and it is tasty.”
Malling™ Fruits technical officer Alin Borleanu said: “Malling™ Bella®, with its superior fruit quality and extremely high yields, is a raspberry variety that has performed brilliantly in southern Europe and is now showing great promise in central and northern Europe. Consumers like the flavour, retailers like the fruit quality and growers like the performance of the plants.”
Initially launched in 2017, Malling™ Bella® is now available to growers across a range of European territories: The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. Growers should consider introducing Malling™ Bella® to their portfolio.
Malling™ Bella® is a grower friendly variety with yields in excess of 30 t/ha. It has an open habit with good heat tolerance and is suited for both substrate and soil production in protected tunnels.
Fruit quality of Malling™ Bella® is superb, with 96% Class 1 fruit (4% more than the standard benchmark variety) and an average fruit weight of 5.4 g across the production period, versus 5.1 g with the standard benchmark variety.
Malling™ Bella® is available from a range of commercial propagators. A full list is available on the Malling™ Fruits website (www.mallingfruits.com). Licensed propagators should be contacted directly to place orders. Growers are encouraged to order plug plants for planting this spring (2023) as soon as possible. For long canes, orders will need to be placed by April 2023 for early 2024 deliveries.
A German translation of the Malling™ Bella® Technical Sheet for growers and propagators is now available online.
