Uncategorized

New and Trending Varieties

By |2023-05-10T17:19:52+00:00May 10th, 2023|Uncategorized|

There is never a shortage of new apple varieties, but some varieties tend to stand out for their eating quality, harvest timing, or attractive appearance. Below is a list of varieties that are growing in popularity mostly with farm marketers and a few that are estabishing themselves on the wholesale market. (MAIA varieties listed below require membership in the Midwest Apple Improvement Association.)

MAIA-SM Sweet-MAIA® USPP 34,437

Sweet MAIA

An early-season apple with fall apple qualities. Crispy and sweet with bright, attractive red coloring. A Honeycrisp x Winecrisp cross, this apple ripens at the same time as GingerGold.

Sweetie™ USPP 22,228

Sweetie™ was bred in New Zealand by Plant and Food Research and is a cross between Braeburn and Royal Gala. It is characterized by its elongated fruit and dense structure. Sweetie™ has a sweet, rich taste and develops […]

MAIA-Mitchell: A better coloring Evercrisp®

By |2023-05-10T14:37:58+00:00May 9th, 2023|Apple, Uncategorized, Varieties|

MAIA1 marketed as EverCrisp® is undoubtedly one of the best eating apples recently released. However, for MAIA grower members, one complaint has been the difficulty to produce fruit with good color. Especially on young trees, fruit can tend to look more like older fuji strains. With more mature trees and reflective materials, growers have overcome some of the coloring deficiencies . With MAIA-Mitchell cv, growers can look forward to even better and earlier coloring EverCrisp®.

Availability of MAIA-Mitchell cv will be extremely limited for 2024, and if you would like trees for 2025 we suggest booking now. Budwood for all new releases is in short supply, so please contact our office (800.424.2765) as soon as possible to reserve trees for 2025.

From the press release of the Midwest Apple Improvement Association:

May 7, 2023

MN 33 cv, another open release from University of Minnesota

By |2023-05-09T19:39:16+00:00May 9th, 2023|Apple, Uncategorized, Varieties|

While no officially trademarked name has been announced, MN33 cv is now open to U.S. growers. This Honeycrisp x Zestar cross is advertised as having a crisp texture with a balanced flavor trending more toward sweet and tropical.

Parentage

Honeycrisp x Minnewashta (Zestar®)

Ripening

About a week after Honeycrisp

Fruit Characteristics

Size: Around 3 inches on average

Color: Blushed red

Pressure: 17-19 lbs at harvest

Storage: 5 months common storage

Growth Habit

The tree is medium vigor with spreading branches. Minnesota promotes it as a consistent annual bearer that is cold hardy to Zone 4. Fruit is somewhat tolerant to scab.

 

What Products are Commercial Nurseries Offering?

By |2020-07-01T18:37:34+00:00September 17th, 2019|Uncategorized|

The nursery business is evolving and offering a wide range of product options to respond to grower needs. High density orchards have increased the number of trees per acre as well as planting costs. Both growers and nurseries are seeking new products to lower costs, shorten the wait time for trees, and push orchards into production sooner.

As shown in the list below, many of these new products have advantages and drawbacks that growers should consider:

Spring Budded Trees

The rootstock is planted in the fall and budded in the early spring of the next year. Trees will be dug the following year and delivered in the spring. This is considered a one-year tree. Trees typically achieve caliper size ranging from 3/8” to 5/8”. The smaller caliper size trees may not appeal to some growers. However, many of the spring budded trees have tissue culture rootstock which has been shown in research to […]

What’s New in Apple Rootstock?

By |2020-07-01T18:35:13+00:00August 20th, 2019|Uncategorized|

An abundance of new rootstock options are available for growers to choose from. Many of these rootstocks have advertised benefits that may make them appealing options for future year plantings. For commercial growers, switching rootstocks can feel like a leap of faith. While researchers work hard to provide detailed information on rootstock characteristics, research trials cannot account for the many variable conditions (e.g. soil, climate, scion compatibility, disease pressure) that occur in commercial orchards. It may take well over a decade for growers to feel they have a handle on how a rootstock performs. Despite this, new rootstocks may offer advantages that make it worth the risk, including improved precociousness and productivity as well as resistance to diseases and cold damage.

Below are some resources on new rootstock introductions growers may want to consider before ordering trees.

Bud 10™

Bud 10™ was bred by Dr. Budagovsky, who also introduced the popular Bud 9 […]

Go to Top