Apple breeding in Minnesota was born out of desperation. When settlers first arrived from the east, they wanted apples, but the trees all died in the winter.
The Wealthy apple was the earliest apple to thrive in the Minnesota climate.
Horticulturalist Peter Gideon grew it first in 1868, after years of trial and error with various apple varieties. Before 1868, only crab apples grew reliably in the state.
The Haralson was the first apple to be bred at the University of Minnesota.
"A hundred years since it was developed in 1922. It was the number one apple in this state for 70 or 80 years," said University of Minnesota researcher David Beford.
Walking through one of the research orchards, he pointed out which apples would make it and which ones will not.
"This is where the first cut of the better than average apples are grown," he said.
They start out with thousands of trees, and only about one out of 400 is good enough to make it.
"And the fact is that most of them will be discarded even though they've made it this far," Beford said.
He explained the breeding process and the very small window they have to get their work done.
"A very little time to save the world from mediocre apples," he said. The trees are in bloom for only about seven days, during which time they have to act like bees and pollinate quickly.
"The bees go from flower to flower and pick up pollen. We do it with a little more purpose, but it's the same concept," he said.
It takes about 20 years to create a new apple, with the next one coming out next year called "triumph." The new apple both tastes good and is disease resistant.
Unfortunately, it won't be available to eat until the fall of next year.
