![]() The same serving also provides 2–5% of the DV for vitamins E, B1, and B6. One medium 7-ounce (200-grams) apple offers the following nutrients ( 3): The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend 2 cups of fruit daily for a 2,000-calorie diet, emphasizing whole fruits, like apples ( 2). “Ultimately that is the goal of any plant breeder.Apples are considered nutrient-dense fruits, meaning they provide a lot of nutrients per serving. “The goal, in my opinion, is to get more consumers eating apples,” she said. The process of cross-hybridization has been used to breed plants for hundreds of years, Evans said, and is quite different from the more controversial genetic modification methods. Work on developing the variety began in 1997, said Evans, of Washington State. “This will be the largest launch of a single variety ever, globally,” she said, and it’s backed by a $10.5-million marketing budget.Ĭonsumers will not have trouble finding the variety, said Grandy, who works for Proprietary Variety Management in the town of Chelan, in the heart of apple country. The trees take three years to produce a crop, said Kathryn Grandy, a member of the team marketing the apple. In addition to helping pay for that research, apple growers need a license to buy the trees and pay a royalty on sales of the fruit. Scientists at Washington State’s Tree Fruit Research Center in Wenatchee spent 20 years breeding the desired apple tree seeds. ![]() Remarkably, this is the first apple variety developed in Washington state, which has been known for apples for more than a century. We’re trying to make some money with it.” “Better quality makes for better returns,” said Clark, the grower. “We’re expecting it to increase in volume rapidly.”Īdams could not speculate on how much Cosmic Crisp apples will cost per pound. “It’s going to shake things up in a great way,” Adams said. Washington growers, who had watched the market share for sometimes mushy Red Delicious apples plummet over time, were looking to replicate the success of the Honeycrisp, Adams said. “A new variety can reinvigorate a market and industry.” “A new apple brings excitement,” said Toni Lynn Adams, spokeswoman for the Washington Apple Commission, which markets apples internationally. With so much success, why was a new apple variety needed? About 50,000 people pick some 12 billion apples by hand each fall. The state has about 1,500 apple growers and 175,000 acres of orchards. The top varieties are Gala (23%), Red Delicious (20%) and Fuji (13%).Īpples are grown in the arid valleys and brown hillsides of central Washington, a few hours east of Seattle, and watered by irrigation projects. “It better be because we are going to have a lot of them.”Īpples are a $2.5-billion-a-year business in Washington, which grows about 60% of the nation’s supply, or nearly 140 million boxes. “This apple has a good opportunity to be a hit with a lot of people,” said Clark, a vice president of Price Cold Storage, a company with orchards and fruit warehouses throughout central Washington. It was developed by the University of Minnesota. The Honeycrisp, nicknamed “Moneycrisp” by some growers, was the latest apple to spark a big buzz in the United States when it was introduced a couple of decades ago. “It’s ultra-crisp, very juicy and has a good balance of sweetness and tartness.”Ĭosmic Crisps are a cross between the disease-resistant Enterprise and the popular, crunchy Honeycrisp varieties. The new variety keeps for a long time in storage and in the refrigerator, said Kate Evans, who runs the breeding program at Washington State.Īnd it’s an exceptionally good “eating apple,” she said. ![]() “I’ve never seen an apple prettier in the orchard than these things are,” said Aaron Clark of Yakima, whose family owns several orchards in central Washington and has planted 80 acres of Cosmic Crisps.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |