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New Apple Stars On Washington State’s Horizon
Breeding, plantings and lots of excitement help spur sales.
With Washington State leading the nation in apple production — a whopping 70 percent of all apples grown in the United States are from Washington alone — it’s surprising the state hasn’t had a university breeding program as long as some of the universities in apple-growing states to its east. Despite the state’s slower breeding start, apples alone make up 20 percent of Washington State’s total cash receipts for agriculture with a 2015 tally of $2.4 billion, according to Farmflavor.com.
“The history of growing apples in Wash- ington is not near as long as in the eastern parts of the United States,” notes Dr. Kate Evans, leader of the WSU Pome Fruit Breeding Program, Wenatchee, WA.
The WSU breeding program began in 1994. Compare this to Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, which has released 65 apple varieties since
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BY KRISTI JOHNSON
its inception in the late 1890s. Evans cites consumer taste changes as the primary reason for the takeoff of the WSU breeding program. “In the late ’80s and early ’90s consumer interest began to focus on new varieties, ‘club’ varieties and proprietary varieties.” [See sidebar, page 36] The previous ‘go-to’ Red Delicious, Washing- ton’s best recognized and most successful apple variety, had become infamous for turning mealy in storage, causing economic losses for many growers in Washington. Newer varieties were focusing on high taste values, crunchiness and better storage ability.
Although changes are definitely coming down the pike, market changes can take years to occur. Rebecca Lyons, international marketing director for the Washington Apple Commission, Wenatchee, WA, says, “Wash- ington’s production is still overwhelmingly made up of the favorites — Red Delicious, Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji and Honeycrisp.”
The Honeycrisp was bred in Minne- sota, but Washington has led the nation in growing this variety.
Developed in 1991, Honeycrisp has become hugely popular nationwide, with millions of trees planted. Washington growers have responded by increasing production of this proven variety but also have increased plantings for the latest newcomers to the market. “Now, not only are the WSU varieties only accessible to Washington growers, but these varieties are developed to be well-suited to the Washington climate,”explains Evans.
According to Mac Riggan, director of marketing for Chelan Fruit Co., based in Chelan, WA, “Retailers are moving away from the Red and Gold Delicious varieties. We see a lot of regional differences ... more Red Delicious in the Southeast, more Gran- nies in the Northeast.”
Recognizing what the consumer wants and