By KAREN BINDER
Illinois Correspondent

URBANA, Ill. — After decades of breeding, a new late-harvest apple is available to orchardists in humid areas where apple scab can drive up production costs.

Thanks to coordinated research by the University of Illinois with Purdue and Rutgers universities, plant geneticist Schuyler Korban said the new WineCrisp apple variety offers numerous amenities for growers, particularly its scab resistance as well as late-season harvest, attractive skin and pleasant taste, factors which affect consumer buying.

This consumer-friendly apple was developed with classical breeding techniques, not genetic engineering. The result should allow growers to reduce the number of chemical fungicide applications and realize a cost savings, as well as improve orchard sustainability and reduce energy needs.

“Apple scab is the number one disease that 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,” Korban said, adding this attribute will not eliminate the need for all spraying.

Some Midwest apple experts say the attributes bred into the WineCrisp are improvements benefiting southern, humid areas, where a two-week shift in apple development can be critical during summer temperatures.

“One big advantage with the WineCrisp,” explained Brad Taylor, pomologist at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, “is the apple matures when cooler temperatures set in. Shifting two weeks can be so important because apple development can practically shut down if temperatures get hot enough.”

The new apple matures two weeks after Red Delicious, ready for harvest through late October. Its firm flesh offers producers better storage with less bruising and its shelf time can last up to eight or nine months with proper storage, Korban said.

David Diebold is a partner at Diebold Orchards in Benton, Mo., in the southeastern part of the state. His orchard has already planted a variety of disease resistant apple trees, including Jonafree, Freedom, Enterprise (now marketed as Sweet Autumn) and Goldrush.

But none of these more familiar varieties combine all of the WineCrisp attributes. Diebold is also quick to say his customers tend to prefer Fuji apples, by taste. The Diebolds favor this variety also for its late harvest, which found the Diebold crews picking Fujis up until Thanksgiving week last year.

Yet, they also saw the recently renamed Sweet Autumn more than double in sales in a single season simply because of more appealing name change. 

Mike Rothwell of BelleHarvest Fruit Sales in Belding, Mich., said he would be interested in learning more about the new apple’s marketability.

“It’s a great improvement anytime you can reduce the number of spray applications for fungicides, and that’s a wallet decision,” he said. “But the scab resistance is just one characteristic out of many that we look at. There are so many varieties out there anymore that it can be difficult for the new ones to differentiate themselves from the others.”

From Rothwell’s perspective as a marketer, key consumer factors include storage and taste. Flavor-wise, Korban said balance between acid and sugar in the WineCrisp has resulted in “a very pleasant flavor” and a crisp texture. The apple’s finish – the peel – does not have the waxy, polished look many consumers are accustomed to seeing in grocery stores. Instead, this apple has a muted matte finish that he calls “scarfy.”

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. He said the tree is productive and the fruit is firm, but it’s not a bright red color. Instead, it is a deep red like wine – and prompted the new variety’s name.
“It also resembles an older variety that consumers are familiar with, called Winesap,” he said. “When you pick it up and squeeze it, it’s very firm. We used to call it ‘The Rock.’ We wanted that characteristic to be in the name, so we added ‘crisp’ and named it WineCrisp.”

Taylor added this new apple would be perfect to fill a bowl and set out on the kitchen counter or dining room table. A U.S. patent is currently pending. License to propagate trees will be made available to nurseries through UoI.