Online Exclusive: A Sampling Of New Apple Varieties
Variety: SweeTango/Minneiska Characteristics: SweeTango® brand apples are characterized visually by a rich deep red coloration over a yellow breaking background. Fruit grown in the Midwest and Eastern regions tend to have distinguishing prominent lenticels. Stem bowl tracery russet is also a characteristic often seen on the fruit. These attributes provide visual differentiation SweeTango® from other varieties on the retail shelf. The fruit tends to be large sized. How Growers Get Involved: When forming the commercializing company, NBT Cooperative, we strove to provide geographic diversification to the grower base. Growers in Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York, as well as business partners in Nova Scotia and Quebec, were invited to explore the business plan and, if it fit their business plans, to invest in the Cooperative. Some of the invitees were Minnesota colleagues, some were business partners of long standing and others were enterprises which, over time, had proven to be world class growers and marketers. All were asked to buy into creating a national brand, with regional production and geographic marketing a cornerstone of the endeavor. What You Need To Know: |
Variety: NY1 and NY2 Characteristics: NY2 is a large, crisp, juicy, attractive apple with a nice balance of sugar and acid and excellent quality, storage, and shelflife. A U.S. Plant Patent application was filed on December 20, 2009. Selection 2 is a hybrid of Braeburn by Autumn Crisp (NY 674). How Growers Get Involved: Any apple grower in New York can invest money to join NYAG, which will entitle them to a certain number of acres of the apples. What You Need To Know: |
Variety: WA2, WA5 Characteristics: WA 2 challenges: WA 5 traits: WA 5 challenges: How Growers Get Involved: The Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission is directing traffic, providing licensed growers a list of licensed propagators. What You Need To Know: WA2 is a low ethylene apple, meaning it is slow to mature on the tree and changes maturity slowly in storage. Its color brightens considerably after two months of storage and attains best dessert quality after three months of storage. WA2 is likely to perform really well in unrefrigerated settings such as convenience stores or hotel counters. Read moreand. |
Variety: Kiku Characteristics: Kiku is a large, sweet apple which is marked by its coloratiod. It’s a fully striped variety. How Growers Get Involved: Columbia Fruit Packers, Inc. is the license holder for Kiku. Kiku is controlled at the packing level up to and through the market. Growers who would like to grow Kiku have that opportunity as long as they have contacted a licensed packer and can grow quality fruit. What You Need To Know: Kiku is an excellent tasting apple that gained repeat market demand. It also looks very nice and has excellent size. Those three ingredients plus consistent crispness will hopefully draw consumers to the apple category. Read more. |
Variety: Pinata Information provided by: Roger Pepperl, Stemilt Growers Characteristics: Pinata is a cross between Golden Delicious and two heirloom varieties from Europe, Cox’s Orange Pippin and the Duchess of Oldenburg. This heritage gives the apple a unique flavor. It is crisp and juicy with both high acid and high sugar levels. Pinata has a subtle tropical essence to it as well as a hint of floral. It’s a beautiful bi-colored apple — stripy bright red over a yellow-orange background. It has a nice round shape and is medium to large in size. Pinata has the same thin skin as Golden Delicious, which makes it a great companion in any apple recipe. How Growers Get Involved: The owners of Stemilt Growers are growing Pinata, as are select growers that are committed to the variety. Choosing growers with orchards with the right climate and soil is essential for growing Pinata. Trees are allotted to the growers who have commitment to this variety and also have site selection that fits the apple’s needs. Two Things You Need To Know: Quality is foremost when it comes to growing a managed variety like Pinata. Consumers will come back for “new” apples as long as the flavor is there. And as long as consumers continue to come back for more, growers will find success. It’s going to keep getting better with time. Pinata has already had rave reviews from consumers and the apple is still considered young. We expect great things from this variety as the trees mature. |