How do you like them apples? Regarding established varieties, not so much anymore.
The types of apples we have grown up eating are becoming less and less popular today, being replaced by newer varieties that better suit consumer preferences and farmer needs.
Stalwarts like Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith may have seen their best days.
鈥淩ed Delicious is losing popularity pretty quickly,鈥 said Chris Eckert of Eckert Orchards in Belleville, Illinois. 鈥淭rees on a lot of acres have been taken out of the ground.鈥
Even relatively newer varieties such as Fuji and Gala are fading in the marketplace. They are being supplanted with apples that have traits favorable to consumers and farmers. One example is EverCrisp, developed through the efforts of the Midwest Apple Improvement Association. Jim Eckert, Chris鈥 uncle, was instrumental in breeding efforts that produced EverCrisp.
鈥淚t鈥檚 by far the most popular variety developed through the association,鈥 Chris Eckert said. 鈥淭here are now more than a million trees planted all over the world.鈥
The fruit business differs from grain production in that consumer preferences often take precedence over production traits. While corn hybridization and soybean cultivars may emphasize yield, disease resistance and other agronomic benefits, taste and texture are often more important for fruits.
Mohammad Babadoost, a University of Illinois plant pathologist who specializes in fruits and vegetables, said efforts to create new varieties with grower-friendly traits continue. But taste and texture may trump other considerations.
鈥淭here have been efforts for 15 or 20 years to develop some varieties resistant to disease such as fire blight or root rot,鈥 Babadoost said. 鈥淏ut people will raise the varieties that they can easily market. And those that are disease resistant may not be as popular.鈥
Eckert, who operates one of the largest orchards in the Midwest, agrees.
鈥淚t has to taste good or it won鈥檛 sell,鈥 he said. 鈥淎lso, cosmetic performance is important.鈥
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Despite the consumer acceptance of the fruit, growers must be able to produce the crop in the first place.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at when it ripens, for instance,鈥 Eckert said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want the fruit to ripen super early or super late.鈥
MAIA was created in the 1990s when apple producers across the Midwest got together with the goal of developing varieties more suited to the climate of the Corn Belt states. EverCrisp was formed as a cross between HoneyCrisp and Fuji. Its two parents are still popular 鈥 especially HoneyCrisp 鈥 but they may inevitably share the same fate as the earlier varieties like Red Delicious.
鈥淗oneyCrisp is slowing down,鈥 Eckert said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of competition.鈥
Granny Smith and her cousins may be a fond memory for many, but the new kids on the block are taking over.
鈥淩elative to the new varieties, they just don鈥檛 stand up,鈥 Eckert said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have the texture and sweetness of the newer competitors. The newer apples also hold up better in cold storage.鈥
Apple growers will likely continue to deal with growing challenges the traditional way.
鈥淪o far in Illinois we do not have an acceptable variety resistant to disease,鈥 Babadoost said. 鈥淏ut we do have very effective chemicals to control diseases.鈥
That may be one reason attempts at organic orchards in the region have not met with universal success.
鈥淥rganic production is very difficult in Illinois,鈥 he said. 鈥淐onditions are so conducive that whatever you do you鈥檙e going to get diseases.鈥
Nostalgia aside, the improved apples of today have gained favor.
鈥淐onsumers are the winners because apples are so much better today,鈥 Eckert said.