Bonza Apple

The Bonza apple originated in Batlow after being cultivated by
chance over 30 years ago.
• There are around 50 hectares of Bonza grown in the Batlow
region, however very few are grown outside of the district.
• Heat early in the season and plentiful fruit on trees has
resulted in smaller sizes of the Bonza variety this season,
which makes a great apple choice for the school lunchbox.
• Approximately 1,600 bins of Bonza apples were collected from
trees in Batlow this year, which is around 3 per cent of the cooperative’s
total combined variety crop for the 2009 season.
• The Bonza is quite a mainstream variety in Batlow as it is used
extensively to pollinate the Red Delicious varieties.
• The Bonza is a low cost and easy to grow variety. It doesn’t need much hand thinning
and is a reliable (annual cropping) high yielding and almost apple scab and dimple bug
resistant.
Characteristics
• The Bonza has a green/cream background colour with 50-60 per cent red blush.
• The variety is characterised by a very white firm flesh and has a good shelf life.
• The Bonza is flat-round looking in shape and has a sweet flavour, which means it can be
used to replace traditional apples such as Fuji or Red Delicious in recipes.
• Batlow Bonzas are an early season apple and are available from March-May.