NY apple growers: SnapDragon, RubyFrost are newest

ALBANY, N.Y. -- SnapDragon and RubyFrost are the names of two new apples that will soon hit farm stands after more than a decade of development by Cornell University, an industry group announced Thursday.

The varieties, developed by Cornell breeder Susan Brown, are the first grown under an exclusive licensing agreement with New York Apple Growers.

Cornell has released 66 apple varieties since the late 1890s, including Cortland, Macoun, Empire and Jonagold. Historically, public universities released new varieties freely to growers and nurseries. A federal law passed in 1980 gave universities the ability to retain the intellectual property rights for their research with limited plant-based royalties.

Brown said SnapDragon gets its juicy crispness from its parent Honeycrisp and is expected to be a popular snacking apple, especially for children. The apple, which has a spicy-sweet flavor, ripens in late September and has a longer storage and shelf life than the Honeycrisp, a cross of Macoun and Honeygold developed by the University of Minnesota, Brown said.

RubyFrost ripens later in the fall, stores well and has high vitamin C content. Brown said it will be popular with fans of Empire and Granny Smith.

New York, the nation's No. 2 apple producer behind Washington, averages nearly 30 million bushels of apples annually.

The names of the new apples, formerly known simply as "New York 1" and "New York 2," were chosen after extensive consumer research and taste-testing. The growers' group surveyed 1,000 consumers online to help pick names.

Under the partnership with New York Apple Growers, Cornell gets royalties on trees purchased, acreage planted and fruit produced, with the income used to market the new varieties and support Cornell's breeding program.

The first trees were planted in 2011, with 400 acres now growing. The apple growers' group said a limited crop will be available at farm stands this fall, with grocery store sales expected to start in 2015.

The apples' names were revealed during Cornell's annual fruit grower field days in Geneva.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/01/3535494/ny-apple-growers-announce-names.html

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