New apple was 20 years in the making

URBANA, Ill. — A new, late-ripening apple named WineCrisp, which carries the Vf gene for scab resistance, was developed over the past 20 plus years through classical breeding techniques, not genetic engineering.

License to propagate trees will be made available to nurseries through the University of Illinois.

Apple scab

Being resistant to apple scab is a big plus for growers, said University of Illinois plant geneticist Schuyler Korban, as it significantly reduces the number of chemical fungicide sprays.

“Apple scab is the number one disease growers have to spray for — 15 to 20 times per season — so not having to spray for apple scab lowers the cost for the grower and is better for the environment.”

More than 20 years

Why does it take more than 20 years to make an apple?

“It takes a long time to develop an apple because you want to test it in different locations, you want to observe it over a number of years, and it takes awhile for an apple to get noticed,” said Korban.

Korban thought the finish might pose a problem because consumers are accustomed to seeing waxed fruit in stores and may not like the matte finish that Korban called dull.

“Red Delicious is a very good looking apple, but has no flavor, very bland. It’s still ranked as the number one apple in the industry; however, there are more new apple varieties available now.”

Flavor

After some time, Korban decided the crispness and the flavor would be more important factors to consumers than the finish and continued to develop the new apple.

His research, in collaboration with breeders at Rutgers and Purdue universities, will be published in a 2009 issue of the journal of HortScience, and a U.S. patent is currently pending.

Available to nurseries

The apple is available now to nurseries who want to apply for a license to propagate trees and make them available to apple growers nationwide.

It also takes time for a new orchard or even for an existing orchard to plant new apple varieties.

But when WineCrisp cuttings are grafted into a fast-growing root stock, Korban said there could be fruit on the tree in as little as three years.

He said the tree is extremely productive and the fruit is firm, but it’s not a bright red color.

“It’s more of a dark red and looks like a deep red wine so we wanted to include ‘wine’ in the name. It also resembles an older variety that consumers are familiar with called Winesap.

Late ripening

“Some of our recent releases are varieties that focus on late ripening which would prolong the apple-growing season and WineCrisp matures two weeks after Red Delicious. They can be harvested through the end of October. And in good cold storage, they’ll keep for eight to nine months.”

The original cross in the breeding process was done at Rutgers in 1989. The seeds were grown into seedlings and inoculated with apple scab at Purdue.

Those seedlings which demonstrated resistance to apple scab were split between the three universities as a part of the Purdue-Rutgers-Illinois Cooperative Breeding Program, which has been successful in naming and releasing over 25 disease-resistant apple varieties, some with other collaborating partners around the world.

Because the University of Illinois made the selection, it will be the primary licensing institution.