Too Many Apple Varieties

From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. With apple harvest underway here in Washington state, the many varieties we grow will soon be available in the grocery stores, if they’re not already.

And apple growers here in Washington state, according to

Michael Schadler, president of the Washington Apple Commission, would love nothing more than to bring you the next great apple variety …

SCHADLER … “And you look at everybody, all producers around the world are trying to follow that model of finding that next great variety, you know, the next Honey Crisp, so to speak. Even though Honey Crisp is pretty much a U.S.-centric variety, it’s that same model of trying to find a winner. And if you can make that a proprietary variety and own that, that’s your golden ticket if you strike it right.”

But Schadler says that isn’t easy …

SCHADLER … “If everybody’s following that same model it turns into a very crowded market and you wonder if anyone can even win with a new variety unless it’s just absolutely exceptional, head-and-shoulders above the rest. And that’s really hard to do.”

And like he alluded to, we are not the only country in the world that grows apples …

SCHADLER … “We see in international markets, the South African, the New Zealanders taking the same approach. And they grow good apples and they, you know, increasingly, especially in Asian markets, you know, they’re marketing these new varieties.”

Again, that’s Michael Schadler, president of the Washington Apple Commission.